Written By: Tania Tarafdar | Published : February 13, 2016 11:15 AM IST
The Zika virus is native to parts of Africa and Asia, and the WHO believes that it might spread to the US too. The lack of natural immunity in the US is supposedly aiding the spread of the virus. The Zika virus may be particularly adept at settling itself in parts of the body that are protected from the immune system, making it more difficult to fight off the disease. This can possibly lengthen the time frame in which it can be transmitted, top US experts said on Friday.
Researchers suggested that Zika virus can be found in semen for 62 days after a person is infected, adding to evidence of the virus's presence in the placenta, fetal brain tissue, and amniotic fluid. 'Right now, we know it's in the blood for a very limited period of time, measured in a week to at most 10 days. We know now, as we accumulate experience, it can be seen in the seminal fluid. We're not exactly sure after the infection clears, where else it would be' Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said.
'These are all things that need to be carefully examined in natural history and case-control studies,' he said. The virus exhibits flu-like symptoms which include mild fever,conjunctivitis, headache, rash, arthralgia, myalgia, asthenia. The symptoms are visible after two to seven days after the mosquito bite. The PAHO also says that one out of four people may develop symptoms, and they might last for two to seven days. 'The virus can continue to persist and or multiply,' said Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
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