As Zika Spreads In Asia, Study Shows Virus May Also Infect Adult Brain Cells

A new study demonstrates that Zika can affect adult brain cells in mice, suggesting that the effects of Zika could be bigger than currently presumed. (YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE - Cell Stem Cell - Zika Virus Infects Neural Progenitors in the Adult Mouse Brain and Alters Proliferation

CLICK HERE - Singapore - Minister of Health (MOH) - Sequencing of Zika Virus Strains From Sims Drive/ Aljunied Crescent Cluster

forbes.com - by Tim Chen - September 12, 2016

As concerns rise over the spread of the Zika virus in Southeast Asia, a new study from the Rockefeller University, published in Cell Stem Cell, found that the virus can also affect adult brain cells in mice — suggesting the potential for Zika to hold long-term neurological implications for adult humans.

The preceding weeks have borne witness to a Zika outbreak in Singapore, which surged to almost 300 confirmed cases a mere two weeks after the initial alert; on Wednesday, Malaysia reported its first confirmed case of Zika in a pregnant woman.

Subsequent DNA analysis of two locally transmitted cases in Singapore found that the transmission did not originate from South America, but instead from a mutated version which evolved from existing strains of the virus in circulation around Southeast Asia since the 1960s.

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CLICK HERE - eLife - Mapping global environmental suitability for Zika virus