Eliza Bliss-Moreau and Koen Van Rompay (CNPRC), David O'Connor (WNPRC)

The NPRCs are at the forefront of research urgently needed to understand Zika virus, to help develop vaccines for it, and especially to prevent pregnant mothers from transmitting it to their unborn children.

The rapidly spreading mosquito-borne virus is strongly linked to fetal abnormalities including a neurological birth disorder called microcephaly, which results in smallness of the head, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development. Babies born with microcephaly have a limited life expectancy and poor brain function.

Transmitted through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito – the same insect that transmits Dengue – Zika has now spread to more than 20 countries in the Americas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning pregnant women not to travel to affected areas. Health officials in several affected areas are advising women to avoid becoming pregnant, in some cases for up to two years.

The Zika outbreak is a pandemic in progress, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (1).

The virus is mild for most people who acquire it, causing a fever, headache, rash and perhaps pink eye. The danger to pregnant mothers is the urgent concern and the main reason for the travel advisories. The virus may pass through the placenta to a growing fetus. This does not happen with the Dengue, West Nile or chikungunya viruses. Zika has been found in breast milk, but it has not yet been confirmed whether it can be passed to an infant through nursing. Immune-compromised people may also be at a higher risk of more serious illness. Zika virus can also be transmitted through sexual contact (2).

The centers have strong research programs in global infectious diseases and experience researching Dengue, HIV, Ebola, malaria, Lyme disease, chikungunya, influenza and more.

There is an urgent need for researchers to understand the pathogenesis of Zika virus infection and especially how the virus affects the fetus and causes microcephaly. This information can then be used to help develop an effective vaccine or treatment for women, so doctors can prevent more birth defects and infant deaths.

A unique aspect of the NPRCs’ Zika research is that NPRC scientists are publishing online lab notebooks for anyone to see, rather than waiting to publish their data first in a scientific journal. (Please see the Live Research Updates section below). On Feb. 10, major government funding agencies and scientific journals released a statement supporting open-data sharing during public-health emergencies such as Zika. “In the context of a public-health emergency of international concern, there is an imperative on all parties to make any information available that might have value in combatting the crisis,” the statement read.

Article Citations

1. Zika Virus in the Americas — Yet Another Arbovirus Threat

2. Transmission of Zika Virus Through Sexual Contact with Travelers to Areas of Ongoing Transmission — Continental United States, 2016

Live Research Updates and Publications

CNPRC Zika Virus Research Blog

CPRC Zika Virus Research Page

ONPRC ZIKV NHP Model Development Pilot Project

WaNPRC Zika Research Page

WNPRC Zika Research Page

WNPRC Zika Open-Research Portal

Recent NPRC Publications

2020

Block LN, Aliota MT, Friedrich TC, Schotzko ML, Mean KD, Wiepz GJ, Golos TG, Schmidt JK
Embryotoxic impact of Zika virus in a rhesus macaque in vitro implantation model.
Biol Reprod. 2020 Jan 4. pii: 5695513. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioz236. 2020.

Haese N, Hirsch AJ, Streblow DN
Isolation and Detection of Zika Virus-Infected Rhesus Macaques Lymph Node Cellsand Splenocytes.
Methods Mol Biol. 2020;2142:197-213. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0581-3_16. 2020.

Jaeger AS, Weiler AM, Moriarty RV, Rybarczyk S, O'Connor SL, O'Connor DH, Seelig DM, Fritsch MK, Friedrich TC, Aliota MT
Spondweni virus causes fetal harm in Ifnar1(-/-) mice and is transmitted by Aedesaegypti mosquitoes.
Virology. 2020 Aug;547:35-46. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2020.05.005. Epub 2020 May 24. 2020.

Lim SY, Osuna CE, Best K, Taylor R, Chen E, Yoon G, Kublin JL, Schalk D, Schultz-Darken N, Capuano S, Safronetz D, Luo M, MacLennan S, Mathis A, Babu YS, Sheridan WP, Perelson AS, Whitney JB
A direct-acting antiviral drug abrogates viremia in Zika virus-infected rhesusmacaques.
Sci Transl Med. 2020 Jun 10;12(547). pii: 12/547/eaau9135. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aau9135. 2020.

Panganiban AT, Blair RV, Hattler JB, Bohannon DG, Bonaldo MC, Schouest B, Maness NJ, Kim WK
A Zika Virus Primary Isolate Induces Neuroinflammation, Compromises theBlood-Brain Barrier, and Upregulates CXCL12 in Adult Macaques.
Brain Pathol. 2020 Jun 25. doi: 10.1111/bpa.12873. 2020.

More...

