Utah man may have contracted Zika virus from dying father’s tears


  • Zika is transmitted by a mosquito bite or sex with an infected person
  • But this case involves a 38-year-old who was caring for his infected father
  • 73-year-old with cancer had 100,000 times the normal level of the virus 
  • His son, from Utah, contracted the virus 5 days after visiting him
  • Told nurses he had wiped away his father’s tears while not wearing gloves 

Kate Pickles For Mailonline

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 A Utah man who mysteriously contracted Zika from his infected father may have got it by touching his tears or sweat, scientists believe.

The unusual transmission method was likely caused by his dying father having 100,000 times the normal level of the virus.

Researchers at the University of Utah were unable to give definitive answers as to why the father’s levels were so high or why the son contracted the virus in a way not documented anywhere else.

But it does offer new details about the events that led to a case that has puzzled researchers.

The 73-year-old had been diagnosed with prostate cancer eight months before his June death.

Scientists believe the Zika virus could be transmitted through tears after studying a man from Utah who contracted it while caring for his terminally ill father

He was receiving radiation therapy and anti-androgen therapy, which may have made it easier for the virus to replicate, said Dr Sankar Swaminathan, chief of the infectious diseases division at University of Utah Health Care. 

But the doctor said the cancer and treatment does not fully explain why the man had such extremely high levels.

He became ill after returning from a three-week trip to the southwest coast of Mexico, his native country that he left in 2003 to move to the United States. 

The report does not identify the man or the exact spot in Mexico he visited.

In Mexico, he ate ceviche and soft boiled turtle eggs and went fishing in the ocean, but those food choices and activities played no role in coming down with the virus, Dr Swaminathan said. 

He and other family members were bitten by mosquitoes, leading him and several others to come down with Zika.

His son, a healthy 38-year-old, became sick five days after visiting his father in the hospital and was diagnosed with Zika. 

He recovered and later told doctors that he had helped nurses care for his father, including wiping his eyes without gloves.

None of the nurses or doctors who treated his father became sick, or did other family members. 

Health officials and researchers tested mosquitoes in the Salt Lake City area and didn’t find any Zika-infected bugs.

Zika is typically transmitted through bites from the Aedes species of mosquitoes but can also be sexually transmitted. Now scientists believe it could be passed on through other bodily fluids

The virus causes only a mild illness in most people. But during recent outbreaks in Latin America, scientists discovered that infection during pregnancy has led to severe brain-related birth defects.

Researchers in this new report concur with a previous assessment by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the son contracted the virus through a new method other than the two main sources: mosquito bites and sexual activity with an infected person.

But Dr Swaminathan said the findings don’t mean people visiting Zika-infested areas and countries need to wear gloves all of the time. 

They believe the rare transmission happened primarily because the father’s extremely high levels of the virus.

‘There’s no risk of shaking hands with a person who has a typical Zika infection,’ said Swaminathan, who treated the two.

The case was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ZIKA 

WHAT IS ZIKA?

The Zika (ZEE’-ka) virus was first discovered in monkey in Uganda in 1947 – its name comes from the Zika forest where it was first discovered.  

HOW IS IT SPREAD? 

MOSQUITOES

It is typically transmitted through bites from the Aedes species of mosquitoes.

They are aggressive feeders, commonly biting multiple people in quick succession, fueling the spread of the virus.   

They are most active during mid-morning and then again between late afternoon and nightfall.

SEX 

Scientists have found Zika can be transmitted sexually – from both men and women.  

Couples should abstain or wear condoms for eight weeks if either partner has traveled to a country with a Zika outbreak, regardless of whether they have symptoms. 

Zika is linked to microcephaly, a birth defect where infants are born with small heads

MOTHER TO BABY

A mother can pass the virus to her unborn baby during pregnancy. 

There are two ways this can happen: through the placenta, and through the amniotic sac.

Since the virus can live in the womb lining, there is a chance the baby can become infected during birth.

ARE THERE SYMPTOMS?

The majority of people infected with Zika virus will not experience symptoms. 

Those that do, usually develop mild symptoms – fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes – for no more than a week.

There is no specific treatment for the virus and there is currently no vaccine.

CAN THE SPREAD BE STOPPED?

Individuals can protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellents.

They could also wear long sleeves and long pants – especially during daylight, when the mosquitoes tend to be most active, health officials say.

Eliminating breeding spots and controlling mosquito populations can help prevent the spread of the virus.

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