A group of US researchers has warned that a single mutation of the Zika virus could trigger a new epidemic and trigger “explosive” spread.

In 2016, this disease caused a global health emergency. Thousands of babies, mostly in Brazil, were born with brain damage after their mothers contracted the virus during their pregnancy.

And now scientists sought to exist watch out for new mutationsAfter conducting a lab study published in the journal Cell Reports, the pathogen has the potential to change easily.

According to the California-based La Jolla Institute of Immunology, research shows that new variants may be effective at transmitting the virus even in countries that have developed immunity from previous outbreaks.

Experts say that while the findings are theoretical, other viruses beyond most covid may pose a threat to humans.

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shape-shifting virus

Zika is transmitted through bites. aedes mosquito aegypti when infected. The beetles are found all over the Americas, with the exception of Canada and Chile, where it is too cold to survive. They are also found in Asia.

While Zika is a mild illness with no lasting effects for most people, it can have disastrous consequences for unborn babies.

If a mother catches the virus during pregnancy, it can affect the developing fetus, leading to conditions such as microcephaly (an unusually small head) and damaged brain tissue.

In the study, the researchers recreated what happens when Zika is passed from mosquitoes to humans using living mice and cells.

When Zika was passed from mosquito cells to mice in the lab, minor genetic changes occurred.

This means that it is relatively easy for Zika to have mutations that develop and spread, a very similar infection, even in animals that were previously immune to dengue.

details about zika:

• Although the virus is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, it can also be transmitted sexually.
• Several people die from Zika, and only one in five infected people are believed to develop symptoms.
• These may include fever, rash, and joint pain.
• Since there is no cure, the only option is to reduce the risk of stings.
• Scientists have begun work on a Zika vaccine to help protect pregnant women.

“Timely Reminder”

According to the study’s lead researcher, Sujan Shresta, the Zika variant they identified had evolved so highly that “cross-immunity conferred by previous dengue infection” no longer effective in mice”.

“Unfortunately, if this variant wins, we could have the same problems in real life,” he added.

“We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the rapid evolution and emergence of coronavirus variants, but this is a timely reminder that shapeshifting is a common feature shared by many viruses,” said Jonathan Ball of the University of Pennsylvania, Nottingham. , Britain.

Professor underlined that the study presented in Cell Reports shows how quickly a change in a single letter in a virus’s genome sequence can occur and has a huge impact on its ability to make you sick.

“However, viruses that share these changes were not common in epidemics, and as the authors point out, these intriguing data require further investigation.”

“These findings have been observed in laboratory experiments and therefore while they have limitations, they show the potential for worrying variants to emerge during the normal Zika transmission cycle and remind us that it is important to monitor viruses as they evolve.” Clare Taylor of the UK Society for Applied Microbiology explained.

Taylor added that in the future, researchers can predict variants and intervene early.

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said despite the findings, a previous Zika infection may still protect the population against new variants.