http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-02-16/no-we-dont-know-if-zika-causing-microcephaly-we-have-no-evidence-its-pesticides
On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 12:31 AM, Dan Nave <[email protected]> wrote: > "Another theory Diamond and Fremont want to explore is whether > pre-existing immunity to dengue in South America may make Zika infections > more severe and account for birth defects and other complications. It’s > possible that antibodies against dengue can cross-react with Zika and make > Zika infections worse, although there’s no data yet to support this idea. > > "However, it is known that a prior infection with dengue puts people at > risk of more severe disease if they are infected a second time with a > slightly different subtype of the virus. > > "“In dengue, if you’re infected with one serotype of the virus and later > you’re infected with another serotype, you can get worse disease because > there is cross-reactivity – something we call antibody-dependent > enhancement,” Diamond explained. “The question is, for people infected with > dengue, can their antibodies cross-react and make Zika worse? And > alternatively, does Zika make dengue worse? This is not the major issue > now, but as the epidemic spreads, Zika could impact dengue. We don’t know > yet, but these are fundamental basic questions that we want to answer.” > > "Dengue is estimated to be responsible for 390 million infections annually > across the globe, according to the World Health Organization. In South > America, 90 percent of people are infected with dengue by age 12, compared > with a much smaller percentage of people in Africa, where dengue infections > are more sporadic. Researchers have not seen similar complications from > Zika infections in Africa. > > "The researchers also acknowledge that microcephaly and Guillian-Barré may > not be related to Zika virus at all. But the mouse models and other tools > they have developed provide an opportunity to explore critical questions > about the virus." > > https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/scientists-team-up-to-fight-zika/ > > > > On Fri, Mar 4, 2016 at 4:29 PM, Dan Nave <[email protected]> wrote: > >> < >> http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-03-zika-virus-infects-human-neural.html >> > >> > >
