Zika Virus
Context:
- Together, the dengue and its equally notorious cousin, the Zika virus, can infect up to 400 million people annually. The Zika virus and its genetic research have provided exciting new insights into the nature of infectious diseases and their applicability to newly emerging epidemics.
The Zika infection:
- A flavivirus spread by mosquitoes is the Zika virus.
- Human infections typically have no symptoms at all or very minor ones, such as fever, rash, and joint pain.
- The number of newborn instances of microcephaly during the outbreak was alarmingly high, which led the World Health Organisation to proclaim it a public health emergency of international concern at the beginning of 2016.
- From Africa, the Zika virus has made its way to the Americas, Asia, the Pacific islands, and beyond. Due to several outbreaks in several Indian states over the past few years—Karnataka and Kerala most recently—the disease has recently made news.
- The genome of the Zika virus has provided a great deal of new information.
- In 2007, scientists completed the genome’s sequencing. Single-stranded RNA makes up more than 10,000 bases of it.
- The genome is also unusual in that it codes for a huge polyprotein that is split into seven non-structural proteins, the envelope, the membrane precursor (prM), and the capsid.
- Mostly genetic testing is used to diagnose Zika virus infections.
- Because the antibodies produced by the infection can cross-react with those of the West Nile, dengue, and yellow fever viruses, an antibody-based test would be challenging.
Monitoring and epidemiology:
- Due to its RNA genome, the Zika virus has a very high potential for mutation. We may be able to track Zika virus epidemics using the same instruments, methods, and strategies that we have created to monitor the evolution, genetic epidemiology, and molecular foundations of transmission and pathogenesis.
- According to genomic research, the Zika virus is descended from two lineages: Asian and African.
- Both microcephaly and Zika:
- One of the scariest side effects of a Zika virus infection has been the small heads of babies born to infected mothers.
- Prior research had indicated a link between microcephaly and a mutation in prM, one of the Zika virus’s precursor membrane proteins, based on experiments conducted on mice.
- Only a portion of the relevant pregnancies resulted in microcephaly, despite the fact that lineages of the virus carrying the particular mutation were responsible for the widespread outbreak in South America.
- When researchers discovered microcephaly in Thailand as a result of Zika infections from the Asian branch of the virus—which lacked the mutation—the Zika-microcephaly theory also took a hit.
- High viral loads during pregnancy were linked to foetal Zika virus infections, and the viral load had a significant impact on foetal growth.
- When considered collectively, the results highlight how crucial the viral load and DENV infections are to the development of microcephaly.
Adding appeal to it:
- Infections with DENV and the Zika virus are fascinating in and of themselves.
- According to a recent study published in Cell, two virus infections in monkeys decrease the skin’s production of the antimicrobial peptide RELM, which in turn promotes the growth of particular microorganisms.
- These microorganisms create volatile compounds called acetophenones, which may operate as a chemical trigger to draw mosquitoes to the host and aid in the spread of the viruses.
- Additionally, the researchers noted that this behaviour may be reversed by upregulating RELM with the administration of isotretinoin.
- Interactions between the Zika virus and DENV have also been a fascinating topic of study.
- A substantial amount of data points to a substantial risk increase for severe dengue caused by the Zika virus.
- With climate change contributing to the expansion of vector-borne diseases and global warming creating favourable climatic conditions for their propagation, our advanced genomic technologies and profound understanding of the molecular pathophysiology of these viruses will be invaluable resources.