Reference Materials and Recent News Articles

The CDC Resource Page for Zika Virus

June 10, 2020
Galidesivir Stops Zika Viral Replication in Primate Model

May 22, 2020
Yerkes Researchers Find Zika Infection Soon After Birth Leads to Long-Term Brain and Behavior Problems

December 20, 2019
Researchers Make Major Strides Towards a Vaccine Against the Zika Virus

August 1, 2019
Fear of more dangerous second Zika, dengue infections unfounded in monkeys

June 17, 2019
Defense Department Puts A Rush On Zika Vaccine Testing In San Antonio

June 6, 2019
Fed's Give Texas Researchers $2 Million To Find Vaccine For Zika Virus

June 6, 2019
SA organization receives DOD grant to fight Zika using marmosets

June 5, 2019
Research institute awarded grant for development of Zika Virus vaccine

June 4, 2019
San Antonio research facility gets $2 million grant to test Zika vaccine

June 4, 2019
TX Biobytes from Texas Biomed Episode 035 — The Buzz About Zika

June 3, 2019
New $2 million DOD Grant Funds Zika Vaccine Testing at Texas Biomed

May 7, 2019
TXBioBytes from Texas Biomed Episode 034 — The impact of marmosets from A to Z: Aging to Zika

February 12, 2019
TX BioBytes from Texas Biomed Episode 028 — “Lab on a Chip” Holds the Power to Test for Zika

January 25, 2019
Experimental Zika Test Under Development with Texas Biomed and National Collaborators

October 23, 2018
All About Zika: The Challenges, the Vaccine, and Pregnancy

July 20, 2018
It Takes a Village to Tackle Zika

July 2, 2018
Undetected Zika Infections May be Triggering Miscarriages and Stillbirths

July 2, 2018
Miscarriage and stillbirth following maternal Zika virus infection in nonhuman primates

May 1, 2018
Marmosets as the Canary in the Coal Mine: a highly sensitive primate model of the effects of placental Zika virus infection on fetal health

April 4, 2018
Researchers Advise Long-Term Monitoring of Infants Infected with Zika Virus Early After Birth

February 27, 2018
“Z” is for Zika – TXBiobytes Podcast Episode 003

Winter, 2017
OUTBREAK: ZIKA RISING

December 13, 2017
Monkeys infected by mosquito bites further Zika virus research

December 11, 2017
New Animal Model for Zika Developed at Texas Biomed Useful for Testing Vaccines and Treatments

December 7, 2017
Experimental Zika Virus Inoculation in a New World Monkey Model Reproduces Key Features of the Human Infection

September 20, 2017
Zika Virus Research Projects

August 1, 2017
Zika infections unlikely to be passed by kissing, casual contact

May 25, 2017
Zika infections could be factor in more pregnancies

May 25, 2017
Zika infections could be factor in more pregnancies

May 12, 2017
Formidable Flying Foe

March 9, 2017
Researchers hone in on when, where Zika virus attacks

March 9, 2017
Zika Attacks Nerves, Muscles, Other Tissues

March 4, 2017
Zika virus ‘spillback’ into primates raises risk of future human outbreaks

October 13, 2016
Zika Vaccine Research Wins WARF Innovation Award

September 27, 2016
Fox 40 Talks Zika With Dr. Koen Van Rompay

September 12, 2016
Louisiana researchers at Tulane, LSU part of efforts to fight Zika

September 12, 2016
Seattle scientists first to show monkey model of Zika damage

August 15, 2016
Studying the Zika virus in rhesus macaques

August 11, 2016
Combating Zika Virus

July 28, 2016
UW-Madison: A world leader in Zika virus research

July 25, 2016
Researchers 'solve' key Zika virus protein structure

July 22, 2016
This year, it's the Zika virus. But what about next year?

July 18, 2016
Zika Data From the Lab, and Right to the Web

July 15, 2016
UCD researcher targets mother-to-child transmission of Zika

July 12, 2016
Zika research in nonhuman primates critical as fears among pregnant women, families grow

July 6, 2016
France's Sanofi to work with US Army on Zika vaccine

June 29, 2016
Can you get Zika twice? Or are you immune?

June 29, 2016
UW-Madison Zika research in monkeys could inform outbreak in people

June 29, 2016
ROUNDTABLE: Preparing for and Protecting the Nation from Zika

June 28, 2016
Monkey study shows Zika infection prolonged in pregnancy

June 28, 2016
New Studies Show Just How Tricky the Zika Virus Is

June 28, 2016
Zika infections last much longer during pregnancy, monkey study shows

June 28, 2016
Zika animal studies yield new disease clues, optimism for vaccine

June 28, 2016
Two new vaccines can protect against Zika after a single shot

June 27, 2016
Inside a monkey lab, research gets fast-tracked in the ‘Zika room’

June 24, 2016
Oregon Zika Researchers Tell Senators They Need More Money

May 25, 2016
Scientists zero in on microcephaly risk for babies born to Zika-infected mothers

March 28, 2016
From mice to monkeys, animal models hold the key to battling Zika

March 19, 2016
Taking the online medicine

March 18, 2016
History Makers: Dr. Koen Van Rompay vs. Zika Virus on History NOW

March 9, 2016
Scientists Report In Real Time On Challenging Zika Research

March 4, 2016
Transmission of Zika Virus Through Sexual Contact with Travelers to Areas of Ongoing Transmission — Continental United States, 2016

March 4, 2016
Zika Virus Infection in Pregnant Women in Rio de Janeiro - Preliminary Report.

March 3, 2016
Missing link: Animal models to study whether Zika causes birth defects

February 26, 2016
Zika virus: The benefits of open research

February 24, 2016
US Scientists Investigate Zika Spread

February 23, 2016
Zika researchers release real-time data on viral infection study in monkeys

February 21, 2016
This Doctor Helped Stop HIV in Pregnant Women. Can He Do It Again With Zika?

February 18, 2016
Monkey study to show whether Zika really causes birth defects

February 18, 2016
Zika Virus in the Americas — Yet Another Arbovirus Threat

February 16, 2016
UC Davis Primate Researchers Key on Zika Virus

February 16, 2016
Understanding Zika Virus with Nonhuman Primates