Kiss selectively, Brazil tells women
Pregnant women warned that Zika can spread in saliva.
In a sign of mounting global concern over the Zika virus, health officials on Friday warned pregnant women to think twice about who they kiss and called on men to use condoms with pregnant partners if they have visited countries where the virus is present.
U.N. officials also called on many Catholic-majority countries in Latin America to loosen their abortion laws to allow women to terminate pregnancies if they fear the fetus may be at risk for a rare birth defect that causes brain damage and an abnormally small head, which may be linked to the virus.
The flurry of recommendations began in Brazil, where a top health official warned pregnant women to be cautious with their kisses.
Paulo Gadelha, president of the Fiocruz research institute, told a news conference that scientists have found live virus in saliva and urine samples, and the possibility it could be spread by the two body fluids requires further study.
He said pregnant women should take special precautions, and suggested they avoid kissing people other than a regular partner or sharing cutlery, glasses and plates with people who have symptoms of the virus.
“This is not a generalized public health measure, for the love of God,” he added, stressing both the seriousness of the discovery and reality that it was too soon to say how it could impact the epidemic.
Friday’s announcement coincided with the start of Carnival, a five-day bacchanalia that sees millions of people take part in alcohol-fueled parties where kissing as many people as possible is a top pastime. Gadelha underscored that the discovery needn’t alter Carnival plans for anyone but pregnant women.
He also stressed that the Aedes aegpyti mosquito, which spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever as well as Zika, remains the virus’ main carrier and said the fight against the mosquito should be a top priority.
The Fiocruz team studied samples from two patients who showed symptoms of Zika and tested positive for the illness. Tests on cell cultures showed the virus in the samples was capable of damaging the cells, meaning it was active.
Myrna Bonaldo, who headed the Fiocruz team behind the discovery, said she was particularly surprised the virus was found in urine because Zika is generally thought not to thrive in acidic mediums.
“Each discovery is a surprise and a new find for us,” she said. “For us scientists, it’s extremely challenging to understand the Zika virus.”
Experts greeted Friday’s announcement with caution, saying the sample size was small and noting that little is known about how the virus spreads.
Still, Dr. Elizabeth Talbot, a professor of infec- tious diseases at Dartmouth College, said it “does create further concern.”
“This virus is clearly throwing one curve ball after the other,” she said.
Asked about the guidance to pregnant women, Dr. Susan Donelan, medical director of the epidemiology department at Stony Brook University Hospital, said: “I can understand the Brazilian Health Ministry being concerned about not leaving out any potential mechanism for transmission, even if it’s theoretical.”
“Brazil is in a particu- larly difficult position” given the scope of the country’s microcephaly outbreak, she said.
Meanwhile, in Geneva, spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly said the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights was asking governments in Zika-affected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to repeal any policies that restrict access to sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion.
“How can they ... not offer (women) ... the possibility to stop their pregnancies if they wish?” she said.
The National Conference of Bishops in Brazil, the South American country hardest hit by Zika, had no immediate comment on calls to loosen abortion laws. However, in a Thursday statement, the bishops said that the World Health Organization’s declaration earlier this week that Zika was an international emergency didn’t justify abortion.
Meanwhile, U.S. health officials said men who have visited an area with Zika should use condoms if they have sex with a pregnant woman — for the entire duration of the pregnancy.