Better Research for Better Health: University of Oxford and Fiocruz partner to improve health research and capacity development globally
by The Editorial TeamSurvey launched to understand clinical and research impact of INTERGROWTH-21st tools after 170,000 downloads
by The Editorial TeamWithin the Zika virus (ZIKV) research community, a new and remarkable kind of collaboration is taking place
by EU Zika ConsortiaRe-visiting the evolution, dispersal and epidemiology of Zika virus in Asia. A commentary from the authors.
by Pettersson et al.Pettersson et al provide a short commentary on their research article Re-visiting the evolution, dispersal and epidemiology of Zika virus in Asia published in Emerging Microbes & Infections in May 2018. This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under ZIKAlliance Grant Agreement no. 734548 and ZikaPLAN Grant Agreement no. 734584.
Spread of Chikungunya Virus East/Central/South African Genotype in Northeast Brazil
by Costa et al., 2017Abstract We investigated an outbreak of exanthematous illness in Maceió by using molecular surveillance; 76% of samples tested positive for chikungunya virus. Genetic analysis of 23 newly generated genomes identified the East/Central/South African genotype, suggesting that this lineage has persisted since mid-2014 in Brazil and may spread in the Americas and beyond.
ZIKAlliance’s Clinical Meeting in Cuba 12-14 August, 2017
by ZIKAllianceInstitut Pasteur Shanghai-Chinese Academy of Sciences (IPS-CAS), a partner of the ZIKAlliance consortium, announced that it has entered into a collaborative research agreement with Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Stock Co., Ltd. (Zhifei) for the clinical studies and commercialization of a recombinant Zika virus subunit vaccine developed by IPS-CAS.
The key message from this study is that the large uncertainty around the risk estimate needs to be further investigated because of a) the possible existence of co-factors that are yet to be validated, b) the assumptions that the authors needed to make in the absence of good data for the proportion of women who were infected during pregnancy.
Study of volunteer blood donors in Martinique provides new information about Zika virus infection
by ISARICThis pioneering study provides a precise follow-up of incident cases and seroprevalence in blood donors, and it also provides important insights into the management of blood donations during ZIKV outbreaks and into the natural history of ZIKV infection in adults. It suggests that the study of blood donors during outbreaks of emerging pathogens has become a key element of epidemiological surveillance.
A study performed by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) team of Dr Ali Amara (U944, Paris, France) and published in Cell Reports sheds new light on the mechanisms allowing ZIKV to infect cells within the human nervous system. Amara et al. showed that the protein Axl is expressed in a number of brain glial cells and that the entry of ZIKV into these cells requires another protein, Gas6, to act as a bridge between the ZIKV particles and the glial cells.
Global research platforms receive €30M to combat Zika Oxford --21 October 2016, ISARIC members are part of two successful bids to the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme that will set up multinational and multi-disciplinary research consortia to combat Zika virus (ZIKV) infection and build pandemic preparedness in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next 3 to 5 years, the European Commission announced today.
Launch of Mesh: a new online platform co-created by its users and aiming to improve Community Engagement
by The Editorial TeamToday,The Global Health Network launches Mesh: a new online platform co-created by its users and aiming to improve Community Engagement with health in low and middle income countries.
Laboratory systems and diagnostic technologies are a critical pillar in the fight against malaria. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends diagnostic testing for all people with suspected malaria before treatment is administered.
Understanding the Zika virus
by Center for Strategic & International StudiesU.S. efforts to combat the Zika virus in the US and abroad
Travel Medicine and Infectious Diseases have evolved rapidly in recent decades as outbreaks such as SARS, Avian Influenza, Ebola, MERS, Chikungunya, and Zika virus have demonstrated how quickly infections can cross international borders.
Great article from our colleagues at the African Society for Laboratory Medicine about Zika virus.
The Zika virus is another wild card dealt to us by nature. It was first discovered in 1947.