Zika : the sexual transmission more risky to the fetus

Carlos Giusti/AP/SIPA

Published the 25.08.2017 at 16: 51

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zikamicrocéphalietransmission sexual

Infection by Zika is in general not dangerous except for pregnant women. The babies of women living with the virus have a high risk of developing microcephaly, a brain malformation that leads to severe disabilities.

And the risks to the fetus may be even more important when mothers have acquired the infection through sexual transmission, compared to a traditional transmission by mosquito bite, according to a study by the UC Davis (Usa), published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

The viral replication is favored

The american researchers have conducted experiments on rhesus macaques females, they were infected vaginally. By following the evolution of the amount of virus in the reproductive organs, they have found that its replication was much greater than that observed after infection with a single bite.

“These results suggest that the fetus would be at higher risk of being infected in turn, and develop the complications associated with the disease, when women are infected through sex “, summarize the authors.