Zika found in common house mosquito in Brazil: Researchers

Researchers in Brazil have announced the "presence of the Zika virus" in Culex mosquitoes, the common house mosquito in the eastern city of Recife.

The statement was released yesterday with word of caution, saying "the obtained data will require additional studies in order to assess the potential participation of Culex in the spread of Zika and its role in the epidemic," reports CNN.

The researchers found the virus in three pools of 500 mosquitoes.

Zika was thought to solely by carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, before this study was completed by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz).

The Fiocruz is a public institution attached to the Brazilian Ministry of Health and is one of Brazil's oldest and most respected health care institutions.

Tom Skinner, U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Senior Press Officer said the study would need to be replicated to have a better understanding of possible implications.

"Body of scientific evidence to date clearly points to Aedes being the primary vector implicated in Zika outbreaks," CNN quoted him as saying.

A U.S. study published earlier this week found a different type of Culex mosquito was not capable to transmitting the Zika virus in a lab setting. The study concluded that this type of mosquito is unlikely to transmit the virus in the U.S.