Zika Virus News and Research

Latest Zika Virus News and Research

FSU researchers make major breakthrough in Zika virus research

Florida State University researchers have made a major breakthrough in the quest to learn whether the Zika virus is linked to birth defects with the discovery that the virus is directly targeting brain development cells and stunting their growth.

7 Mar 2016

Google gives UNICEF $1 million to help fight Zika

Google is providing UNICEF with a $1 million grant to support the charity’s efforts to combat the Zika virus.

3 Mar 2016

Study provides first evidence that Zika virus may cause Guillain-Barré syndrome

Analysis of blood samples from 42 patients diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) during the Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia provides the first evidence that Zika virus might cause GBS, a severe neurological disorder, according to new research published in The Lancet today.

2 Mar 2016

MD Biosciences launches rapid assay to detect Zika virus

MD Biosciences, Inc. Clinical and Diagnostic Services Laboratory announces the release of its rapid assay to detect the virus in human blood and urine samples. The nucleic acid test can be performed in a few hours in blood, plasma, serum or urine samples.

1 Mar 2016

Preventing the spread of Zika: an interview with Professor John Oxford

The link between the Zika virus and Guillain-Barré on the one hand, and pregnancy and the virus affecting the fetus in terms of microcephaly on the other, is still not confirmed conclusively.

1 Mar 2016

Johns Hopkins Medicine expert offers tips to prevent Zika virus

People looking forward to a warm, sunny vacation may want to pack insect repellent for their trip.

1 Mar 2016

Novel way proposed for developing infectious disease models to uncover hidden patterns of transmission

Ebola. Chikungunya. Zika. Once rare and exotic pathogens keep popping up and turning into household names. It's the new reality as the climate warms, humans expand more into wildlife habitats and air travel shrinks the distances across the globe.

27 Feb 2016

Researchers identify, isolate and characterize two Ebola virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies

The Institute for Research in Biomedicine, affiliated to the Università della Svizzera italiana, and Humabs BioMed SA, a Swiss antibody therapeutics company, have identified, isolated and characterized two Ebola virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies from the blood of a survivor of an Ebola infection.

27 Feb 2016

Understanding range of neurological disease linked with Zika virus is urgent priority, warn researchers

Understanding the scale and range of neurological disease associated with Zika virus infection is an urgent priority, warn researchers from the University of Liverpool's Institute of Infection and Global Health.

27 Feb 2016

Luminex collaborates with University of São Paulo to validate multi-analyte Zika virus assay

Luminex Corporation today announced it is collaborating with the Laboratory of Molecular Evolution & Bioinformatics, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, Brazil to validate a multi-analyte Zika virus assay developed by Luminex partner, GenArraytion, Inc.

26 Feb 2016

Helpful tips to protect yourself and family from Zika virus

Cases of the Zika virus, a mosquito-transmitted infection that may be linked to birth defects, are on the rise. Currently the majority of cases have been reported in the Americas, with Brazil reporting the highest numbers of cases. Although no local mosquito-borne cases have been reported in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported there have been travel-associated cases.

25 Feb 2016

Zika outbreak highlights need for developing and evaluating new vaccines for pregnant women

The recent outbreak of Zika virus disease and its link to fetal development highlights the need for pregnant women and those of reproductive age to be a priority group for developing and evaluating new vaccines and vaccine guidelines for Zika and other emerging infectious diseases, say the authors of a new Viewpoint article in JAMA.

25 Feb 2016

Tackling Zika virus: Challenges ahead

Health officials, drug companies, governments and the public are scrambling to understand and combat the Zika virus. The virus was first identified almost 70 years ago, but little is known about it. And now, officials suspect it could be related to a rise in microcephaly cases in affected countries.

25 Feb 2016

Researchers discover new JE virus transmission route

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus causes serious inflammation of the brain in people and fertility problems in pigs. Mosquitoes were previously the only known transmission route. However, the virus can also be spread from pig to pig by direct contact, and this could enable it to circulate in pigs during the mosquito-free winter season.

24 Feb 2016

Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital jointly release country's first rapid test for Zika virus

Collaboration between two Texas Medical Center institutions has resulted in today's release of the country's first hospital-based rapid tests for the Zika virus.

23 Feb 2016

Study identifies new mechanism for controlling HIV replication

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that HIV infection of human immune cells triggers a massive increase in methylation, a chemical modification, to both human and viral RNA, aiding replication of the virus.

23 Feb 2016

Researchers examine socio-ecology, climate responses of Zika virus transmission

Zika: The virus has emerged as a major public health threat that's rapidly spreading through South and Central America and the Caribbean.

22 Feb 2016

Researchers identify new group of powerful Ebola-fighting antibodies

A research team that included scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has identified a new group of powerful antibodies to fight Ebola virus.

22 Feb 2016

New visiongain report on Zika virus

What can be expected as the Zika outbreak progresses? Which areas are going to be the most affected? This visiongain report discusses the future direction of the Zika virus outbreak and the implications of its spread. It also discussed the infectious disease diagnostics market and the global human vaccines market, both of which are forecast to 2026.

22 Feb 2016

Zika virus can cross the placental barrier, according to new study

A study of pregnant women in Brazil has confirmed the presence of Zika virus in the amniotic fluid of two women who had displayed Zika-like symptoms during their pregnancies.

18 Feb 2016