Tests on monkeys reveal that zika can cause more miscarriages than scientists thought | Welfare

The monkey study revealed that 26% of monkeys infected with the Zika virus during the early stages of pregnancy suffered from miscarriage or stillbirth, although animals showed few signs of death. 39; infection.

"This is the first time that we have been able to categorically demonstrate that Zika-related spontaneous abortion and stillbirth occur in nonhuman primates without symptoms," said Daniel Streblow, the author of the study. one of the top five authors of the study.

Zika research had previously measured spontaneous abortions and stillbirths in women with symptoms. A recent study of infected women found that 5.8% had a miscarriage and 1.6% had a fetal death in the first trimester. Abortion involves the loss of a pregnancy before the fetus has grown in a uterus for 20 weeks, while stillbirth occurs after this point.

The Zika virus is widely known to cause the birth of children with a brain abnormality called microencephaly and other malformations. The largest number of zika cases in the United States has been reported in Florida, Texas and New York, but most other states, including Oregon, have also experienced cases. Symptoms in humans include fever, rash, headache, joint and muscle pain, and red eyes.

Brazil experienced a zika epidemic between 2015 and 2016. Since the beginning of the Zika virus-related malformation record in Brazil (November 2015), the country had 351 deaths due to a viral infection, according to the country's epidemiological bulletin. Ministry of Health (which counted the data until April 14, 2018).