The risk associated with the Zika virus to pregnant women and their babies is a relatively new phenomenon in medicine, as the virus has only recently begun to spread widely among people in South America. Like any unknown and potentially dangerous thing, the Zika virus has managed to cause serious public upheaval. Health workers are working tirelessly to clarify the infection and ways to protect against it. The result of this work are several interesting findings… Sexual transmission may be riskier Being bitten by a mosquito infected with the Zika virus is a completely random, unpredictable and difficult to control risk factor, and it is this that contributes to a large extent for the created stress. However, intercourse does not meet these characteristics. There is evidence that the virus can also be transmitted sexually. Scientists are still conducting studies in this direction, but according to preliminary information, sexual transmission carries a greater risk of affecting the developing child in the womb than infection through a mosquito bite. In this type of transmission, the concentration of virus particles in the reproductive organs is higher. NEWS_MORE_BOX Diagnosis by saliva? Scientists came to this idea after studying the case of an infected mother who gave birth to twins. One of the children developed microcephaly and the other did not. After examining the proteins in the saliva of both infants, different genetic mutations were found in them. This discovery leads to exciting theories. First of all, it is curious whether the presence of such mutations might play a role in the risk for the developing child to develop microcephaly when the mother is infected. Another idea is to investigate whether it is possible to make the diagnosis through saliva, which would be easier. An important question to be answered is whether it is possible for the virus to be transmitted through saliva.