The investigators found that those monkeys resisted infection with the same strain 10 weeks later.
Advertisement
David O’Connor, lead author of the study, said that this discovery is good news for vaccine design. It suggests the sort of immunity that occurs naturally is sufficient. One theory is that if a fetus is infected, it will pump virus back into mom’s blood, O’Connor said. It causes only a mild illness, at worst, in most people but can cause severe brain-related birth defects if woman are infected during pregnancy.
Two experimental Zika vaccines have been 100% successful in testing on mice, United States researchers have said.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that we’ll see the same results in humans as the researchers have found in mice – but the scientists remain hopeful.
She added that if a child is infected and tests positive for Zika, “how many of them are actually going to one, have symptoms and two, what are the long term consequences?”
“That might provide a low-priced diagnostic test that could be used even in areas that don’t have access to sophisticated imaging to look at the fetus”, O’Connor said. “According to CDC guidance, providers should consider testing all pregnant women with a history of travel to a Zika affected area for the virus”.
Women who are pregnant or could become pregnant should avoid travel to Zika-affected areas. If that’s the explanation, a prolonged infection in a pregnant woman could be a sign that the virus is harming the developing child.
The other study published by researchers from multiple institutions, including the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, examined the ways the virus affects brain tissue.
Lara, who is less than 3 months old and was born with microcephaly, is examined by a neurologist in Brazil.
Zika virus spreads to people primarily via the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito – the same species that spreads dengue and chikungunya.
Eight monkeys, two of which were pregnant, were injected with the same type of Zika virus now circulating in South America, at equivalent doses to the estimated viral levels in mosquito saliva during a bite.
Officials with the Florida Department of Health confirmed the case Tuesday morning.
Women of child-bearing age who live in an active Zika region should protect themselves from mosquitoes by wearing long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, using mosquito repellent when outside, and staying indoors as much as possible, according to the CDC.
Advertisement
“The Olympics will begin in less than 40 days and millions of Americans will travel through our state to and from Brazil, a country where the Zika virus is rapidly spreading, and we must be prepared”, said Florida Governor Rick Scott in response to the first confirmed case.
