1. Zika viruses of African and Asian lineages cause fetal harm in a mouse model of vertical transmission.
- Author
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Jaeger AS, Murrieta RA, Goren LR, Crooks CM, Moriarty RV, Weiler AM, Rybarczyk S, Semler MR, Huffman C, Mejia A, Simmons HA, Fritsch M, Osorio JE, Eickhoff JC, O'Connor SL, Ebel GD, Friedrich TC, and Aliota MT
- Subjects
- Africa, Animals, Asia, Southeastern, Disease Models, Animal, Female, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Pregnancy, Survival Rate, Virus Replication, Zika Virus isolation & purification, Zika Virus Infection virology, Fetus virology, Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical veterinary, Zika Virus genetics, Zika Virus Infection veterinary
- Abstract
Congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) infection was first linked to birth defects during the American outbreak in 2015/2016. It has been proposed that mutations unique to the Asian/American-genotype explain, at least in part, the ability of Asian/American ZIKV to cause congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). Recent studies identified mutations in ZIKV infecting humans that arose coincident with the outbreak in French Polynesia and were stably maintained during subsequent spread to the Americas. Here we show that African ZIKV can infect and harm fetuses and that the S139N substitution that has been associated with the American outbreak is not essential for fetal harm. Our findings, in a vertical transmission mouse model, suggest that ZIKV will remain a threat to pregnant women for the foreseeable future, including in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Americas. Additional research is needed to better understand the risks associated with ZIKV infection during pregnancy, both in areas where the virus is newly endemic and where it has been circulating for decades., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
- Published
- 2019
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