There are no FDA-approved vaccines for Zika virus, nor is the FDA aware of vaccines or treatments in advanced development for Zika at this time. FDA stands ready to work with medical product developers to clarify regulatory and data requirements necessary to move products forward in development as quickly as possible.
No vaccine exists to prevent Zika virus disease (Zika).
Prevent Zika by avoiding mosquito bites (see below).
Mosquitoes that spread Zika virus bite mostly during the daytime.
Mosquitoes that spread Zika virus also spread dengue and chikungunya viruses.
Prevent sexual transmission of Zika by using condoms or not having sex
April 28, 2016
No vaccine exists…Prevent Zika by avoiding mosquito bites…
This is the first report on ZIKV detection among Neotropical primates, which stands as a caveat for the possibility that they could act as reservoirs, similar to the sylvatic cycle of yellow fever in Brazil.
Here we present the 3.7 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of ZIKV, and show that the overall architecture of the virus is similar to that of other flaviviruses. Sequence and structural comparisons of the ZIKV envelope (E) protein with other flaviviruses show that parts of the E protein closely resemble the neurovirulent West Nile and Japanese encephalitis viruses, while others are similar to dengue virus (DENV). However, the contribution of the E protein to flavivirus pathobiology is currently not understood. The virus particle was observed to be structurally stable even when incubated at 40 °C, in sharp contrast to the less thermally stable DENV. This is also reflected in the infectivity of ZIKV compared to DENV serotypes 2 and 4 (DENV2 and DENV4) at different temperatures. The cryo-electron microscopy structure shows a virus with a more compact surface. This structural stability of the virus may help it to survive in the harsh conditions of semen, saliva and urine. Antibodies or drugs that destabilize the structure may help to reduce the disease outcome or limit the spread of the virus.
Structure of the thermally stable Zika virus : Nature : Nature Publishing Group
On the basis of this review, we conclude that a causal relationship exists between prenatal Zika virus infection and microcephaly and other serious brain anomalies.
April 14, 2016
Several suggested steps have been proposed which could be taken to initiate ZIKV antiviral drug discovery using both high throughput screens as well as structure-based design based on homology models for the key proteins. We now describe preliminary homology models created for NS5, FtsJ, NS4B, NS4A, HELICc, DEXDc, peptidase S7, NS2B, NS2A, NS1, E stem, glycoprotein M, propeptide, capsid and glycoprotein E using SWISS-MODEL.
May 5, 2016
