Baffling Zika Case In Utah, First Non-Travel Case in Florida

07-20-2016

A baffling Zika case in Utah has state heath officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wondering whether the virus can be transmitted in more ways than previously thought, causing them to admit they "still have more to learn" about the virus.

An elderly man in the state was the first person to have died in the United States after being infected with the virus. He apparently contracted the disease outside the United States (There are outbreaks in Central and South America).  

In his final days, a family member, reportedly his son, was caring for him. That family member then contracted the Zika virus. He has since recovered.

This is significant because it appears the family member did not contract the Zika virus by what health officials previously thought were the only ways of getting it: being bitten by an infected mosquito, from an infected mother to unborn child, or from sexual transmission.

Now, based on evidence from the Utah case, health officials are wondering if it can be spread in other ways.

They're looking into whether the concentration of the virus, also known as a "heavy viral load," could be a factor. According to the CDC, the man had "uniquely high amounts" of the Zika virus in his blood, an astonishing 100,000 times more than has been reported in other cases they've investigated.

This could mean the disease, if highly concentrated enough, might be able to be passed to others through contact with bodily fluids. The virus has been found in blood, saliva, urine, eye fluid, breast milk, semen and  cervical mucus.

The CDC is advising blood banks to act as though Zika can be transmitted by transfusion, though there have been no transfusion cases identified so far.

If this theory proves true, it wouldn't be the first time health officials have expanded their understanding of the ways in which the virus can be transmitted. Earlier this year, they thought there were only two ways of getting it: from being bitten by an infected mosquito or an unborn child acquiring it in utero from its mother.

Then there were reports of women contracting Zika from male sexual partners who had it. Just last week, we learned of at least one case of a man who contracted it from a female sexual partner who was infected with the virus.

Meanwhile, investigators in Florida are looking into what might be the first Zika case in which the victim was infected from a mosquito bite in the continental United States. It appears someone contracted the disease after being bitten by a mosquito in the Miami area.

Health officials have been warning of the possibility of this scenario: A person who contracted the virus in a Zika-infected area could come to the United States, be bitten by a mosquito, and in that moment, actually give it to that mosquito, who then bites someone else and gives it to them.

They say it takes 10 days for the Zika virus to be present in a mosquito before it can transmit the disease to a human.

The main concern related to Zika is microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which babies born to women infected with Zika have unusually small heads and suffer malformation of the brain.

So far in the U.S, nine babies have been born with Zika birth defects, six babies with Zika birth defects were either aborted or miscarried. This is out of 346 women in the U.S. infected with Zika who are or who have been pregnant.

Health experts caution women who are pregnant or who might become pregnant to:

  • Use mosquito repellent.
  • Drain even the smallest amount of standing water such as in dishes on countertops (mosquitoes breed in standing water)
  • Avoid standing water outside, such as ponds or ditches.
  • Use outdoor insect repellent near standing water.
  • Avoid sexual contact with someone who has traveled to areas with Zika outbreaks.
  • Use screens to prevent mosquitoes from coming inside.

Blog Keywords: 

Blog Posts: 

Healthy Living