Zika Virus News and Research

Latest Zika Virus News and Research

Dengue mosquito poses greatest danger of spreading Zika virus in Australia

Researchers at QUT and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have found that the dengue fever mosquito common to north and central Queensland poses the greatest danger of spreading the Zika virus in Australia.

23 Apr 2019

Synthetic antibody rapidly prevents Zika infection in mice and non-human primates

A DNA-encoded monoclonal antibody prevents Zika infection in mice and non-human primates, researchers report April 5 in the journal Molecular Therapy.

8 Apr 2019

New class of molecules could someday become basis for Zika-specific therapeutic

The Zika virus is widely known for causing microcephaly and other brain defects in the fetuses of pregnant, infected women.

4 Apr 2019

Study uncovers details about human immune response to dengue infection

About 40 percent of the global population is at risk for contracting dengue - the most important mosquito-borne viral infection and a close "cousin" of the Zika virus - and yet, no effective treatment or safe licensed vaccine exists.

29 Mar 2019

Research provides opportunities for biological control of insect-borne pathogens

Researchers from INRA, CIRAD, CEA, the University of Montpellier, and Chicago and Vanderbilt Universities in the United States have developed an innovative method for analyzing the genome of the Wolbachia bacterium.

27 Mar 2019

Researchers investigate whether Zika reservoirs are found in the Americas

Most emerging infectious diseases affecting people are zoonotic -- they make the jump from other animals to humans.

20 Mar 2019

Innovative model identifies primate species with potential to transmit Zika in the Americas

In the Americas, primate species likely to harbor Zika - and potentially transmit the virus - are common, abundant, and often live near people. So reports a new study published today in Epidemics. Findings are based on an innovative model developed by a collaborative team of researchers from Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and IBM Research through its Science for Social Good initiative.

19 Mar 2019

Premature babies also have protective anti-viral antibodies

Even premature babies carry anti-viral antibodies transferred from the mother, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report in a paper on maternal antibodies in newborns, published in the journal Nature Medicine.

18 Mar 2019

New method for on-the-spot genome analysis

The ability to read the genome - all the DNA of an organism - has vast potential to understand human health and disease.

14 Mar 2019

New sensing tool could aid in early detection of Dengue virus

Dr Paulo Rocha from the University of Bath's Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering is developing a low-cost integrative sensing tool for early detection of Dengue virus, using a novel platform containing electrical sensors to investigate the behavior of human cells infected with Dengue virus.

12 Mar 2019

Researchers quantify link between Zika infection and microcephaly in Brazil

Women infected with Zika virus early in pregnancy are almost 17 times more likely to have a child with microcephaly, according to a study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Oliver Brady of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK, and colleagues.

6 Mar 2019

Mother's dengue immunity influences the severity of Zika infection in infants

Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School and their colleagues have identified a surprising interaction between dengue and Zika viruses that sheds lights on the significant fetal brain abnormalities linked to Zika virus.

1 Mar 2019

Scientists shed light on the history of Zika virus in Thailand

The circulation of the dengue virus for the past sixty years in South-East Asia is relatively well known. For Zika, the situation is much less clear.

28 Feb 2019

Study: Chikungunya virus arrived in Brazil at least one year before it was detected

New evidence suggests that Chikungunya virus arrived in Brazil at least one year earlier than it was detected by public health surveillance systems.

26 Feb 2019

Prior dengue virus infection increases Zika virus-induced damage during pregnancy

Women who have previously been infected with dengue virus may be at risk for increased damage to their fetuses and placentas if they should later become infected with the Zika virus, researchers from the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report.

11 Feb 2019

New technology can detect any virus that poses a threat to humans

Researchers have developed a computational method that designs molecular “baits” for any strains of virus known to infect humans, including Zika virus.

5 Feb 2019

New disease surveillance tool enables early detection of viral outbreaks

During the Zika virus outbreak of 2015-16, public health officials scrambled to contain the epidemic and curb the pathogen's devastating effects on pregnant women. At the same time, scientists around the globe tried to understand the genetics of this mysterious virus.

5 Feb 2019

Tick’s salivary glands could become key research tools for studying virus transmission

The salivary glands of some tick species could become important research tools for studying how viruses are transmitted from ticks to mammals, and for developing preventive medical countermeasures.

30 Jan 2019

Scientists are working to develop a new way to detect Zika virus

A collaboration of scientists including Professor Jean Patterson, Ph.D., of Texas Biomedical Research Institute, is working on a new way to detect Zika virus that will help guide clinicians in their treatment of patients with the disease.

28 Jan 2019

Study: CD4+ T cells could be important mediators of protection against Zika virus

Immune cells called CD4+ T cells could be important mediators of protection against the Zika virus, according to a study published January 24 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Sujan Shresta of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, and colleagues.

25 Jan 2019