Zika virus infection acquired during pregnancy was associated with congenital microcephaly. We describe two cases of ZIKV infection in the 36th week of pregnancy whose fetuses had preserved head circumference at birth and findings of subependymal cysts and lenticulostriate vasculopathy in postnatal imaging. These represent the first signs of congenital brain injury acquired due to […]
Showing the closest link yet between Zika virus and fetal brain injury in an animal model that closely resembles humans, researchers today described brain abnormalities in the fetus of a macaque experimentally infected during the late stage of her pregnancy. In other developments, Thailand reported several more Zika cases, many of them linked to a […]
Um estudo brasileiro publicado na revista Clinical Infectious Diseases revelou que a infecção de gestantes pelo vírus Zika pode representar um risco para o desenvolvimento neurológico dos bebês mesmo quando ocorre poucos dias antes do nascimento. “Predominava, até então, o paradigma de que a infecção seria preocupante somente se ocorresse no primeiro trimestre da gestação. […]
Given the huge burden that Chikungunya and Zika fevers impose to public health in the affected countries and the lack of effective interventions against them, the aim of this work was to evaluate the antiviral potential of bovine lactoferrin (bLf) – an iron-binding glycoprotein with broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties – in both CHIKV and ZIKV infections. […]
A rapid point-of-care test is needed to detect the virus, especially at low resource settings. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this report, we describe the development of a reverse transcription isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) assay for the identification of ZIKV. RT-RPA assay was portable, sensitive (21 RNA molecules), and rapid (3-15 minutes). No cross-reactivity was detected […]
O vírus Zika é capaz de bloquear a ativação do sistema imunológico da pessoa infecctada. A constatação veio a partir do mapeamento genético do vírus que circula em Pernambuco, sequenciado pela primeira vez no estado por pesquisadores da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) de Pernambuco em parceria com profissionais da Universidade de Glasgow, no Reino Unido. […]
The full-length genome sequence including non-coding regions of a South American ZIKV isolate from a patient with classical symptoms will support efforts to develop genetic tools for this virus. Detection of sfRNA that counteracts interferon responses is likely to be important for further understanding of pathogenesis and virus-host interactions. Read more
Umas poucas dezenas de pessoas nos Estados Unidos e no Canadá receberam as primeiras doses de duas formulações candidatas a vacina contra o vírus zika nas últimas semanas. Essa é a primeira vez que potenciais vacinas contra o zika são testadas em seres humanos. Ambas as formulações são o que os pesquisadores chamam de vacina […]
Zika virus is related to dengue virus, and here we report that a subset of antibodies targeting a conformational epitope isolated from patients with dengue virus also potently neutralize Zika virus. The crystal structure of two of these antibodies in complex with the envelope protein of Zika virus reveals the details of a conserved epitope, […]
To aid in the development of antivirals, we present two high-resolution crystal structures of the ZIKV NS5 methyltransferase: one bound to S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and the other bound to SAM and 7-methyl guanosine diphosphate (7-MeGpp). We identify features of ZIKV NS5 methyltransferase that lend to structure-based antiviral drug discovery. Specifically, SAM analogs with functionalities on the […]
