Once the genetically modified pregnant mice were infected with Zika virus, the researchers were able to observe the transmission of the virus to the mouse fetus.
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J. Miner et al., “Zika virus infection during pregnancy in mice causes placental damage and fetal demise”, Cell, doi:10.1016/j.cell.2016.05.008, 2016.
When pregnant women are infected, in some cases, virus can be transmitted to fetus and can result in birth defects.
The state stepped up surveillance for albopictus mosquitoes in 2014, before the Zika outbreak, because the species can also carry dengue and other infections, she said.
“We did a very good job (with Ebola), and I think we can do the same kind of job with Zika if we get the resources to respond appropriately”, Fauci said.
“I had a fever and I started getting rashes all over my back, my legs, my face, my arms I had a rash everywhere”, Mujica said. “I was just trying to stay strong”.
Mujica, who is Catholic, said she weighed her risks and chose to keep the baby. She said her mother, whom she lives with in Danbury, would like her to make her own decision. But until now, direct evidence that Zika can cause birth defects in an animal model was lacking. She is among 44 pregnant women across the USA who have tested positive for Zika, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Forty-five states have recorded Zika infections, but all of those are thought to have been contracted from Zika-infected mosquitoes during travel in Latin America or the Caribbean or to have been passed by unprotected sex when an infected person returned to the United States. The teams will collaborate to better understand the link between Zika, microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome; develop improved diagnostic tests; study how the virus is transmitted; and better prevent its transmission through more effective mosquito-control measures.
The criteria for Zika testing include: anyone who is symptomatic and has resided in or traveled to an area where Zika is endemic; pregnant women who have resided in or traveled to an area where Zika is raging; or individuals who have had sexual contact with a male partner who has resided in or traveled to an area where Zika is endemic.
When she came back to CT on March 30, she knew something was wrong. “No one wants to go through that when they are pregnant and have a baby that might possibly come out deformed”, Mujica said.
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One area they’re concerned about is a “tiny” nonresidential area of New Bedford, and they’re working with local mosquito control officials to up surveillance, she added.
