Zika virus infection in infants can cause seizures, and long-term deficits in brain structure and behaviour that persist into adulthood, scientists say.<\/p>\n
Zika virus is mainly transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito but it can also be transmitted by sexual contact and blood transfusion.<\/p>\n
Adult patients infected by Zika usually present only mild symptoms such as rashes, conjunctivitis, arthralgia and mild fever that last a few days.<\/p>\n
However, the outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil in 2015 first showed the world that Zika infection can have devastating consequences for pregnant women and their foetuses.<\/p>\n
At the time of the outbreak, the association between microcephaly and Zika infection during pregnancy was demonstrated.<\/p>\n
It was observed that even babies born with normal-sized head can later develop symptoms associated with congenital Zika virus infection.<\/p>\n
Today, the children of the Zika virus outbreak are no older than 3 and no one can foresee the long-term consequences these children may still suffer. Researchers from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil investigated the short- and long-term neurological consequences of Zika infection in newborn mice.<\/p>\n
They infected three-day-old infant mice with the virus and monitored their behavioral and neurological development until adulthood.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that most of the infected mice developed spontaneous seizures as soon as nine days after birth, and remained more susceptible to chemically-induced seizures in adulthood compared to controls.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the infected mice demonstrated reduced motor function and muscle strength during behavioral tests in infancy, and displayed short-term memory impairment in adulthood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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