Brazilian lab detects Zika virus in saliva, urine

In the meantime, officials say all pregnant women returning from infected countries and anybody exhibiting symptoms will be tested by a state lab. Officials say Zika’s arrival in Rockland was never a question of if, but when.

The announcement comes weeks after New York City health officials said that a pregnant woman in the city had contracted the disease.

And while other viruses such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis virus can be transmitted through saliva, those are not the main ways those viruses spread, Schaffner said.

Among them will likely be pregnant women, the population most vulnerable to the devastating effects of the virus.

Many have been born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads and brains, and the United Nations has urged increased access to abortion because of fears of severe birth defects.

The virus was deemed active, meaning that it was able to cause infection, but the scientists stressed that it was too early to say whether Zika could be transmitted by either fluid. When symptoms do appear, they usually are in the form of a mild fever, rash and eye redness.

“We wanted them to know, one, that we’re monitoring it. And two, that their safety and security is important to us”, said With. Researchers are also looking into the virus’s potential connection to Guillan-Barre Syndrome, a temporary disorder in which the immune system attacks part of the nervous system.

The CDC said men with a pregnant partner who live in or have traveled to an area of active Zika transmission should use condoms during sex with their partner or abstain from sex for the duration of the pregnancy. There is no vaccine or specific medicine to treat Zika virus infections.

In the meantime, Frieden urged people to focus primarily on taking the precautions they can: For women who are pregnant, avoiding travel to South and Central America and the Caribbean; for men, avoiding travel or guarding rigorously against mosquito bites.

So far, there have been no reports of sexual transmission of Zika virus from infected women to their sex partners, the CDC added.

But it doesn’t necessarily mean you can get sick from contact with an infected person’s saliva or urine, Gupta said.

It’s not known at what stage in pregnancy Zika would be most risky, so any pregnant women should take care, Frieden said.

But there are things that people can do to lower their risk of contracting the virus, including rigorously protecting against mosquito bites, which are the usual mode of Zika transmission, and following the new guidelines to prevent sexual transmission, Frieden said. “I don’t think this is a virus that’s going away in the near future”, said Dr. Mitchell Weinstein, an infectious disease specialist.

The CDC has stopped short of backing the warnings issued by Brazilian health officials that pregnant women should avoid the saliva and urine of male partners with Zika.