Brazilian scientists decipher Zika virus genome
Disease confirmed related to microcephalyBrazilian scientists in Rio de Janeiro have obtained the genome
sequence of the Zika virus and found the disease is indeed related to
the incidence of microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with small
heads and impaired cognition, that country's official news agency said
Saturday. The scientists were able to identify "the full order of
the virus's genetic data, a significant step towards understanding how
Zika behaves in the human body and how to develop a vaccine as well as
new tests," Agencia Brasil reported. The researchers at Federal
University of Rio de Janeiro's molecular virology lab analyzed the virus
taken from the amniotic fluid of pregnant women, and the scientists
also isolated the virus in the brains of fetuses with microcephaly who
died in Paraiba state in northeastern Brazil right after birth, the
agency said. "What we know now may help us understand why
the virus has chosen children's brain cells over those of adults --the
pregnant women," Professor Renato Santana told the outlet. Brazil's
Health Ministry believes the virus infected most of women who gave
birth to babies with "microcephaly or changes in the central nervous
system suggesting congenital infection," the agency said. Possibility of other malformations Brazilian
scientists are also considering the possibility that the Zika virus may
be capable of causing other types of malformation, the media report
said. Meanwhile, Colombia has seen an increase in the number of
Zika cases, which now number more than 37,000, health authorities there
said Saturday. There are 6,356 pregnant women who are among the
total number of Zika cases, now standing at 37,011, Colombia's National
Institute of Health said in a statement. At least 30,148 cases
have been confirmed through clinical and laboratory tests. Last week,
there were 5,456 new reported cases, according to the Colombian NIH. The
Brazilian Ministry of Health estimated that country's number of Zika
cases as between 497,593 and almost 1.5 million, but that has ceased
counting cases of the Zika virus, according to the World Health
Organization. A problem around the world The U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention now counts 27 countries or
territories in South and North America with active transmission of the
Zika virus. Zika has also been circulating in the Cape Verde islands off
Africa and the Pacific islands of Samoa and Tonga. In January,
the head of the World Health Organization recently said Zika virus was
"spreading explosively" in the Americas, with another official
estimating 3 million to 4 million infections in the region over a
12-month period. "The level of concern is high, as is the level of
uncertainty," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's director-general, told her
organization's executive board members then. "We need to get some
answers quickly." http://www.news4jax.com/health/brazilian-scientists-decipher-zika-virus-genome
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