Two other babies had normal ultrasounds and indeed, appear healthy.
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Since the Zika outbreak that started in Brazil last May, more than 5,000 babies have been born with abnormally small heads and the possibility of severe developmental delays.
“In addition, visitors and crew members of ships from countries infected by the Zika virus would also be provided with the Health Warning Card as a preparatory measure and response at the country’s worldwide entry points”, he said.
Laboratory tests found that the virus targeted key cells involved in brain development and then destroyed or disabled them, they said.
“It is very telling that the cells that form the cortex are potentially susceptible to the virus”, said Ming.
Dr Noor Hisham said immediate action must also be carried out at the various levels including for women who were exposed to the risk of infection who were advised against planning to conceive at least one month after returning from cuntries which were infected with the Zika virus.
The virus was able to spread rapidly through these stem cells, the researchers learned.
Blocking the virus, or preventing it from damaging the brain cells, would make the virus far less threatening than it is now.
Progenitor cells are like stem cells, only more specialized.
Without going into specifics, the health official warned that the NIS again faces a possible financial drain on account of the Zika virus, which first surfaced in January this year.
Click on thumbnail to view. But, he added, “This is very important work”. However, they warned that the study does not prove a direct link between Zika and microcephaly in newborns.
Meanwhile, the New England Journal of Medicine reported on research conducted on 88 pregnant women in Rio de Janerio, one of the nations suffering most from the Zika virus. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all. However, these findings do not show definitive proof about the connection between Zika virus and microcephaly.
Evidence mounted on Friday linking Zika to the birth defect microcephaly, and the United Nations health agency set a review of travel advice related to the outbreak of the virus while USA officials planned strategy to control mosquitoes that spread it.
Also on Friday, researchers in Colombia reported the country’s first cases of Zika-linked birth defects, according to the Nature science group’s news service.
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Dr. Guo-li Ming of Johns Hopkins University, another lead study author, said researchers can now explore questions like how Zika infects the cells.
