Isolation of infectious zika virus from saliva and prolonged viral RNA shedding in a traveller returning from the Dominican Republic to Italy, January 2016

Autor(es): Barzon, Luisa; Pacenti, Monia; Berto, Alessandro; Sinigaglia, Alessandro; Franchin, Elisa; Lavezzo, Enrico; Brugnaro, Pierluigi; Palù, Giorgio


Resumo: We report the isolation of infectious Zika virus (ZIKV) in cell culture from the saliva of a patient who developed a febrile illness after returning from the Dominican Republic to Italy, in January 2016. The patient had prolonged shedding of viral RNA in saliva and urine, at higher load than in blood, for up to 29 days after symptom onset. Sequencing of ZIKV genome showed relatedness with strains from Latin America.


Palavras-Chave: Zika virus; Diagnosis; Genome sequencing; Saliva; Transmission; Virus isolation


Imprenta: Eurosurveillance, v. 21, n. 10, 2016.


Descritores: Zika Virus - Cell ; Zika Virus - Genome ; Zika Virus - RNA ; Zika Virus - RNA virus ; Zika Virus - Molecular screening ; Zika Virus - Transmission


Data de publicação: 2016