Research claims 'proof' of link between Zika virus and microcephaly in babies

Evidence implicating the Zika virus in a surge of brain-damaged babies in Latin America is mounting, with the publication of two reports of the disease found in the neural tissue of affected infants.

Scientists in Slovenia reported in the New England Journal of Medicine they had found traces of Zika virus in the brain of an aborted foetus with severe microcephaly, a condition that causes unusually small skulls and brains, leading to death or disability.

No scientific proof has been found that Zika causes microcephaly, though the UN’s World Health Organisation (WHO) has said a link is “strongly suspected” and has declared Zika a “public health emergency of international concern”.

There is no cure or vaccine for the virus which, in most people, causes mild symptoms.

Even the detection of the virus in baby brain tissue does not constitute final proof that Zika in fact caused the microcephaly, and experts fear that finding conclusive evidence either way, could take years.

A separate team led by researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on tests on two newborns with microcephaly who died within 20 hours after birth, and two miscarriages.

All four mothers had symptoms of Zika infection, but were not tested for it. Both newborns had evidence of Zika virus in the brain.

“This report describes evidence of link between Zika virus infection and microcephaly …” wrote the team.

To read this article in its entirety, please click on the following link:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/11/zika-virus-microcephaly-babies-evidence-research

#Zikavirus #microcephaly #newborn #WHO