Tracking the Zika outbreak in the Americas
An outbreak of the Zika virus in the Americas has turned into a public health emergency, according to the World Health Organization. Though most cases of the virus are harmless, some health officials believe it may be linked to a sharp increase in birth defects. Scientists also think Zika infections can trigger a severe neurological disorder, called Guillain-Barré syndrome, in a small number of cases. As a result, health officials and researchers around the world are trying to figure out how the Zika virus works — and what can be done to prevent it. You can follow along here for the latest.
Major Updates
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How the media fell for an 'anti-Zika' condom stunt
When Australia's athletes travel to Rio for the Olympics this summer, they'll be equipped with "anti-Zika condoms" — or at least that's how Reuters, Gizmodo, Fusion, and Jezebel portrayed condoms made through a collaboration between the companies Starpharma and Ansell. Here’s the thing: all condoms protect against Zika infection when used correctly. But the bigger question is this: in an age where disease outbreaks are becoming commonplace, why didn't journalists verify this claim before...
All condoms protect against Zika -
Zika-infected mice gave birth to babies with brain damage
For the first time, researchers have confirmed that the Zika virus indeed causes birth defects — in mice, anyway. After deliberately infecting pregnant mice, they found that the pups were born with brain damage and slightly abnormally small heads, a condition called microcephaly.
This is the first study to directly prove that the virus causes birth defects, the study authors write in Nature. The virus appears to have crossed the placenta, restricting the pups’ growth — and not just in their...
First experimental proof that Zika causes birth defects -
First Zika death in the US reported in Puerto Rico
For the first time, a person in the US has died of complications related to the Zika virus, CNBC reports. Puerto Rico's health secretary announced today that a 70-year-old man with Zika died in February from severe thrombocytopenia, a condition of the blood that can lead to internal bleeding.
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CDC confirms Zika virus does cause microcephaly
For the first time, US disease experts have agreed that the mosquito-borne Zika virus does indeed cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads — a condition known as microcephaly. Until now, the two conditions were linked — but experts didn’t know for sure if Zika caused the brain-damaged condition. After reviewing existing data about Zika, researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have declared in the New England Journal of Medicine that the relationship was,...
This study marks a turning point in the Zika outbreak. -
Scientists finally know what the Zika virus looks like
The incredible image above is the 3D structure of the Zika virus, which has only just been revealed. The finding could help scientists determine how the virus is transmitted and, hopefully, how to prevent infection.
The finding could lead to better diagnostics, or even a vaccine -
The evidence that Zika causes fetal brain damage is now 'awfully strong'
A fetus that was aborted weeks after the mother was infected with Zika provides striking evidence that the virus causes fetal brain abnormalities, researchers say. The report, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, isn't the first to document a case of a mother passing on the virus to a fetus, but it does provide the most detailed look yet at changes that occurred in the fetus' brain following a mother's Zika infection.
Finding the virus in the brain... that’s pretty much a smoking gun. -
Women with Zika should wait eight weeks before trying to become pregnant
Women who have been diagnosed with Zika should wait eight weeks before trying to conceive, the US government announced today. It also said that men should wait at least six months after their symptoms first appear to have unprotected sex. Even though scientists haven't yet conclusively determined that the Zika virus causes birth defects, the guidance is intended to minimize the risk.
These are very complex, deeply personal decisions -
The 2014 World Cup isn't to blame for the spread of the Zika virus in Brazil
World Cup travelers who came to Brazil in 2014 probably weren't the source of the country's Zika virus outbreak, a study published today in Science reveals. A DNA analysis of seven Zika virus samples suggests the virus arrived in Brazil sometime between May and December 2013 — a full six months before the June soccer tournament.
Figuring out the path that Zika has taken, across geography and time -
Zika virus associated with 1 in 100 risk of microcephaly, says study
Women infected with the Zika virus during the first trimester of pregnancy face a roughly 1 in 100 chance that their unborn child will develop the serious birth defect microcephaly. This is according to a new study published earlier this week in The Lancet, which is the first to give a concrete estimate of the risks associated with the virus.
The study confirms that the dangers associated with Zika are low compared to other viral infections. A one percent risk contrasts favorably with a 13...
based on recent outbreak in french polynesia -
FDA moves forward on plan to fight Zika with genetically altered mosquitoes
The federal government has given preliminary approval for a trial to deploy genetically altered mosquitoes in the US as a possible method of fighting the Zika virus. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today that such a field trial would have no significant impact on animal or human health, or on the wider environment. However, the agency still needs to collect comments from the public on the trial — a process that could take months — before the tests can actually go ahead.
gm mosquitoes to the rescue? -
Zika infections in first trimester linked to birth defect
Women who gave birth to babies with birth defects in Brazil last year were often in their first trimester during the Zika outbreak, according to a report released yesterday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The finding provides evidence that getting infected with Zika early in a pregnancy may increase the risk of a baby being born with an abnormally small head, a condition called microcephaly.
574 cases of microcephaly in Brazil last year -
Zika linked to more birth defects than just microcephaly
Microcephaly is "now only one of several" birth abnormalities associated with the Zika virus, Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said during a press conference today. Fetal death, placental insufficiency, fetal growth retardation, and injury to a fetus' central nervous system are all associated with the virus. "We can now conclude that Zika virus is neurotrophic — preferentially affecting tissues in the brain and brain stem of the developing fetus," Chan said,...
