Zika virus can cause severe damage to retina in infants : eurekalert

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Zika virus can cause severe damage to retina in infants

Zika virus can cause severe damage to retina in infants

In a study published online by JAMA Ophthalmology, Rubens Belfort Jr., M.D., Ph.D., of the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and colleagues examined the affected retinal layers in infants with congenital Zika syndrome and associated retinal abnormalities using optical coherence tomography (OCT).The study included 8 infants (age range, 3-5.1 months) with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), the term created for a variety of anomalies associated with intrauterine Zika virus infection.Optical coherence tomographic images (a noninvasive diagnostic imaging tool that provides cross-sectional retinal images) were obtained in the affected eyes of 7 infants with CZS who had undergone previous ophthalmologic examinations on March 17, 2016, and in 1 infant on January 1, 2016.


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Molecular structure in Zika virus leads to potentially disease-causing RNAs

Molecular structure in Zika virus leads to potentially disease-causing RNAs

AURORA, Colo. (Nov. 10, 2016) - - Researchers, led by scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, have found basic molecular processes used by the Zika virus to "hijack" the cells that it infects and potentially how it makes molecules that are directly linked to disease.The discovery, published in the journal Science, shows that a part of the Zika virus's RNA genome folds up into a complex structure and that this structure leads to the production of smaller RNAs that in related viruses are directly linked to disease.Viruses cannot reproduce on their own, they must infect cells and "hijack" the cell's biological machinery in order to make more copies of themselves.


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Women are 'significantly more likely to be infected by the Zika virus than men'

Women are 'significantly more likely to be infected by the Zika virus than men'

Data shows that 62 per cent of reported Zika cases in Puerto Rico related to femalesClick to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Adult women are significantly more likely to develop Zika than men, researchers have revealed.The study, published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, evaluated 29,000 cases since the outbreak began in Puerto Rico in November last year.Alamy 3 Research showed that the majority of 29,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika since the outbreak began in Puerto Rico related to womenThey found 62 per cent of cases confirmed by laboratory evidence were female – results which echoed similar findings from Brazil and El Salvador.

Women are 'significantly more likely to be infected by the Zika virus than men'