According to US health authorities (CDC), people suspected of being carriers of the Zika virus shouldn’t just take a blood test but should instead take a urine test as new data shows the virus stays longer in the urine than in the blood, making the diagnosis more accurate. This is all the more important for pregnant women, given the risk the virus poses. on fetal development.
A higher detection rate, especially after 5 days
Zika virus usually stays in the blood of an infected person for about a week. Beyond that, making a diagnosis can be more difficult because people who have already been infected with dengue or other Zika-related viruses produce antibodies that are more difficult to differentiate.
CDC officials found that urine tests performed on patients in Florida – the US state where the largest number of Zika cases have been confirmed – had a higher detection rate than blood tests. Of 55 people tested in the first 5 days of the disease, 52 tested positive with the urine test while only 31 of them had a positive blood test. Beyond 5 days, the virus was detected in 9 out of 11 urine tests while blood tests showed no trace of the virus.
To date, 472 cases of Zika have been identified in the 50 American states, including 95 in Florida, 89 in New York State and 40 in California. All those affected had traveled to areas where the epidemic was raging or had a sexual partner having traveled to these risk areas.
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Our special report on the Zika virus