Fetal death, placental insufficiency, and fetal growth retardation -
How the Zika virus is probably causing birth defects in children
Strong evidence suggests the mosquito-borne Zika virus is causing infants to be born with birth defects — and a lab model provides clues on how it happens. The virus is capable of infecting the cells that form the brain's outer layer, making them more susceptible to death and preventing them from forming new tissue. Though this study took place in a lab dish, rather than in a human person, it may explain how Zika stunts brain development.
The virus may be infecting the cells that form the brain's outer layer -
Google combats Zika virus with expanded search results and mapping tool
Google today announced new initiatives aimed at curbing the spread of the Zika virus in Brazil and Latin America with enhanced mapping data and more detailed online information about the mosquito-borne virus.
In a blog post published today, the search giant announced that it has partnered with UNICEF to create an open source platform that can be used to map the spread of Zika and identify potential outbreaks. The tool gathers data from a range of sources, including travel and weather...
It's giving $1 million to UNICEF, too -
Zika virus can cause severe neurological disorder, scientists say
Scientists say they’ve confirmed that the Zika virus can cause Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare but severe neurological disorder that kills 5 percent of people who develop it. Authorities in countries with a Zika outbreak should make sure they have enough intensive care beds to deal with an increase of patients with Guillain-Barré.
Zika virus is an equal-opportunity virus. -
Up to nine pregnant women in the US have been infected with Zika, CDC says
Up to nine pregnant women in the United States have been infected with Zika while traveling abroad, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed today. Two of those women elected to get abortions after being diagnosed with the Zika virus, and one woman gave birth to an infant with severe microcephaly — a condition in which the child's head is abnormally small. Two women had miscarriages, while two pregnancies resulted in the births of healthy infants. Two other pregnancies are...
Up to nine pregnant women in the US have been infected -
CDC reports 14 possible cases of sexually transmitted Zika in the US
Fourteen people in the US may have been infected with the Zika virus through sexual contact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today — and some of those people are pregnant women. Although sexual transmission of the virus happens, it's rare; most people are infected through mosquito bites. So far, only two cases of sexual transmission have been confirmed worldwide.
Sexual transmission of Zika is rare -
Pope says contraceptives may be permissible in Zika-affected countries
Pope Francis said it may be acceptable for people to use contraception in countries affected by the Zika virus, in order to prevent children from being born with birth defects, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Catholic Church generally does not condone the use of contraception in most circumstances — even to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV — and Pope Francis has avoided making clear statements on the use of condoms before. However, the Church's special...
The Catholic Church does not condone the use of contraception in most circumstances -
Strongest evidence yet found for Zika’s role in birth defects
Zika virus was found in the brain of a fetus, the strongest evidence yet that the virus causes abnormally small heads and incomplete brain development, according to an article in The New England Journal of Medicine. This is the first documented case of virus transmission from mother to child, though it is not a definitive link between Zika and fetal abnormalities — a connection first suggested by the Brazilian minister of health.
This is the strongest evidence to date that Zika causes...
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Climate change and urbanization are spurring outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases like Zika
The recent Zika virus outbreak has alarmed public health officials by expanding its range — but it’s not alone. It’s just the latest in a number of mosquito-borne illness to spread beyond their endemic areas in recent years. Experts say that the combination of a number of factors have ignited their rapid spread: climate change, urbanization, and easy access to travel. That means outbreaks of this kind are here to stay, and could potentially get even worse.
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President Obama will ask Congress for $1.8 billion to fight the Zika virus
President Obama plans to ask Congress for $1.8 billion to help fight the Zika virus. If approved, the emergency funds will be used to support mosquito control programs and vaccine research, as well as health services for pregnant women with low incomes. So far, only a dozen cases of Zika have appeared in the United States, and there's been only one known case of local transmission in Texas. However, additional funds will go to countries that are currently experiencing Zika outbreaks to help...
To support mosquito control programs and vaccine research -
First US case of Zika virus infection was sexually transmitted, officials say
Health officials in Texas have confirmed the first case of Zika virus transmission in the US, and are pointing to sexual transmission as the culprit. The Dallas County Health and Human Services said in a release that the patient engaged in sexual contact with an infected individual who had recently traveled to a country where the Zika virus is spreading. The CDC tells The Verge that it has confirmed the patient is infected with the Zika virus, but that the agency has not confirmed the method...
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WHO declares the Zika virus spread a public health emergency
The spread of the Zika virus is now being considered a "public health emergency of international concern" by the World Health Organization. The decision was made during an emergency committee meeting of independent experts that was held today. This is just the fourth time that the WHO has declared a public health emergency since the distinction was created in 2007.
The WHO issued the first public health emergency declaration in 2009 during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic. It issued two in 2014 —...
The rare declaration will hopefully help stop the virus -
Zika virus is 'spreading explosively' throughout the Americas, WHO says
The World Health Organization will convene an emergency committee meeting on Monday to discuss the Zika virus, a condition that is "spreading explosively" throughout the Americas, according to the WHO's director general, Margaret Chan. Health officials at the meeting will decide if the recent outbreak of the virus — which has been tentatively linked with a rise in birth defects — constitutes an international public health emergency.
The virus has been tentatively linked with a rise in birth defects
