Report of the isolation of 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.
March 11th, 2016Barzon L, Pacenti M, Berto A, Sinigaglia A, Franchin E, Lavezzo E, Brugnaro P, Palù G. Isolation of infectious Zika virus from saliva and prolonged viral RNA shedding in a traveller returning from the Dominican Republic to Italy, January 2016. Euro Surveill. 2016;21(10):pii=30159. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2016.21.10.30159
** This finding poses questions on the potential risk of human-to-human transmission of the virus through saliva.
** While isolation of ZIKV in cell culture from urine, semen, and breast milk has been described, isolation of ZIKV from saliva has not been reported so far.