“Now that we know how these neural cells forming the cerebral cortex are vulnerable to Zika, they could also be used for rapid screening of the infection and the development of potential new therapies”, says Hongjun Song, also a researcher of the Institute for Cell Engineering and co-author of the study.
Advertisement
Asia has seen only a sprinkling of cases of the virus, but a surge in Latin America this year, and its suspected links to microcephaly, pushed the United Nations health agency to declare Zika a global health emergency. But their efforts have been hobbled by a fundamental lack of understanding of the once-obscure virus.
Health Secretary Janette Garin said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had informed her that a US resident who stayed in the Philippines for four weeks in January had apparently developed symptoms in her last week before returning to America. But unlike some of those viruses, there is no vaccine to prevent Zika or medicine to treat the infection. The study appears in journal Cell Stem Cell.
Chan will travel to Brazil from Feb 22-24 to review Zika-related measures supported by WHO and will meet the health minister, a WHO spokeswoman said. “It’s a very important piece in the puzzle”.
Among 42 Zika-positive women willing to undergo fetal ultrasound testing, a total of 12, or 29 percent, had abnormal readings.
A similar effect in a developing brain could have devastating results.
Zika attacks and destroys cells in human brain development, demonstrated in laboratory researchers, establishing the first scientific evidence of a link between this virus and microcephaly fetus, according to research published on Friday.
It did not address whether the virus can reach brain cells. But they said it does identify where the virus may be inflicting the most damage in developing fetuses.
The study said blood and urine tests found 72 of the 88 women had the Zika virus. Of the patients observed in Tahiti, none died and three months after leaving the hospital, about 40 percent could walk unaided.
“The frequency was so high”, said study co-author Karin Nielsen, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of California at Los Angeles, who collaborated with scientists at Fiocruz, an institution in Brazil.
Zika infection has been linked to numerous cases in Brazil of the birth defect microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. They said the women had no other risk factors. Two of the infants had lesions in their eyes, which could indicate blindness.
Study shows how virus could cause fetal brain defects.
Advertisement
At the same time, both studies have shortcomings.
