A technician from Oxitec inspects pupae of genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Campinas, Brazil, January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker (Copyright Reuters 2016)
RIO DE JANEIRO – The head of a top Brazilian health research institute says its scientists have discovered the presence of active Zika virus in urine and saliva samples.
Paulo Gadelha says that the virus's ability to infect other people through the two body fluids requires further study.
However he says that the discovery calls for special precaution to be taken with pregnant women. Brazilian researchers have pointed to a suspected link between pregnant women's infection with the virus and a rare birth defect in babies.
Gadelha says the discovery does not yet merit any additional health recommendation
He spoke Friday at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro.
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