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Zhuang Pinghui

Chinese researchers have shown for the first time that the Zika virus can enter the brains of mice fetuses and stunt their development
The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to cases of microcephaly in Brazil and other places. Microcephaly refers to abnormally smaller heads in newborn babies that may lead to developmental delays and other health conditions such as sight and heart conditions.
With onset of warm, wet weather, Hong Kong should be on guard against spread of Zika virus
It is also linked to neurological complications in adults, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, which leads to progressive paralysis and can be fatal in patients without access to intensive care facilities.
Such is the concern of the spread of the Zika virus that some scientists and medical experts are urging that this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro be postponed or relocated, due to the size of the outbreak in the Brazilian city. Some athletes have also withdrawn.

Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) injected a strain of virus directly into the brains of mice embryos during mid pregnancy and found that it destroyed neural progenitor cells inside the growing embryo.
The study, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, shows the infected virus replicated 300 times three days later. The infection raised cell deaths significantly and the brain shrank noticeably five days after the injection.
Zika virus may cause temporary paralysis, in addition to birth defects, new findings suggest
Xu Zhiheng, the correspondence author of the paper and a researcher at CAS Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, said the injection was conducted 13.5 days into pregnancy and found the size of the brain shrank by about one third.
“The brain development of mice is similar to that of humans until the late pregnancy term. The most important finding of the mice experiments is the Zika virus infects neural stem cells and causes neuron deaths, which is direct evidence that Zika causes microcephaly,” Xu said.
The most important finding of the mice experiments is the Zika virus infects neural stem cells and causes neuron deaths, which is direct evidence that Zika causes microcephaly
Xu Zhiheng, researcher
Meanwhile, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, infected pregnant mice with the virus and found that it could infect many parts of the body, but particularly the brain, and caused brain cell death, according to a study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
Other US scientists have also released their mice model studies on how the Zika virus affect brain development.
Researchers led by Indira Mysorekar at Washington University in St Louis who infected pregnant mice with the Zika virus found it not only damaged the brain but attacked the placenta, reducing the nutrient and blood exchange between the mother and fetus.
Mysorekar and her colleagues published their findings in the journal Cell.
In pictures: Zika virus and the human face of a potential epidemic
Health professionals are calling for the Games to be postponed or moved. Dr Amir Attaran, Canadian professor of law and population health, wrote last week in a special commentary in the Harvard Public Health Review that the influx of visitors to Brazil would result in the avoidable births of malformed babies.

“It cannot possibly help when an estimated 500,000 foreign tourists flock into Rio for the Games, potentially becoming infected, and returning to their homes where both local Aedes mosquitoes and sexual transmission can establish new outbreaks,” he wrote.
It cannot possibly help when an estimated 500,000 foreign tourists flock into Rio for the Games ... and return to their homes where both local Aedes mosquitoes and sexual transmission can establish new outbreaks
Dr Amir Attaran, Harvard Public Health Review
The virus was first isolated from monkeys living in the jungle in Uganda in 1947 and in 1954 the first official case in a human was registered in Nigeria.
Zika was cause for little concern previously, it was regarded as a mild virus causing a slight rash and fever and having no long-term complications.
But all that changed last year. According to the World Health Organisation’s most recent update, the Zika virus is present in 52 countries – and it’s much more dangerous.
Since the Zika virus surfaced in Brazil last May, the disease has spread in Latin America and has been declared a health emergency by the World Health Organisation, with Games host city Rio de Janeiro having the highest number of suspected cases in the country.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that it would continue to monitor the Zika virus threat closely but at present saw no need to cancel, delay or move the games that are due to open in August.



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Zika virus

Chinese researchers find direct link of Zika virus to brain shrinkage and cell death in infected mice

Zika virus researcher Xu Zhiheng, right, and Qin Chengfeng from the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology discuss the findings of the study in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

The Zika virus is spread by mosquitos of the Aedes genus. Photo: Reuters

An aerial view of Copacabana Beach, which will host the beach volleyball, marathon swimming, road cycling and triathlon during the 2016 Rio Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 25, 2016. With 100 days to go before the Olympic games begin in Rio de Janeiro, a host nation famous for doing things at the last minute faces a novel situation - the organisation is not an issue, political turmoil and apathy are. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes SEARCH "100 OLYMPICS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES

(160512) -- BEIJING, May 12, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A researcher shows image of the neural stem cells from the mouse infected by Zika virus at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, capital of China, May 11, 2016. Chinese researchers said Wednesday they have found direct evidence that Zika infection causes microcephaly, a birth defect marked by an abnormally small head, in mouse experiments. 
 (Xinhua/Cai Yang)(wyo)

An edes aegypti mosquito is seen inside a test tube as part of a research on preventing the spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases at a control and prevention center in Guadalupe, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo

The Zika virus explained: why the world is not taking chances with birth defect-linked disease spread by mosquitoes

In this Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 photo, Daniele Ferreira dos Santos holds her son Juan Pedro as he undergoes visual exams at the Altino Ventura foundation in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Santos was never diagnosed with Zika, but she blames the virus for her son’s defect and for the terrible toll it has taken on her life. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A pregnant woman waits to be attended with her couple at the Women National Hospital in San Salvador, El Salvador January 29, 2016. El Salvador on January 21 urged women in the Central American nation to avoid getting pregnant until 2018 to avoid their children developing birth defects from the mosquito-borne Zika virus which has rampaged through the Americas. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

City workers fumigate the Jardines de Merliot neighbourhood as part of preventive measures against the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases in Santa Tecla, El Salvador January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

Controller of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health Doctor Leung Ting-hung briefs media on Zika Virus at Central Government Office in Tamar. 01FEB16 SCMP/ Sam Tsang

epa05133912 Ana Beatriz is held by her father Alipio Martin during a medical appointment at the Altino Ventura Foundation in Recife, Brazil, 29 January 2016. In Brazil, authorities are trying to shed light on the link between Zika virus related to 4000 babies born with microcephaly. EPA/Percio Campos

Daniele Ferreira dos Santos holds her son Juan Pedro during a medical examination in North-east Brazil. Santos was never diagnosed with Zika, but she blames the virus for her son’s defect and for the terrible toll it has taken on her life. Photo: AP

Zika virus definitely causes microcephaly and other birth abnormalities, US CDC announces

Baby Lara, who is less then 3-months old and was born with microcephaly, is examined by a neurologist at the Pedro I hospital in Campina Grande, Paraiba state, Brazil. Photo: AP

An aedes aegypti mosquitoe is seen inside a test tube as part of a research on preventing the spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases at a control and prevention center in Guadalupe, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, in this March 8, 2016, file photo. Researchers around the world are now convinced the Zika virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, the World Health Organization said March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/Files

Hong Kong faces greater threat from Zika virus with arrival of summer

The mosquito-borne Zika virus has been linked to an increase in birth defects in South America among infants with microcephaly, a condition characterised by an abnormally small head. Photo: AP

Controller of the Centre for Health Protection(CHP) of the Department of Health Dr Leung Ting-hung briefs the media on the latest arrangements of the 2015 Southern Hemisphere Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme, at the Risk Communication Centre at CHP in Mong Kok. 03JUN15

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Findings are the first evidence that mosquito-borne virus causes microcephaly, says team leader


Chinese researchers find direct link of Zika virus to brain shrinkage and cell death in infected mice

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Findings are the first evidence that mosquito-borne virus causes microcephaly, says team leader

Findings are the first evidence that mosquito-borne virus causes microcephaly, says team leader