Newswise Focus Channel: WK Health Zika TOP story

Mosquitoes push northern limits with time-capsule eggs to survive winters

Washington University in St. Louis — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 07:05:43 EST

Invasive mosquitoes at the northern limit of their current range are surviving conditions that are colder than those in their native territory. This new evidence of rapid local adaptation could have implications for efforts to control the spread of this invasive species.

New $2 million DOD Grant Funds Zika Vaccine Testing at Texas Biomed

Texas Biomedical Research Institute — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 11:05:52 EST

As part of a program called the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, the DOD is awarding Texas Biomedical Research Institute $2 million over the next three years to study a promising experimental Zika vaccine.

National Geographic's THE HOT ZONE shows biosecurity's importance

Kansas State University — Thu, 23 May 2019 13:05:41 EST

Ron Trewyn, Kansas State University NBAF liaison, writes to encourage people to watch THE HOT ZONE, a National Geographic limited series inspired by two Kansas State University veterinarians and leaders and their work during the 1989 Ebola-related outbreak in Virginia.

15 percent of babies exposed to Zika before birth had severe abnormalities in first 18 months of life

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 17:00:00 EST

By age 12 to 18 months, 6.25% of children exposed to Zika during their mothers' pregnancies had eye abnormalities, 12.2% had hearing problems, and 11.7% had severe delays in language, motor skills and/or cognitive function. In all, 14.5% had at least one of the three abnormalities.

Maternal Dengue Immunity Protects Against Fetal Damage in Mice Following Zika Virus Infection

La Jolla Institute for Immunology — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 05:00:00 EST

A mouse mother's prior dengue immunity would protects her unborn pups from devastating brain defects such as microencephaly associated with ZIKV. These findings could guide development of more effective flavivirus vaccines and hint at what types of immune responses are maximally protective against fetal brain damage after Zika invasion.

UNC, RTI International Researchers Assess US Travelers' Knowledge of Zika Virus, Willingness to Take Hypothetical Vaccine

RTI International — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 12:05:54 EST

A collaboration between researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, RTI International and the UNC School of Medicine has resulted in the first study to assess and compare United States travelers' knowledge levels about the Zika virus across three regions

Like Zika, West Nile Virus Causes Fetal Brain Damage, Death in Mice

Washington University in St. Louis — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 14:00:00 EST

Two viruses closely related to Zika - West Nile and Powassan - can spread from an infected pregnant mouse to her fetuses, causing brain damage and fetal death, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings suggest that Zika may not be unique in its ability to cause miscarriages and birth defects.

How Zika Infection Drives Fetal Demise

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 14:00:00 EST

An interferon cell receptor spurs cell suicide in fetuses infected with the Zika virus and could play a role in certain pregnancy complications.

Good News from Trio of Phase One Zika Vaccine Trials

Saint Louis University Medical Center — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 15:00:18 EST

More than 90 percent of study volunteers in the 3 trials who received the investigational vaccine demonstrated an immune response to Zika virus.

Rainfall Can Indicate That Mosquito-Borne Epidemics Will Occur Weeks Later

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 17:05:53 EST

A new study demonstrates that outbreaks of mosquito-borne viruses Zika and Chikungunya generally occur about three weeks after heavy rainfall. Researchers also found that Chikungunya will predominate over Zika when both circulate at the same time.

Anti-Malaria Drug Shows Promise as Zika Virus Treatment

Fri, 17 Nov 2017 05:00:00 EST

California researchers have discovered that a medication used to prevent and treat malaria may also be effective for Zika virus. The drug, called chloroquine, has a long history of safe use during pregnancy, and is relatively inexpensive. The research was published today in Scientific Reports.

Protecting the Wild: Baylor Professor Helps to Minimize Recreation Disturbance to Wildlife

Baylor University — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 17:05:10 EST

In a cover story published this week in the Ecological Society of America's premier journal, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Kevin J. Gutzwiller, Ph.D., professor of biology in Baylor University's College of Arts & Sciences, and co-authors harnessed existing technology to help recreation ecologists and managers better understand and minimize those recreation disturbances to wildlife.

Zika Virus Infects Developing Brain by First Infecting Cells Meant to Defend Against It

UC San Diego Health — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 14:05:12 EST

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Brazil, report that the Zika virus is transmitted from mother to fetus by infected cells that, ironically, will later develop into the brain's first and primary form of defense against invasive pathogens.

Better 'Mini Brains' Could Help Scientists Identify Treatments for Zika-Related Brain Damage

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 10:00:00 EST

UCLA researchers have developed an improved technique for creating simplified human brain tissue from stem cells. Because these so-called "mini brain organoids" mimic human brains in how they grow and develop, they're vital to studying complex neurological diseases.

Can Previous Exposure to West Nile Alter the Course of Zika?

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 16:05:39 EST

EL PASO, Texas - West Nile virus is no stranger to the U.S.-Mexico border; thousands of people in the region have contracted the mosquito-borne virus in the past. But could this previous exposure affect how intensely Zika sickens someone now?

Zika Infections Unlikely to Be Passed by Kissing, Casual Contact

University of Wisconsin-Madison — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 11:00:00 EST

According to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who conducted studies with monkeys, casual contact like kissing or sharing a fork or spoon is not enough for the virus to move between hosts. Their findings were published today (Aug. 1, 2017) in the journal Nature Communications.

On Track Towards a Zika Virus Vaccine

Department of Energy, Office of Science — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 08:55:21 EST

Antibody's molecular structure reveals how it recognizes the Zika virus

UW-Led Center Plays Key Role in Finding Zika-Transmitting Mosquito in State

University of Wisconsin-Madison — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 16:05:24 EST

The new Upper Midwestern Center of Excellence in Vector Borne Diseases, led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this week identified the Asian tiger mosquito, which can spread the Zika virus, for the first time in Wisconsin.

New Test Lets UF Scientist and Team Find Zika Faster

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 09:05:40 EST

A University of Florida entomologist is working with other scientists to detect the Zika virus in minutes, rather than days or weeks, allowing for faster and more targeted mosquito control practices and detection in patient samples.

UF/IFAS Scientists Find Zika RNA in a Second Mosquito Species

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences — Mon, 17 Apr 2017 08:05:53 EST

UF/IFAS entomology associate professor Chelsea Smartt led a research team that found Zika RNA in Aedes albopictus. That's not the species -- known as Aedes aegypti -- most often associated with Zika. But scientists have never discounted Aedes albopictus as another possible carrier of the potentially deadly virus.