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Researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland and Harvard University in Boston said in June that they had developed two vaccines against Zika that protected mice. Since then, a third vaccine, using a harmless cold virus, has been developed, and all of them shielded nonhuman primates against the mosquito-borne virus in experiments reported this week in the journal Science. “It’s really predictive of how things will work in humans, and that’s why we’re so excited,” said Nelson Michael, director of Walter Reed’s HIV Research Program and co-author of the paper. One of the vaccines, developed by Michael’s group, is referred to as ZPIV, short for Zika purified inactivated vaccine. It works the same way vaccines have traditionally worked — by introducing a whole killed virus into the body to stimulate the immune system to fight a disease.
That Zika vaccine is scheduled to go into human clinical trials beginning in October in the U.S. and abroad. One of the other vaccines is called a vector-based adenovirus vaccine. It acts like a Trojan horse, using a harmless cold virus, called an adenovirus, to carry miniscule amounts of Zika genes into the body to infect cells, stimulating an immune response. The third vaccine is what’s known as a plasmid DNA vaccine, which uses genetic material from the virus, folded into harmless DNA, to develop immune defenses. That technology is new and has the advantage of convenience and rapid scale-up. But U.S. regulators have not yet approved any DNA vaccine for use in humans. All three Zika vaccines, however, proved to be effective without any side effects reported.
Antibody response
Dan Barouch, a professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard and an infectious-disease specialist, was the brains behind the DNA vaccine. “The purpose of our paper," he said, "was to see the spectrum of types of immune responses induced by the different vaccines and to understand what’s needed scientifically for vaccine protection. So we showed for all of these vaccines that the protection was the result of vaccine-induced antibodies.” Antibodies are the front-line soldiers of the immune system, and all three generated a level of antibody response to keep the Zika virus at bay.
Nurse practitioner Juliana Duque gives a patient who is pregnant insecticide and and information about mosquito protection at the Borinquen Medical Center in Miami
Because of the seriousness of the Zika epidemic that’s now gripping Latin America, Army and Harvard researchers are working at a rapid pace to produce a vaccine. “We don’t want to have the same thing that happened to us that happened in Ebola," Walter Reed's Michael said. "We thought we worked very fast in Ebola, too, but by the time we got to the fight, the fight was over. So this time, instead of putting tanks on ships and sending them slowly across the ocean, we want to put paratroopers on jets and send them to the fight as soon as possible.”
The Zika epidemic is causing a severe birth defect in Latin America, called microcephaly, in the babies of women who become infected while pregnant. Babies born with microcephaly have abnormally small heads, leading to mental and physical disability. This week, several cases of Zika were reported in the U.S. state of Florida in individuals who had not traveled abroad. The virus is also believed to cause Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare paralytic illness mostly seen in adults.
Three Experimental Zika Vaccines Protect Rhesus Monkeys
The current Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where the virus has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly, which can cause severe developmental problems. Prior research has shown the Zika virus attacks neural progenitor cells - a type of stem cell that develops into different types of nerve or brain cells. The latest research, published in the journal Radiology, draws from imaging and autopsy findings linked with confirmed Zika infections done on 17 infants and fetuses cared for at the Instituto de Pesquisa, in Campina Grande in the state of Paraiba in northeastern Brazil, where the infection has been especially severe. The study also included reports on 28 fetuses or newborns with brain anomalies whose mothers were suspected of having Zika during pregnancy.
Nearly all babies in each group had ventriculomegaly, a condition in which the ventricles, or fluid-filled spaces in the brain, are enlarged. While most of the fetuses had at least one exam showing abnormally small head circumference, suggesting they had microcephaly, three of the fetuses with ventriculomegaly had normal head circumference, but severe ventriculomegaly. Nearly all of the fetuses or babies in the confirmed Zika group and nearly 80 percent of those in the presumed Zika group also had abnormalities of the corpus callosum - a large bundle of nerves that facilitates communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
In all but one of the cases studied, the researchers found instances in which developing neurons did not travel to their proper destination in the brain. In many cases, the babies' skulls seemed to have collapsed on themselves, with overlapping tissues and abnormal skin folds suggestive of a brain that had stopped growing. "From an imaging standpoint, the abnormalities in the brain are very severe when compared to other congenital infections," said study co-author Dr. Deborah Levine of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a radiology professor at Harvard Medical School.
As with other reports, the paper suggests that Zika does the most harm in the first trimester of pregnancy. The researchers plan to keep following the cases to see what impact prenatal Zika infections have on future brain development. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes. An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, making it difficult for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected. Zika is carried by mosquitoes, which transmit the virus to humans. A small number of cases of sexual transmission have been reported in the United States and elsewhere.
