Zika virus can enter
the brains of mice in the womb to stunt development, the first animal tests
show.The trio of studies
provide crucial experimental evidence that backs up fears the virus is behind
the surge in babies born with small heads in Brazil.They showed the virus could
cross the placenta during pregnancy and kill cells to slow brain growth.Experts
said the findings add to the weight of evidence, but studies in animals with
bigger brains were needed.
There have been around
1,300 confirmed cases of microcephaly - babies born with small brains - in
Brazil, with thousands more under investigation.The timing and location of Zika
infections and microcephaly led to the World Health Organization declaring a
global health emergency.Microcephaly Why
it is not the end of the world
What you need to know Key
questions answered about the virus and its spread
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affected and what you should do
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of virus What we know about the insect
Abortion dilemma Laws
and practices in Catholic Latin America.
Chinese scientists
injected the Asian strain of Zika, which is closely related to the one
circulating in south America, into the brains of mice foetuses 13 days after
fertilisation.
The results, published in Cell Stem Cell,
found the developing brain was smaller five days later.Neural progenitor cells,
which build the brain and nervous system, were particularly vulnerable to
infection but the study showed "almost all cells in the brain" tested
positive for Zika.
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