The findings, published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, are significant because they are among the first to strongly suggest a link between Zika and microcephaly, a rare condition in which babies are born with underdeveloped brains and unusually small heads.
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It followed 88 women who went to a Rio de Janeiro clinic between September 2015 and last month, 72 of whom tested positive for Zika.
The Zika virus may be linked to a wider variety of “grave outcomes” for developing babies than previously reported – threats that can come at any stage of pregnancy, researchers reported Friday.
The researchers showed that the Zika virus can infect brain cells, in lab dishes; however, the researchers still don’t know if the same thing happens to cells in a developing fetus that is infected with the virus, Song added.
Nature reported that the Colombian Collaborative Network on Zika (Recolzika), a group of researchers studying the virus, expects a rise in cases of Zika-linked birth defects starting in two or three months and that researchers are investigating several other suspected cases of Zika-linked microcephaly.
To address that part of the puzzle a team at the University of Pittsburgh and Magee-Womens Research Institute have devised a cell-based model of the human placenta. The CDC is recommending that pregnant women avoid travel to Zika-affected areas, which include countries ranging from Mexico into the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
The WHO reportedly said Friday it is working to find evidence of a link between the virus and microcephaly, as well as Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Of the six live births overall, two babies were too small, while one was born with severe microcephaly.
China has beefed up its efforts to stop the virus from spreading to the country as 10 imported cases have been reported so far. “So a very important question that emerges from our work is whether the Zika virus specifically targets the neural [cells] mostly responsible for generating the cortex”. Emergency Committee officials are reportedly set to meet Tuesday to review “evolving information” and measures that can be taken to control the transmission of the virus in the southern hemisphere.
The number of pregnant women returning to the United States with Zika infections acquired overseas has been rising, according to the CDC.
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“This contrasts with the period from 2001 to 2014, when an average of 163 microcephaly cases was recorded nationwide per year”, the World Health Organization says. However, these findings do not show definitive proof about the connection between Zika virus and microcephaly. No fetal abnormalities were detected in any of the 16 women who tested negative for Zika.