Study Shows Extent of Brain Damage From Zika Infections
Steve Huard, acting spokesman for Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County, said the case involves a woman without a significant travel history, indicating the virus was contracted locally. He did not know the timeline on the case, only that it had been confirmed within the past day. He did not have any more details on the patient's illness. "At this point, it's a single case. It's a one off," Huard said. "We don't know where it originated, and we are doing appropriate testing and medical surveillance." Florida Governor Rick Scott said the state department of health has begun door-to-door outreach in Pinellas County, testing individuals to find other cases. Pinellas County is home to St. Petersburg, Clearwater and a number of Gulf Coast beaches that are popular tourist destinations.
Scott said the health department and Pinellas County Mosquito Control have begun "aggressive spraying and mosquito abatement efforts," and he said any pregnant woman who wants a free Zika test or a Zika prevention kit should contact the health department. The Zika virus was first detected in Brazil last year and has since spread across the Americas. The virus poses a risk to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects. It has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly in Brazil. Federal health officials on Friday warned pregnant women not to travel to Miami Beach after Florida confirmed that the mosquito-borne Zika virus was active in the popular tourist destination, becoming the second area in Miami to be affected after Wynwood.
A Miami-Dade County mosquito control worker sprays around a home in the Wynwood area of Miami
Mara Gambineri, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health said the department believes ongoing local transmission is only occurring in the small areas identified in Miami-Dade County. On Tuesday, Florida also announced four new cases of Zika in the Wynwood neighborhood, where officials have been aggressively spraying for the mosquitoes that carry the virus for weeks. Gambineri said in an email the cases of individuals in Wynwood experienced Zika symptoms in mid-July, prior to the start of an aerial spraying campaign. Gambineri said the cases were only announced today because the individuals required antibody testing to rule out other mosquito-borne illness, such as dengue and Chikungunya.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said Florida needs to make it clear that "anywhere these mosquitoes are present is at risk." Adalja said while knowing the exact area of transmission is important for issuing travel warnings to pregnant women, he said the entire state needs to be vigilant. Adalja expects multiple counties in Florida will be affected, as well as areas in Texas and Louisiana, though these outbreaks will be limited to discreet areas.
Florida Announces Zika Case Hundreds of Miles from Miami
Residents in the Thai capital were urged not to be alarmed after the cases were confirmed in the Sathorn area of the city, an up-market neighborhood popular with the city's expatriate community and part of the capital's business district. "Of the 21 cases confirmed in the Sathorn area there was one pregnant woman who recovered and gave birth successfully," Ministry of Public Health spokesman Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai told Reuters by telephone. "Mother and newborn are safe," he said, adding that the pregnant woman's husband had recently returned from Singapore. Thailand first recorded the Zika virus in 2012 and the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority conducts regular testing for the virus.
The new Thai cases follow confirmation from Malaysia on Wednesday of its first case of the Zika virus in a pregnant woman, a 27-year-old living in a southern city next to Singapore. Island city-state Singapore reported its first locally infected Zika patient on Aug. 27 and since then, the number of reported infections has swelled to more than 300. Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized, besides other brain abnormalities. Suwannachai said that 30 pregnant women with Zika were being monitored in Thailand. So far, six of the women had given birth without complications or any birth defects.
Sixteen out of Thailand's 76 provinces have confirmed cases of Zika since January this year, according to the health ministry, but no birth defects or deaths have been reported. "There have been no deaths or complications so far, so I urge our brothers and sisters not to be alarmed," said Suwannachai. Although microcephaly is typically detected during ultrasounds in the late second and early third trimester of pregnancy, it can be detected as early as 18-20 weeks gestation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Thailand finds 21 new cases of Zika in Bangkok, including pregnant woman
Roderico Ofrin, WHO regional emergencies director for Southeast Asia, said countries need to adopt “effective surveillance and reporting systems” to closely monitor the spread of the disease. “WHO is working with countries across the South East Asia region to continue to prevent, detect ,and respond to Zika virus transmission,” Ofrin said in emailed comments to VOA.
Illness surveillance
The strategy “emphasizes the ongoing importance of enhancing vector control; strengthening Zika virus and birth-defect surveillance, scaling up laboratory capacity and amplifying risk communication and community engagement,” he said. A report in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal identified India, China, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia as high-risk countries, while in Sub-Saharan Africa, Angola has faced increased risks due to its historical ties with Brazil. The Lancet warned that “at least 2.6 billion people – over a third of the global population, living in Africa, Asia and the Pacific were vulnerable to the Zika virus.
