Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Zika and How It's Transmitted

To add yet another way that Zika may be spread, it has been hypothesized that it could be spread via direct contact with the live virus.  While this may be difficult unless it touched an open wound or was the result of a needle prick, the ‘lifespan’ of the virus would increase if there was blood present on the surface where it was.  New research demonstrates that it could do just that and remain viable for 8 hours or more.  While this adds more concern to how Zika can be spread, it was also shown that it can be inactivated with disinfectants such as isopropyl alcohol and quaternary ammonium/alcohol (Outbreak News Today).

For clarity, and according to the CDC website on Zika transmission, it has been found that Zika can be transmitted via an infected mosquito vector, vertically during pregnancy, sex, from exposure in a lab, and (currently being investigated) via blood transfusions (CDC).

CDC - http://www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/

- Devon Z.

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