Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/635316
t m c ยป p u l s e | j a n / f e b 2 0 1 6 12 I n 2015, Brazil witnessed a cata- strophic increase in babies born with microcephaly, an incurable and detrimental condition in which head circumference is strikingly small and the brain fails to fully develop. Cases are historically rare and typically caused by genetic abnormalities, prenatal exposure to toxic substances or disease like herpes or rubella during pregnancy, but with nearly 3,000 cases reported in Brazil last year, the surge has prompted international concern as well as speculation that the worst is yet to come. While scientists and public health officials do not yet have the data needed to conclusively determine what is causing the majority of microceph- aly cases that are part of the epidemic, early evidence points to the Zika virus, which was first detected in the country B y A l e x a n d r a B e c k e r said Nikos Vasilakis, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of pathol- ogy and a member of the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). At the request of the Brazilian gov- ernment, Vasilakis and his colleague, Shannan Rossi, Ph.D., a research scien- tist in the department of pathology and at the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity at UTMB, traveled to the country in December to help set up diagnostic capabilities to verify the suspected link. Utilizing reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, Vasilakis and Rossi worked with members of FioCruz, a public health research institute based in Brazil, to detect viral RNA in blood samples as well as amniotic fluid. A majority of their trip was spent setting up local PCR capabilities in Salvador, a city located in the Bahia state of Brazil, which is one of the hubs of the epidemic. "Having onsite diagnostics is essen- tial when you are in the middle of an outbreak such as this," Rossi explained. "Right now we don't have a lot of answers, and that is very frustrating to the public and especially pregnant women in Brazil." Because viral RNA only tells part of the story, Vasilakis, Rossi and their team at UTMB are also developing a technique for detecting the presence of immunoglobulin M antibodies in cord blood. Once that test is refined, they'll transfer the technology to Brazil for clinical use. The chief epidemiological question concerns the link between the virus and these cases of microcephaly, but Saravanan Thangamani, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of pathology at UTMB and director of the ACL-3 Laboratory and Insectary Services Core at the Galveston National Laboratory, demonstrates techniques used to study pathogen-infected mosquitoes. around the same time and in the same regions as the microcephaly cases. Zika DNA has also been identified in the brain tissue of several stillborn babies with microcephaly. "I believe there is more than enough evidence to tentatively link the virus to these microcephaly cases, but we're working on scientific confirmation," Deciphering Zika Arbovirus experts at UTMB travel to Brazil in wake of virus outbreak linked to devastating birth defect BECAUSE THE AEDES MOSQUITO SPECIES IS PREVALENT THROUGHOUT TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL PARTS OF THE WORLD, IT IS LIKELY THAT OUTBREAKS WILL SPREAD TO EVEN MORE COUNTRIES VIA TRAVELERS.