Pregnant women at risk
At most risk are pregnant women. Becoming infected with a virus strain now impacting populations in South America can result in child birth defects, especially microcephaly, affecting normal development of an infant’s head. The virus is also transmitted through sexual contact, blood transfusions and from mother to child, and has been linked to muscle weakening and paralysis due to damaged nerve cells known as Guillain-Barre syndrome. South America has borne the brunt of the virus’ severe impact, especially Brazil, where hundreds of cases of microcephaly have been confirmed since the outbreak in 2015. Southeast Asian governments have stepped up surveillance and detection of the virus in communities, with chemical sprays over areas known as breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito.
A pregnant couple walk together at a potential zika cluster in Singapore
Singapore has reported more than 240 Zika cases, while Malaysia and Thailand have also reported infections. Travel warnings have also been posted by the United States, Britain, Australia and Taiwan, warning pregnant women against nonessential travel. But Asian-based scientists say the latest outbreak has left many questions unanswered. A strain of the Zika virus has been embedded in Asia for many years and associated with a mild fever, rash and joint pains, which doctors say pass after a week of treatment. The Zika virus, as a result, has received less attention than more virulent diseases such as dengue fever and malaria.
Monitoring breeding grounds
Microcephaly, a rare birth defect in which babies develop abnormally small heads, is one of a constellation of Zika-associated problems increasingly being seen in children born to mothers infected during pregnancy with the Zika virus. Other types of birth defects observed include seizures, deafness, blindness and a range of neurological and developmental abnormalities. Earlier this year, a U.S. analysis estimated the risk of microcephaly following a mother's infection with the virus during the first trimester of pregnancy at between 1 percent and 13 percent.
That figure does not include the overall risk of risk of birth defects, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a panel discussion on Zika. "If you're talking about any congenital defect I think it's going to be much higher than 13 percent," he said. "I think we're going to see something very disturbing." The panel was presented by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in collaboration with Reuters. (http://tinyurl.com/hhepvwj) The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over Zika’s link to microcephaly in February. The mosquito-borne virus has spread rapidly through the Americas, with Brazil hit hardest so far. On Wednesday, the U.S. Congress approved $1.1 billion to fund research and efforts to contain Zika.
Speaking on the same Zika panel on Thursday, Dr. Marcia Castro, an associate professor of demography at Harvard, said physicians in Brazil are studying the initial wave of babies impacted by Zika who are now reaching their first birthday. In addition to seizures, agitation and frequent crying, these children are also exhibiting a severe type of reflux that prevents them from eating, she said, adding that it is unclear how long these children will live. "Another study with mice shows Zika also affects the brain of an adult," she said, potentially impacting long-term memory and depression.
As of Sept. 17, Brazil had confirmed 1,949 cases of microcephaly linked to Zika, mostly concentrated in the country’s northeast region. Another 3,030 cases are still under investigation. In the United States, the virus has infected tens of thousands of people on the island territory of Puerto Rico. The spread of the virus in Miami, Florida, where a handful of locally transmitted cases emerged, has been limited through aggressive mosquito control. "Puerto Rico is going through a terrible situation and we have to help them right now," Fauci said. "They really need our help." With new Zika funding in hand, Fauci said the first priority will be to move forward clinical trials of five potential vaccines.
Zika-related birth defects likely higher than anticipated: panel
Dengue fever is a viral disease that is mainly spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads the Zika virus. The virus can cause flu-like symptoms and in rare cases can result in dangerous or deadly infections. This is the second dengue fever case reported in the state this year, according to the Florida Health Department. One other dengue fever case was reported in Key West in June. That island battled an outbreak of dengue fever from 2009 to 2010.
Since July, the Florida Health Department has been fighting an outbreak of locally transmitted Zika virus that has infected approximately 115, according to the state health department. For months, health officials have been trying to diminish the population of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to reduce the chance they will spread the Zika virus in Florida. Miami-Dade Mosquito Control is now conducting "aggressive" mosquito control practices to diminish the possible spread of the dengue fever virus, according to the Florida Health Department.
Dengue fever can result in symptoms including fever, rash, and aches and pains. In severe cases, an initial infection can turn into dengue hemorrhagic fever, in which the blood vessels become permeable. This can lead to shock or possibly death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dengue Fever Infection Reported in Miami Area
Women infected early in pregnancy were most at risk of giving birth to babies with unusually small heads, a condition known as microcephaly, a report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The Zika outbreak, which began in the middle of last year, has mainly swept across Latin America and the Caribbean. The viral disease can be spread by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito or sexual contact.
