Zika virus is a related to the dengue, yellow fever and West Nile virus, and is transmitted mainly by Aedes mosquitoes, but can also spread through sexual contact, blood transfusions or from a pregnant mother to her fetus. It is named after the Zika forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947. Since then, it has been known to occur in a narrow equatorial region of Africa to Asia, but from 2007 it has spread eastward and into the Americas, where it has recently reached pandemic levels. The infection from Zika virus does not cause many symptoms and is often mild or asymptomatic, but it can spread from a pregnant woman to her fetus and cause microcephaly (small underdeveloped skull) and other severe birth defects.
Effective vaccines have existed for several viruses in the same family as Zika, such as yellow fever, but the WHO has suggested that the priority is to develop inactivated vaccines that are safe to use in pregnant women. Safe Zika vaccines are being developed using different approaches. One approach is ‘recombinant’, which involves genetic engineering, while another is ‘inactivated’ and involves a form of the virus that is is incapable of reproducing itself but can still trigger an immune response. Some vaccines are undergoing clinical trials, but extensive research and testing is required prior to being implemented worldwide to ensure safety.
Scrubs & Stilettos 