Ukrainians head Zika virus research in the USA

Фото: Depositphotos

Irina Bird, a researcher of Ukrainian origin, is leading a study on the transmission of the Zika virus at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

This virus, which hit the countries of Latin America, is one of the least studied at the moment, writes “Voice of America".

A child born with microcephaly has a disproportionately small head. In severe cases, he also suffers from seizures, has a developmental delay, impaired intelligence, problems with hearing and vision.

Researchers don't know for sure whether microcephaly is actually caused by the Zika virus. According to one version, the reason for the large number of newborns with microcephaly in Brazil is not insects, but a chemical that is added to the water to kill the larvae of these insects - pyriproxyfen.

Proponents of this theory cite Colombia as an example, where many cases of infection with the Zika virus are recorded, and there are almost no cases of microcephaly.

Researchers at Hopkins University, led by a native of Zaporozhye, Irina Byrd, are looking for an answer to the question of whether or not Zika virus infection in pregnant women causes microcephaly in their children.

The university’s laboratory has been studying for many years how inflammation and infection during pregnancy affect the fetal development of the fetus. At the moment, the laboratory staff has postponed all other research and focused on studying the Zika virus.

It is not known for sure whether Zika is transmitted from mother to child. It has also not been proven that microcephaly, which can be diagnosed in the third trimester of pregnancy, is the only consequence of infection by the virus.

“The media has focused on microcephaly. But they often don’t remember that there may be other, less noticeable pathologies in the brain. They can affect neurons in the eyes, ears, vision and hearing. We will not see such details on ultrasound or MRI. And there may be consequences that will appear over time,” Irina Berd explained the essence of the study.

Zika virus from Brazil and Colombia has already been delivered to the university. Now researchers are determined with the doses with which mother-mice will be infected. After that, the laboratory will study the effects of the lesion on the embryos of mice.

Irina Bird is also a professor at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, where she works directly with women who are expecting a child. She says that lately, many pregnant women who have rested in one of the nearly thirty countries where Zika virus is detected come to her for testing. The researcher also recommends that men, upon returning from these countries, be tested.

“We now know that the virus can remain in semen for a long time. And it is possible that men transmit it sexually. We suspect that the virus may remain dormant. But we don’t know for how long,” she noted.

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