So far, the epidemic has seemingly been limited to Brazil.
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A commercial test for Zika could help provide reassurance to people whose results are negative, allowing them to stop worrying about the infection. Ultrasound at 29 weeks revealed that her baby would be microcephalic, and a subsequent fetal autopsy found traces of the virus in the brain tissue. Previously, Breitbart News reported scientists believed an FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approved vaccine might be at least a decade away, although an emergency shot could be available by year’s end.
Brazil and a USA research hospital in Texas have signed an agreement regarding the production of a Zika vaccine, Brazil’s health minister Marcelo Castro announced Thursday.
Brazil’s health ministry says the number of suspected microcephaly cases in newborn babies has risen to more than 4,000. But, it’s the firmest connection yet that the pathogen may be to blame, Frieden told a Congressional panel, USA Today reported.
Brazil is at the epicenter of a mosquito-borne virus that has been linked to rare birth defects known as microcephaly. “We’re not exactly sure after the infection clears, where else it would be”, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said. “Just to be on the safe side, we don’t want to find out the hard way that our mosquitoes, lo and behold, can carry Zika and so we’re just advising people who are ill with Zika to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes while they’re here in OR”. Brazil reported its first cases of Zika in May, and reported the first cases of microcephaly in late October.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it expects to decide within a few weeks if there is a link between the Zika virus and birth defects.
Kieny added that it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials of potential vaccines.
More travel-associated Zika cases were confirmed by Friday, bringing the state’s total to 20. “Unfortunately we’re likely to continue to see substantial spread around the world with a pace that sees lots of Zika”, said Tom Frieden, Centers for Disease Control.
While a usable vaccine remains a priority, Kieny underscored that advances in testing were also urgently needed.
The earliest a vaccine could be developed would be some time next year, Fauci has said.
The findings from this study were published online recently in Emerging Infectious Diseases through an article entitled “Detection of Autochthonous Zika Virus Transmission in Sincelejo, Colombia”.
U.S. NIH and India’s Bharat Biotech ahead in vaccine work.
The authorities also advised pregnant women to refrain from travelling to South America unless absolutely necessary, since experts warn that the Zika virus might lead to children being born with microcephaly.
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The vaccine development center at Texas A&M University may also be involved in the hunt for a Zika vaccine.
