There are new concerns over the Zika virus and how it may be transmitted after an elderly patient in Utah possibly infected an entire family.
The patient, who died from the virus, recently traveled to a country where the virus is actively spreading through mosquitoes. He somehow infected another person who was caring for him, but that person has since recovered.
But how was it transmitted? If not by mosquitoes or sexual contact?
Vanderbilt infectious disease specialist Dr. William Schaffner says one possibility is the close contact between the critically ill patient and the caregiver.
“That raises the question about whether other body fluids can have the virus in them, such as saliva, or urine might have been the vehicle,” Schaffner said.
But what about another possibility?
“Could the person have breathed it out and another person breathed it in? I think that’s pretty unlikely, but (continue reading at WSMV)