Scientists have identified another symptom of the Zika virus, this time focusing on the damage it causes to vision. According to Kumar, infants born with congenital Zika virus also have pathology in their eyes, ears, limbs and possibly other organs. A research team from the Wayne State University School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology at the Kresge Eye Institute are the first to show that the Zika virus (ZIKV) can replicate in the eye's retinal cells, causing severe tissue damage and even blindness in some cases. We observed that ZIKV can replicate and survive in retinal cells and ultimately kill them," Kumar said in a statement. "We studied the interaction of ZIKV with retinal cells.
To Test Zika Vaccines, Scientists Need A New OutbreakEnlarge this image toggle caption Allison Shelley/The Washington Post/Getty Images Allison Shelley/The Washington Post/Getty ImagesResearchers are eager to test promising vaccines against Zika, the virus that sparked a global health emergency last year. If successful, the product could protect humans against a number of mosquito-transmitted diseases, including Zika virus, dengue and chikungunya. Warmer-than-usual temperatures are affecting areas across the Western Hemisphere, including hotbeds of the Zika outbreak in Brazil. But uncertainty over whether the Zika epidemic will continue affects researchers' ability to finish testing vaccines. The uncertainty poses challenges for Zika vaccine development.
collected by :Lucy William
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