When symptoms of the mosquito-transmitted virus Zika and cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect characterized by an underdeveloped head, both surged in Brazil last year, red flags went up.
Rumors started spreading that the pesticide used to control the mosquito population was causing the birth defects, says Alexander Garza, associate professor of epidemiology and emergency medicine at SLU: “If you don’t give people information about what’s causing a problem like this right away, they will fill the void.”
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Dr. Michael Diamond, professor of internal medicine at Wash. U., was one of the first researchers to pursue answers. Last spring, he quickly mobilized his lab to focus on Zika. Since then, his team has developed a mouse model that allows various characteristics of the virus—its pathway through the body, its effect on a fetus, potential antibodies, and more—to be safely tested in a lab environment. The research helped confirm the connection between Zika and microcephaly.
Zika has the capacity to cross the maternal-fetal barrier and be transmitted sexually, qualities that set it apart from other mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile and dengue, which Diamond has previously studied. His team has developed more than 50 Zika antibodies that are undergoing testing, but Diamond says that developing an effective one is still “a long way down the road.”
Also assisting the effort is SLU’s Center for Vaccine Development, which was asked by the National Institutes of Health to begin conducting human clinical trials of a Zika vaccine this fall. “We developed a vaccine, the MMR vaccine, that is given to children and has virtually eliminated rubella and its associated birth defects,” Dr. Sarah George, associate professor of infectious diseases at SLU and the trial’s principal investigator, told SLM in June. “Our hope is a Zika vaccine can accomplish the same goal.”
At press time, the Zika virus had not been naturally transmitted in the U.S., though residents have contracted it while traveling or during sex. St. Louisans are at low to moderate risk of infection because of the type of mosquito native to the area. Still, Garza advises residents—especially women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant—to wear repellant and long sleeves and consider delaying trips to countries where Zika is locally transmitted.
