Scientists are investigating the possibility that the Zika virus could be transmitted through an individual's sweat or tears after a man in Utah reportedly caught the virus while attending to his sick father.

Until now, doctors and researchers have held that the Zika virus can only be transmitted by an infected mosquito bite. Pregnant women with the virus can pass it to their unborn fetus and in very rare cases the virus can be transmitted through semen, the Guardian reported. However, the recent case of a 38-year-old Utah man contracting the Zika virus from his sick father has challenged these assumptions.

Like Us on Facebook

The case, which was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, highlights the virulent nature of the virus. The Utah man's father had reportedly passed away due to complications caused by the virus although he had been in good health.

The man had reportedly spent a three-week holiday in Mexico prior to being hospitalized with low blood pressure and abdominal pains. During his holiday, the man had been bitten by mosquitoes.

A few days after the man was diagnosed, his son reported coming down with a fever, a rash, and conjunctivitis. The journal claims that the Zika virus was found in his urine but not in his blood. The son was able to recover from the condition, but it remains a mystery how he contracted the Zika virus.

The researchers claims that no presence of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which carries the Zika virus has been reported in Utah. The son had not visited Mexico with his father or any other country overseas or slept with anyone who had the virus.

Furthermore, the researchers said the son had helped nurses to move his father while on the bed without using gloves. He had wiped his father's eyes without gloves but did not come into contact with his blood. However, the researchers reported that the nurses who cared for the father did not become ill.

Doctors are now suggesting the son picked up the virus through his father's sweat or tears.The researchers behind the journal claim more individuals could be at risk of the infection than considered previously. The researchers also warned that individuals with a weak immune system could be at risk of dying from the virus.

Watch the video below for more information: