Zika may linger in semen long after symptoms fade, doctors' report

An Aedes aegypti mosquito is seen on human hand in a laboratory of the International Training and Medical Research Training Center (CIDEIM) in Cali, Colombia January 28, 2016 REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga (Copyright Reuters 2016)

CHICAGO – The Zika virus was found in the semen of a British man two months after he was first infected, suggesting the virus may linger in the semen long after symptoms of the infection fade, British health officials reported on Friday.

Researchers at Public Health England said the 68-year-old man became infected with the virus in 2014 in French Polynesia. He was tested for the virus while he still had a fever and low levels of Zika were detected in blood samples.

Subsequent tests of semen showed positive results at 27 days and 62 says after the start of Zika symptoms. The findings were reported in a letter in Emerging Infectious Diseases published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.