Zika virus can reproduce in the brain of fetuses and placenta

According to a study by scientists from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published on December 13, Zika virus can replicate in the brains of fetuses within 7 months after those Pregnant women are infected with this virus and can survive after they give birth.

These findings firmly confirm previous studies that Zika virus can reproduce in the brain of fetuses and placenta.

Take care of 2-month-old children with small head disease caused by Zika virus in Salvador, Brazil.(Source: AFP / VNA).

Scientists conducted tissue tests of 52 patients suspected of being infected with Zika virus, including brain tissue of 8 children with small head defects and died.

In addition, they also performed tests on placental tissue of 44 women, half of whom had normal, healthy pregnancies and half had miscarriages, abortions, premature babies or malformed children. small head.

Results showed that Zika virus appeared in the brain tissue of fetuses and placenta after mothers were infected with this virus for more than 7 months and there was a case of viral replication in the brain of a malformed child. small head and died 2 months after birth.

For 8 children with small head defects and died, tests also tested positive for Zika virus.

According to the study's lead author, Julu Bhatnagar, these findings suggest that the Zika virus may still be growing in the brains of children after they are born and can survive in the placenta. months, longer than scientists predicted.

These findings also help scientists capture the virus process, which causes birth defects and miscarriage.