New research has found that the Zika virus can affect the adult human brain, causing possible neurological issues. The findings were revealed after scientists tested the virus on monkeys.
In a study led by James Whitney, a virologist at Harvard University, scientists tried to trace what specific tissue the Zika virus infects, how it spreads through the body and how the immune system responds.
Thirty-six monkeys were infected with two different strains of Zika virus - one coming from Thailand and the other from Puerto Rico. Though the virus made its way to the lymph nodes after subcutaneous infection, the monkeys generated enough immune response after five to eight days for the virus to disappear from their bloodstream. However, small amounts of the virus could still be detected in the saliva, testes, prostate and semen of half of the monkeys.
But the striking part of their discovery is that the Zika virus had lingered in the cerebrospinal fluid, and after a week had infected the neurons of the cerebellum - the brain region responsible for the coordination of movement.
Though co-researcher and Pathologist David O'Connor said that more work was needed before they could conclude what the findings meant, their working theory is that the Zika virus could cause neurological symptoms in humans and possibly a longer infectious period.
The findings also provided promising news to scientists, as the monkeys used in the current study became immune to two strains of Zika Virus. It meant that developing a Zika vaccine was possible, though the drawback with the clinical process is that it could take several years.
Nevertheless, O'Conner held that "Every study that gets done is filling in pieces of this puzzle."