Zika is still a threat. The number of infants born with microcephaly caused by Zika virus may continue to grow. A study in Nature Medicine reports that Zika virus can cause brain damage in pigtail macaque, which is a type of monkey.
Although 80 percent of Zika-infected patients show no symptoms, Zika virus can cause a variety of birth defects collectively called congenital Zika syndrome. In order to better understand the effect of Zika infection during pregnancy, scientists have been working to create a nonhuman primate model of congenital Zika syndrome. But an early study in pregnant monkeys showed that Zika virus seemed not to enter the brain of the babies.
In this study, the research team investigated another species of monkey, known as pigtail macaques. A pregnant pigtail macaque was exposed to a slightly larger amount of Zika virus. The team observed that the fetus developed brain lesions within 10 days, and its brain appeared to grow more slowly. Fetal autopsy revealed Zika virus in the brain. The observations indicated that Zika infection during pregnancy is able to cause fetal brain damage in certain monkeys. The animal model might be used to test vaccines and treatments that would prevent congenital Zika syndrome.
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