Zika Virus Outbreak News: Virus Genome Sequence Obtained By Brazilian Scientists

Zika virus genome sequence was obtained by Brazilian scientists. The researchers in Rio de Janeiro have found that the disease is indeed related to the incidence of microcephaly.

According to News4Jax, this is a significant step towards understanding how the Zika virus behaves in the human body. By identifying the full order of the virus's genetic data, researchers help developing new virus tests as well as a vaccine.

The research team at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro's molecular virology lab isolated the virus in the brains of fetuses with microcephaly and also analyzed the virus taken from the amniotic fluid of pregnant women. Professor Renato Santana declared that the findings of the research help scientists to understand why the virus has chosen children's brain cells rather than those of the pregnant women.

Brazil's Health Ministry believes that the Zika virus infected most of women who gave birth to babies with microcephaly. Brazilian scientists take also into consideration the possibility that the Zika virus could cause other types of malformation. According to the estimation made by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the country's number of Zika cases is in the range between 497,593 and almost 1.5 million.

The Zika virus outbreak worries health authorities in all the Latin Americas. In Colombia, for instance, the number of Zika cases has increased to more than 37,000. According to a statement of Colombia's National Institute of Health, there are 6,356 pregnant women who are among the total number of Zika cases. From the total number of 37,011 Zika cases in Columbia, at least 30,148 cases have been confirmed through clinical and laboratory tests. According to the Colombian NIH, only last week there were 5,456 new reported cases.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are now 27 countries or territories with active transmission of the Zika virus in South and North America. The head of the World Health Organization said recently that Zika virus was "spreading explosively" in the Americas. Zika has also been circulating in the Pacific islands of Samoa and Tonga and the Cape Verde islands of Africa.