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Zika Virus link to Microcephaly, causes, first appearance, history, research
Scientists discovered Zika Virus role in Microcephaly
Chinese researchers reported that they are about to solve the mystery of why the Zika virus causes microcephaly. Microcephaly is a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies.
According to a study published in the US journal Science, a team led by Cheng-Feng Qin of the Beijing Institute of Microcephaly.
Epidemiology reported that one single genetic change likely acquired in 2013, give the mosquito-borne virus the ability to cause fetal microcephaly.
Zika Virus History and WHO Global Warnings
In 1947, Zika was first identified in Uganda. After that incident, Zika virus reappears in the America.
In 2015, It rapidly swept through South and Central America due to its link to congenital brain abnormalities, especially microcephaly during pregnancy.
The World Health Organization declared Zika virus an epidemic in early 2016.
Zika virus Genetic mutation research work
Scientists found one critical mutation that conferred the ability to cause microcephaly in mouse models of fetal infection that one change was S139N. S139N replaced a serine amino acid with an asparagine at the 139th position of a Zika protein called prM. S139N change coincided with initial reports of microcephaly. This change also made the virus more lethal to human neural precursor cells.
This prM. S139N change also made the virus more lethal to human neural precursor cells.