There seems to be low-level transmission of Zika virus in India After three adults tested positive for Zika virus in Ahmedabad district, Gujarat in January this year, an adult male from Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu has now tested positive for the Zika virus. Zika infection in the 27-year-old male was diagnosed on July 1 … Continue reading Now, one Zika case reported from Tamil Nadu, India
Guillain-Barré syndrome
A ‘turning point’ in the Zika outbreak
More than 50 years after the infectious pathogen, rubella virus, was identified as the cause of an epidemic of congenital defects, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States confirmed on April 13 that Zika virus infection during pregnancy causes microcephaly and other severe foetal brain defects. The confirmation of causal … Continue reading A ‘turning point’ in the Zika outbreak
Zika virus might cause Guillain-Barré syndrome, a French Polynesia study shows
The first evidence that Zika virus might be causing Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a severe neurological disorder, has emerged from a retrospective study of 42 patients diagnosed with GBS during the Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia (between October 2013 and April 2014). According to results published on March 1 in the journal The Lancet, based on the analysis of … Continue reading Zika virus might cause Guillain-Barré syndrome, a French Polynesia study shows
First diagnostic test kit for Zika virus already created
If all goes well and as expected, the validation process of the first diagnostic test kit capable of diagnosing Zika, dengue and chikungunya simultaneously will be completed by the end of this month. The test kit has already been created. And if the final validation process also goes off well, about 500,000 test kits could … Continue reading First diagnostic test kit for Zika virus already created
Zika Virus – “it really felt like having bad sunburn, all over your body” — by BMJ talk medicine
In this BMJ talk medicine podcast find out how Zika, once a little known virus causing a rash and fever, has subsequently become a global health emergency. How the infection is linked to microcephaly, and what we still need to understand to control the disease “Juliet”, a woman living in London, was diagnosed with a mysterious … Continue reading Zika Virus – “it really felt like having bad sunburn, all over your body” — by BMJ talk medicine
Novel approaches to fight Aedes aegypti mosquito
An estimated 390 million dengue infections occurring each year across 150-odd countries is proof that the current mosquito control measures are grossly inadequate to keep the Aedes species, the vector that transmits dengue, chikungunya and Zika, under check. In Brazil, more than 1.5 million people were affected by Zika last year. That the virus has … Continue reading Novel approaches to fight Aedes aegypti mosquito
Editorial: Gearing up for the Zika threat
The World Health Organization has declared that the outbreak of Zika and congenital malformations and neurological disorders in newborns believed to be connected to the virus is a global public health emergency. Since the current outbreak began in Brazil in May 2015, nearly 1.5 million people are reported to have been affected. As of January … Continue reading Editorial: Gearing up for the Zika threat
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