Pieter Vancamp, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN) et Barbara Demeneix, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)
A new study shows that the pesticide pyriproxyfen – widely used in Brazil during the Zika outbreak of 2015 – could disrupt thyroid hormones and thus affect brain development in children.
The Trump administration has banned NIH researchers from using fetal tissue. The tissue is an essential tool for scientists investigating diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to Zika virus infections.
The 2015 Zika outbreak in South America brought the virus to global attention. But tracing the history of the virus in West Africa can give clues to tackling future outbreaks.
We found that less than 1% of published research papers around the time of both outbreaks, that related to the outbreaks, actually explored their gendered impact.
Physicians like me are learning about Zika along with our patients. This takes a dose of humility on our part and an understanding from our patients that we learn something new every single day.
Though separated by time and place, there are surprising similarities in the the social issues raised by the rubella outbreak of 1964-65 and the recent Zika outbreak in South America.
Recently two events concerning the Zika epidemic coincided: two potential vaccines against the virus were declared a success when used in mice, and Jason Day withdrew from the Olympic Games.
Academics have sent an open letter to the World Health Organisation calling for the Olympics to be postponed or moved because of the Zika threat. They’re overreacting.
To tackle Zika and other viral outbreaks, we need to focus not only on the pathology of the disease, but also on the global political and economic architecture.
Better access to birth control and safe, legal abortions in Latin America could save lives. But carving out Zika-related exceptions in existing restrictions might not go far enough to achieve this.
Despite all the hype around Zika, crucial questions remain unanswered. How great is the risk that infection during pregnancy would result in a baby with microcephaly? And what can be done to prevent this?
Despite high rates of infection, the Zika outbreak would not have been particularly alarming had it not been for the sudden and – apparently associated – increase in the numbers of infants born with microcephaly.
Honorary Professor Faculty of Health and Medical Science, Univeristy of Sydney; Senior Researcher Sydney Institue for Infectious Disease, University of Sydney., University of Sydney