Zika Vaccine Success In Mice Offers Tantalizing Prospect Of Complete Protection
Two experimental vaccines show promise in early studies, and researchers are cautious but optimistic. In a different study, scientists find that the virus has a prolonged effect in pregnant women. Also, Zika isn't the only virus mosquitoes carry, and the combination of environmental factors and reproductive health care cuts is creating a perfect storm for women in the South.
Los Angeles Times:
Two New Vaccines Can Protect Against Zika After A Single Shot
Just five months after the Zika virus was declared a global public health emergency, a scientific team’s feverish efforts to create a vaccine against the viral threat have borne promising fruit: With a single shot of either of two different types of vaccine, experimental mice gained near-total immunity to Zika for at least two months. Writing in the journal Nature on Tuesday, a U.S.-Brazilian team of scientists reported that two distinct vaccine candidates conferred powerful protection from Zika infection when each was delivered by intra-muscular injection to mice. (Healy, 6/28)
PBS NewsHour:
Two New Vaccines Ward Off Zika In Mice
Two new experimental vaccines protect mice against the Zika virus, a study out Tuesday shows. Researchers from governments, academic labs, and biopharma companies have been rushing to develop Zika vaccines since global health experts started warning about the previously unknown dangers wrought by the mosquito-borne virus, including serious birth defects. Just last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first human testing of a Zika vaccine candidate from the company Inovio Pharmaceuticals. (6/28)
The Washington Post:
Zika Infections Last Much Longer During Pregnancy, Monkey Study Shows
New research on monkeys found some good news that could have implications for humans: One infection with the Zika virus protects against future infections. But along with good news were some troubling findings. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Duke University found the virus persisted in the blood of pregnant monkeys for much longer — up to 70 days — compared to the 10 days it lasted in males and non-pregnant female monkeys. (Sun, 6/28)
The New York Times:
Peril On Wings: 6 Of America’s Most Dangerous Mosquitoes
With the spread of the Zika virus, the threat posed by the tiny mosquito has been magnified into shark-size proportions. But among the more than 3,000 species of the insect worldwide, only two in the Americas are known carriers of the virus: the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). The potential range of the two species in the United States helps explain where Zika could be a threat. (Rueb, 6/28)
Politico Pro:
Zika Could Be Perfect Storm For The South
Women in the Deep South, the part of the country that will be hit hardest by Zika, face some of the steepest hurdles accessing reproductive health care in the country — an unfortunate geographic coincidence that could amplify the virus’s impact in America. Cuts to Medicaid and reproductive health services in these states mean that many pregnant women in the region won’t even learn about the dangers of Zika infection until it’s too late. And they have fewer options for abortion if they learn the fetus they are carrying has terrible birth defects. (Cook, 6/28)
Meanwhile, in Florida, officials confirm the first baby born in the state with Zika-linked microcephaly —
Reuters:
First Baby With Zika-Related Birth Defect Microcephaly Born In Florida
A Haitian woman in Florida has delivered the first baby in the state born with the birth defect microcephaly caused by the Zika virus, Florida's health department said on Tuesday. The mother contracted the mosquito-borne virus in her home country and traveled to Florida to give birth, state officials said in statements. (Jenkins, 6/28)
Orlando Sentinel:
First Baby With Zika-Linked Microcephaly Born In Florida
A woman infected with the Zika virus has given birth to a baby with microcephaly, a condition causing abnormally small heads and developmental defects, for the first time in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott’s office announced Tuesday. (Rohrer, 6/28)
Tampa Bay Times:
First Baby Delivered In Florida With Zika-Related Microcephaly
Doctors have delivered the first baby in Florida with Zika-related microcephaly, state health officials said Tuesday. The child's mother is a Haitian citizen who contracted the mosquito-borne virus while in her home country, the Department of Health said. She came to Florida to give birth. (McGrory, 6/28)
Health News Florida:
First Case Of Zika-Related Microcephaly Confirmed In Florida
The first case of Zika-related microcephaly was confirmed today in a child born in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Health. (Ochoa, 6/28)