The toll of microcephaly in Colombia was smaller than in Brazil, which saw a nine-fold increase in the disorder, perhaps because much of the population in Colombia lives at higher elevations where mosquitoes are scarce, according to the report. “This preliminary report on Zika virus disease and microcephaly in Colombia demonstrates that an increase in microcephaly is not specific to Brazil,” the centers said. “This finding confirms that countries with Zika virus outbreaks are likely to experience large increases in microcephaly and other Zika-related birth defects.” Colombia recorded 476 cases of microcephaly from Jan. 31 to the middle of last month, four times higher than the same period last year, the report said.
Of those cases, 432 infants were born alive and 44 were lost to either miscarriage, abortion or stillbirth. “The peak in cases of microcephaly in Colombia came about six months after the period in which the highest number of new Zika infections was reported, which suggests that the highest risk period for Zika-associated microcephaly is likely to be in the first half of pregnancy, particularly the first trimester and early in the second,” the centers said. Colombia reported 105,000 cases of Zika virus, including nearly 20,000 cases in pregnant women, from Aug. 9, last year, through to Nov. 26.
Deformed babies quadrupled amid Zika crisis: report - Taipei Times
Nah, that was just a kid born with a Muslim brain."Spain has recorded the first case in Europe of a baby born with the microcephaly birth defect associated with the Zika virus, Spanish health authorities said on Monday."
More: Spain registers first case in Europe of baby born with Zika-related defect | Reuters
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They live in Texas
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Of the 442 women in a U.S. Zika registry who had completed their pregnancies, 26 of their babies had one or more birth defect thought to be linked with Zika infection during pregnancy, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. A total of 18 of the fetuses or babies had microcephaly, meaning an abnormally small-sized head, which often signifies arrested brain development. Once considered a mild, mosquito-borne infection, Zika has been linked with thousands of cases of birth defects in Brazil and elsewhere.
Evaristo Miqueli, a natural resources officer with Broward County Mosquito Control, looks through a microscope at Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Pembroke Pines, Florida
The birth defects occurred among fetuses or babies of pregnant women from the United States who were exposed to Zika in places where the virus was spreading, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said the study is important because it shows the rate of microcephaly and other fetal malformations among babies born to women in the United States is similar to the estimated rate of infections in Brazil. "Zika poses a real risk throughout pregnancy, but especially in the first trimester; it's critical that pregnant women not travel to areas where Zika is spreading," Frieden said in a statement.
Ericka Torres holds her 3-month-old son, Jesus, who was born with microcephaly, at their home in Guarenas, Venezuela
In the study, 11 percent of the 442 women infected during the first trimester had fetuses or babies with birth defects. The study also shed light on whether babies whose mothers had Zika symptoms were more likely to be affected than those who had lab evidence of infection but no symptoms. In the study, whether a pregnant woman had symptoms of Zika infection did not seem to matter. The researchers found the same proportion of pregnancies with birth defects regardless of whether the mother showed symptoms.
Pregnant woman waits for a routine general checkup, which includes Zika screening, at the maternity ward of the Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The finding is significant because only one in five people infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus ever develop symptoms, meaning many pregnant women who become infected likely would never know it. Locations where the women in the study were infected include Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Republic of Marshall Islands and Venezuela. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika.
US Study: Birth Defects Seen in 6 Percent of Zika Pregnancies
The substances are part of a growing arsenal of antibody-related treatments to fight the disease, which causes severe birth defects in babies. The most serious of these defects is microcephaly, in which children are born with a small head and brain that cause severe disabilities. No antibody treatments have yet received regulatory approval, say experts.
Virus is the target
Unlike other Zika-neutralizing antibodies that have been isolated from human patients, the newly-discovered antibodies only target the virus. Other human antibodies in development reportedly recognize the closely-related Zika and dengue viruses, increasing the risk of unwanted side effects. In particular, experts say other antibody treatments could make a dengue infection worse in regions that are endemic for both diseases, should people become infected with both viruses and are treated for Zika. Researchers say the specificity of the Zika antibodies would avoid such cross-reactivity and side effects.
WHO declared health emergency
More than 80,000 people became infected with Zika in 69 countries and regions worldwide beginning in 2015. Before it was quelled, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a public health emergency, saying there was an urgent need for the development of treatments and preventative strategies. Chinese researchers identified a total of 13 monoclonal antibodies in the blood of a patient who had been infected with Zika and returned to China from Venezuela.
Two antibodies look promising
Two of the antibodies, called Z23 and Z3L1, are thought to thwart infection by targeting sites on on the virus' outer envelope protein, hindering the pathogen's ability to enter cells. The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Researchers say more study is needed to understand specifically how Z23 and Z3L1 offer protection against Zika.
Human Zika Antibodies Prevent Infection in Mice
