This replication of the virus Zika in the genital tissue, observed on mice, could be an important source of infection through sex.
Zika virus can replicate in the vagina several days after infection, have revealed Thursday, August 25, 2016 researchers after studying, on mice its sexual transmission. This replication Zika Virus in the vagina can be an important source of infection "With consequences potentially serious " Note this study for Yale University and published in the journal Cell. Specifically, pregnant mice were infected in their vaginal device by Zika virus, which then spread throughout the genital tract to the brain of the fetus. "We noticed a significant duplication of the virus throughout the genital tissue up to four to five days " said Akiko Iwasaki, professor of immunobiology at Yale and clinical expert at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. When the mice were assigned at the beginning of pregnancy, the virus reaches the fetal brain, the researchers found. Infections associated with a weight loss of the fetus.
The vagina, incubator of the virus?
Even though the phenomenon has to be demonstrated in humans, "This discovery may be important for all women, not just pregnant women, said Ms. Iwasaki. The vagina is a body where the virus can copy itself and potentially be transmitted to partners " points out the researcher. In fact, Zika is usually transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. But through sexual transmission is also possible. There is thus at least one known case of woman who infected her partner; and several other cases are under investigation for men. Zika can indeed persist in the sperm up to six months according to the latest studies.
"This study could therefore help (...) to find a treatment for virus infection during pregnancy." - Jill Rabin
Jill Rabin, doctor specializing in women's health at the Health Northwell New Hyde Park in the State of New York, has qualified This discovery of "interesting". "The infection of the vagina to the fetus might be a more direct way infectious. This study could therefore help (...) to find a treatment for virus infection during pregnancy." For Tomer Singer, director of endocrinology reproduction at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, the study "revives concern that Zika is a sexually transmitted disease rather than a virus affecting pregnant women.
" The vagina may promote duplication because it is a hot and humid place, he said. Health agencies therefore recommend pregnant women to use condoms or abstinence if they live or travel in regions contaminated by Zika. A woman infected with this virus runs a greater risk of giving birth to a child with a brain defect known as microcephaly.
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