Health Officials Probe Mysterious Transmission In Fatal Utah Zika Case
The disease does not appear to have been transmitted through a mosquito bite or sexual contact, the two ways previously identified by researchers to spread the virus. And news outlets cover other news on Zika research and prevention taking place in California.
LA Times:
A Mysterious Case Of Zika Raises New Fears Of Person-To-Person Transmission
Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Infection are investigating a worrisome case of Zika virus transmission after the caregiver of a Zika-infected patient who died was found to be infected as well. In late June, an elderly Utah resident who had visited a country where the Zika virus was widely circulating died. Lab tests showed the patient, who suffered from other medical conditions as well, had a viral load more than 100,000 times higher than that usually seen in people infected with Zika. A family member who had cared for the patient was also discovered to be infected, prompting the CDC’s investigation. (Healy, 7/18)
Stat:
Antibiotic May Help Limit Zika’s Damage, New Study Suggests
New research shows that the Zika virus has two routes by which it can infect a developing fetus, depending on when during a pregnancy the infection occurs. It also shows an existing drug might be able to limit the damage wreaked by the virus. The new study, by scientists at the University of California at San Francisco and the University of California at Berkeley, suggests that an antibiotic called duramycin seems to be able to block Zika’s ability to latch onto the cells it wants to affect. (Branswell, 7/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Public-Health Officials Across U.S. Race To Build Defenses Against Zika Virus
With summer in full swing, public-health and mosquito-control officials are pulling out the stops to stop the Zika virus taking root and spreading in the continental U.S. The mosquitoes that are able to spread the virus are flourishing this summer in Key West, Fla., just as they did six years ago during an outbreak of dengue—another disease they can transmit, said Michael Doyle, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. “We’re on high alert,” he said. (McKay and McWhirter, 7/18)
The New York Times:
Zika Data From The Lab, And Right To The Web
Of the hundreds of monkeys in the University of Wisconsin’s primate center, a few — including rhesus macaque 827577 — are now famous, at least among scientists tracking the Zika virus. Since February, a team led by David H. O’Connor, the chairman of the center’s global infectious diseases department, has been conducting a unique experiment in scientific transparency. The tactic may presage the evolution of new ways to respond to fast-moving epidemics. ... But then, instead of saving their data for academic journals, the researchers have posted it almost immediately on a website anyone can visit. (McNeil, 7/18)