Two different Brazilian studies identified Zika virus in the brains of
babies born with microcephaly and died from complications of the
disease, but until now scientists did not establish a direct link
between the two diseases, academic sources said Monday.
EFE
One study was conducted by researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the other by scientists at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) of the Brazilian state of Parana.
The virus had been identified in brain samples of babies with microcephaly killed both by researchers of the Center for Disease Control (CDC, for its acronym in English) and a laboratory in Slovenia.
In the four studies analyzed samples were sent by the Brazilian state Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the largest center for health research in Latin America.
Brazil has in recent months 5,079 suspected cases of microcephaly, a significant increase in the number of notifications of the disease jumping and authorities attribute the spread of zika.
The authorities have confirmed that at least 42 of these cases the mothers of babies with the malformation of the skull zika contracted while pregnant.
Despite strong suspicions and evidence that Brazil has the expressive increase in cases of babies with microcephaly it is associated with the spread of zika, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that this link has not yet been scientifically proven.
Scientists at the Experimental Pathology Laboratory of PUC of Paraná, which had already found that the virus can enter the placenta of the mother, now identified in samples of brain tissues of fetuses with microcephaly killed in northeast Brazil.
Zika genetic traces were found in inflammation detected in the brain tissue of two babies.
"We got to see that there is a relationship between zika and microcephaly," said medical Lucia Noronha, who coordinated the research and who admitted that the result can not be considered conclusive because of the few samples that have been studied so far.
The specialist added that it is necessary to analyze more samples to prove or rule out link between the two diseases.
The study of UFRJ, conducted in conjunction with researchers from a public high school in the state of Paraíba, also identified the virus genome in brains of two babies who died shortly after birth, one with microcephaly and one with another brain malformation.
UFRJ researchers studying the cases of eight children whose mothers zika malformations during pregnancy, two of whom died.
"The infection Zika virus can cause a number of brain disorders and not just microcephaly. The baby may be born with normal perimeter of the brain and have other abnormalities. We record changes in the thalamus and cerebellar development, among other problems, "said virologist Tanuri Amilcar, a researcher at UFRJ and one of those responsible for the study.
EFE
One study was conducted by researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the other by scientists at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) of the Brazilian state of Parana.
The virus had been identified in brain samples of babies with microcephaly killed both by researchers of the Center for Disease Control (CDC, for its acronym in English) and a laboratory in Slovenia.
In the four studies analyzed samples were sent by the Brazilian state Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the largest center for health research in Latin America.
Brazil has in recent months 5,079 suspected cases of microcephaly, a significant increase in the number of notifications of the disease jumping and authorities attribute the spread of zika.
The authorities have confirmed that at least 42 of these cases the mothers of babies with the malformation of the skull zika contracted while pregnant.
Despite strong suspicions and evidence that Brazil has the expressive increase in cases of babies with microcephaly it is associated with the spread of zika, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that this link has not yet been scientifically proven.
Scientists at the Experimental Pathology Laboratory of PUC of Paraná, which had already found that the virus can enter the placenta of the mother, now identified in samples of brain tissues of fetuses with microcephaly killed in northeast Brazil.
Zika genetic traces were found in inflammation detected in the brain tissue of two babies.
"We got to see that there is a relationship between zika and microcephaly," said medical Lucia Noronha, who coordinated the research and who admitted that the result can not be considered conclusive because of the few samples that have been studied so far.
The specialist added that it is necessary to analyze more samples to prove or rule out link between the two diseases.
The study of UFRJ, conducted in conjunction with researchers from a public high school in the state of Paraíba, also identified the virus genome in brains of two babies who died shortly after birth, one with microcephaly and one with another brain malformation.
UFRJ researchers studying the cases of eight children whose mothers zika malformations during pregnancy, two of whom died.
"The infection Zika virus can cause a number of brain disorders and not just microcephaly. The baby may be born with normal perimeter of the brain and have other abnormalities. We record changes in the thalamus and cerebellar development, among other problems, "said virologist Tanuri Amilcar, a researcher at UFRJ and one of those responsible for the study.