Abstract
SUMMARYCirculation of Zika virus (ZIKV) was first identified in the Western hemisphere in late 2014. Primarily transmitted through mosquito bite, ZIKV can also be transmitted through sex and from mother to fetus, and maternal ZIKV infection has been associated with fetal malformations. We assessed immunodeficient AG129 mice for their capacity to shed ZIKV in semen and to infect female mice via sexual transmission. Infectious virus was detected in semen between 7 and 21 days post-inoculation, and ZIKV RNA was detected in semen through 58 days post-inoculation. During mating, 73% of infected males transmitted ZIKV to uninfected females, and 50% of females became infected, with evidence of fetal infection in resulting pregnancies. Semen from vasectomized mice contained significantly lower levels of infectious virus, though sexual transmission still occurred. This model provides a platform for studying the kinetics of ZIKV sexual transmission and prolonged RNA shedding also observed in human semen.
Highlights
Zika virus (ZIKV; genus Flavivirus in the Flaviviridae family) is an emerging arbovirus that is primarily transmitted by Aedes spp. mosquitoes
To determine the kinetics of ZIKV shedding in semen, infected vasectomized or non-vasectomized male AG129 mice were mated to uninfected female surrogate CD-1 mice, and seminal fluids were collected from the uteri of mated CD-1 females (Figures 1A–1C)
To determine the rate of male-to-female sexual transmission, infected non-vasectomized and vasectomized male AG129 mice were mated to uninfected female AG129 mice (Figures 1B and 1C), and the mated females were followed for disease progression
Summary
Zika virus (ZIKV; genus Flavivirus in the Flaviviridae family) is an emerging arbovirus that is primarily transmitted by Aedes spp. mosquitoes. In addition to mosquito-borne and maternal-fetal transmission, sexual transmission of ZIKV in humans has been documented, initially, in a traveler returning to the United States from Africa (Foy et al, 2011), with subsequent isolation of ZIKV from the semen of an infected man during the ZIKV outbreak in French Polynesia in 2013 (Musso et al, 2015). A case of male-to-female sexual transmission of ZIKV from an asymptomatic male traveler to a woman with no travel history has been reported (Brooks et al, 2016). This finding could indicate that transmission through seminal shedding is possible with minimal or no symptoms. Given the severe disease that ZIKV can cause in developing fetuses (Rasmussen et al, 2016), the risk of sexual transmission to women during pregnancy is of particular concern
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