Zika Research Expands As Cases Multiply

In late July, the first infant with Zikarelated microcephaly in New York City was born, one of more than a dozen babies with the Zika-related birth defect to be born so far in the United States. All were born to mothers thought to have been infected while traveling to one of 50-plus countries where Zika is endemic.

Every day, new cases of Zika are being diagnosed in pregnant women in the US and abroad.

e acceleration of the Zika epidemic has inspired new studies on the virus’s transmission, symptoms, and possible treatment. One, being conducted by Emory,

Baylor, and Saint Louis University School of Medicine, involves collecting blood samples from 200 volunteers who have suspected or con rmed cases of Zika. is research group, supported by a $4 million research grant by the NIH, hopes the blood samples will help determine human immune response to Zika virus, thereby accelerating the development of a diagnostic test, infection control measures, and eventually, a vaccine. Additionally, researchers at the Emory Vaccine Center and in ailand discovered a possible caveat to treating this epidemic. Zika virus is genetically and geographically similar