Zika Virus

Zika virus was first isolated in 1947 in the Ziika Forest of Uganda. Since then, it had best known to occur within a narrow belt from Africa to Asia. But from 2007 to 2016, the virus was spread eastward, across the Pacific Ocean. 

Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily through Aedes mosquitos.  But it can also be spread from a pregnant woman to her baby, through sexual transmission and through blood transfusion. The virus causes either no or mild symptoms. There are no specific treatments, but paracetamol and rest can help with the symptoms. As of 2016, there is no medication or vaccine that can prevent Zika. 

Zika belongs to a family of viruses called flaviviruses. This family includes dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis. Usually, only mature forms of these flaviviruses are considered infectious, but the virus population secreted from host cells is a mixture of mature, partially mature, and immature particles. A professor at Purdue said that it was probable that the immature form of Zika plays a role in the infection and spread. 

There are many differences between the structure of the mature virus and immature virus. Research into the structure can provide insights important to the development of effective antiviral treatments and vaccines. The genome of the virus is housed in a protective envelope that includes a lipid membrane, an envelope protein, a precursor membrane protein, and a lipid membrane. The researchers at Purdue were the first to learn about the position of the capsid protein in the immature virus, which plays a critical role of recognizing the virus’s genetic material and acts as a chaperone to guide the RNA strands into the virus for assembly.

The virus has been associated with birth defects and autoimmune disease. The residuals that are responsible for the pathogenicity are largely unknown. The structure of the virus is likely to play a major role in the disease. 

Prasad, V. M., Miller, A. S., Klose, T., Sirohi, D., Buda, G., Jiang, W., ... & Rossmann, M. G. (2017). Structure of the immature Zika virus at 9 A resolution. Nature structural & molecular biology, 24(2), 184-186.