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Review
. 2024 Apr 2;4(2):mtsi.v4i2.2024.502.
doi: 10.48327/mtsi.v4i2.2024.502. eCollection 2024 Jun 30.

[Zika virus infection: sexual transmission and implications for prevention]

[Article in French]
Paul Henri Consigny  1
Affiliations
Review

[Zika virus infection: sexual transmission and implications for prevention]

[Article in French]
Paul Henri Consigny. Med Trop Sante Int. .

Abstract
in English, French

Zika virus infection, most oft n responsible for a benign arboviral disease or an asymptomatic infection, rarely Guillain-Barré syndrome, can become problematic in pregnant women, due to a risk of fetal malformations, in particular microcephaly linked to its neurotropism. The most recent large-scale epidemic was observed throughout Latin America between 2015 and 2017, causing several hundred thousand cases. Transmission is predominantly vector-borne, but sexual transmission has been described, mainly among travelers, although it undoubtedly accounts for a significant proportion of transmission in epidemic areas. The aim of this review is to describe this sexual transmission, mainly through examples linked to this large-scale epidemic in Latin America, to describe the link with prolonged excretion of infectious viral particles in genital secretions, especially semen but also vaginal secretions, and to highlight possible preventive measures apart from vector transmission, in particular the need for pregnant women or women wishing to become pregnant to avoid visiting countries where circulation of Zika virus is described.

L’infection au virus Zika, responsable le plus souvent d’un tableau arboviral bénin ou d’une infection asymptomatique, peut devenir problématique chez les femmes enceintes, en raison d’un risque de malformations fœtales. La transmission est majoritairement vectorielle, mais une transmission sexuelle est décrite, principalement chez des voyageurs, même si elle représente sans doute une part significative de la transmission en zone épidémique. Cette revue vise à décrire cette transmission sexuelle au travers principalement des exemples liés à l’épidémie de grande ampleur survenue en 2016 en Amérique latine, à en décrire le lien avec l’excrétion prolongée de particules virales infectieuses dans les sécrétions génitales, et à mettre en exergue les mesures de prévention possibles en dehors de la transmission vectorielle.

Keywords: Prevention; Semen; Sexual transmission; Travel; Vaginal secretion; Zika virus.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pays et territoires avec circulation présente ou passée du virus Zika (© OMS 2022) Countries and territories with current or previous Zika virus circulation (© WHO 2022)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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