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New Utah Zika Case Baffles Health Officials New Utah Zika Case Baffles Health Officials
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — The Zika virus continues to surprise. On Monday, the Utah Department of Health reported that a new case had been diagnosed that did not appear to have been contracted through the two known sources of transmission: a mosquito bite or sexual contact. WASHINGTON — In another puzzling twist to the Zika epidemic, the Utah Department of Health on Monday reported the diagnosis of a new case of the virus that did not appear to have been contracted through either of the known sources of transmission: a mosquito bite or sexual contact.
The patient, who has since fully recovered, was a “family contact” who helped care for an older man who had become infected with the virus after traveling abroad. The patient, who has fully recovered, was a “family contact” who helped care for an older man who had become infected with the virus after traveling abroad. That man, from Salt Lake County, died in June. He also had other ailments, and it was unclear whether the virus had contributed to his death.
The Zika virus is spread mostly by mosquitoes and has caused more than 1,500 cases of birth defects in newborns in Latin America, where it has spread rapidly, and even in the United States, mostly in pregnant women who traveled to countries where it is circulating. In the United States and its territorieas, there are several hundred pregnant women that have been infected with the Zika virus, with the largest concentration in Puerto Rico. The Zika virus has caused more than 1,500 cases of birth defects, mostly in Brazil, where the epidemic began last year. In the United States and its territories, several hundred pregnant women have been infected with the Zika virus, with the largest concentration in Puerto Rico; many hadtraveled to countries where the virus is circulating.
The new case is something of a medical mystery: Zika is known to be transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and through sex, but neither seemed to be a plausible explanation for what happened in Utah. Zika is known to be transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and through sex, but neither seemed to be a plausible explanation for what happened in Utah. The infected caregiver, who tended to the ailing man at home and in the hospital, had not traveled to a country where Zika is circulating and had not had sex with him, officials said.
“We have found no evidence that mosquitoes here in Utah are transmitting the Zika virus,” said Dr. Angela Dunn, deputy state epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health. Local health workers had been trapping mosquitoes since last year, but had found no Aedes aegypti. Joseph Conlon, a technical adviser to the American Mosquito Control Association, said neither Aedes aegypti nor a cousin, Aedes albopictus, is found in Salt Lake County.
Dr. Erin Staples of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has a team on the ground in Utah, said the case was “unique. We’re learning something new about Zika every day.” “We have found no evidence that mosquitoes here in Utah are transmitting the Zika virus,” said Dr. Angela Dunn, the deputy state epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health on a call with reporters. She said that for that reason the case was not a danger to the broader public.
The elderly man died in Salt Lake County in the northern part of the state in June. The man had Zika and his symptoms included a rash and fever, but he also had other ailments and it was unclear whether the virus contributed to his death. Zika has surprised scientists with its ability to be transmitted by sex — both from men to women and, in a recent discovery in New York City, from women to men. But it is not known to be transmitted in any other way — without the help of a mosquito — so the Utah case is remarkable.
Local health workers had been trapping mosquitoes since last year, including most recently around the house of the man who died, but had found no Aedes aegypti. Joseph Conlon, technical adviser to the American Mosquito Control Association, said neither Aedes aegypti, nor a cousin — Aedes albopictus — are found in Salt Lake County. Disease sleuths are sifting through clues. The Utah man who died had a very high level of virus in his body, which may have increased the risk that his bodily fluids could infect others. But while the virus has been detected in blood, semen, vaginal fluid, saliva and urine, it had not been known to infect others through nonsexual contact.
If it was not by a mosquito, how else might it have been transmitted? “We don’t have any evidence that suggests Zika can be passed from one person to another by sneezing or coughing or kissing or sharing utensils,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has a team investigating the case. Dr. Frieden said other people who had come into contact with the Utah man were being tested. The results will take a few weeks.
The continental United States has become a useful laboratory for unusual transmission of Zika. There has yet to be a local spread through mosquitoes, making sexual and other transmission easier to trace. There are more than 1,300 case of the Zika in the continental United States — all acquired through travel abroad.
“This raises some interesting questions,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist in Tennessee. “Was there a needle stick or injury? Or if not, possible contact with other bodily fluid like urine or saliva?”“This raises some interesting questions,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist in Tennessee. “Was there a needle stick or injury? Or if not, possible contact with other bodily fluid like urine or saliva?”
Zika has surprised scientists with its ability to be transmitted by sex — both from men to women, and, in a recent discovery in New York City, from women to men. But it is not known to be transmitted in any other way — without the help of a mosquito — so the Utah case is remarkable.
The mosquito that transmits Zika — the Aedes aegypti — does not typically range into northern Utah, but maps of the mosquito’s range are unreliable and experts say it is theoretically possible that the bug exists there.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it has a team on the ground in Utah. Those experts will help determine whether the virus was transmitted by mosquito.