A newly developed mouse model may prove to be an effective aid in the development of a Zika vaccine, according to a study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
The mice used in the study lack the typically present interferons that produce Zika resistance in mice. The results of Zika infection in these non-resistant mice were fatal. All the infected mice were euthanized within a week of infection. Researchers then examined the effects of Zika on the liver, spleen, brain, kidney, intestine, heart, lungs and skeletal muscles — information previous mouse models have not allocated. Researchers found that Zika only caused pathology in the brain and skeletal muscles, though it had spread throughout the body.
Matthew Aliota, PhD, scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said, "The pathology caused by the virus in the mouse brain could be used to understand the pathology in the brains of humans, especially fetuses."
The study's authors assert the model will allow researchers to better understand how the Zika virus works, thereby aiding in the development of antiviral compounds and vaccines. A unique aspect of this model is it will allow future model replications to test how the exposure to other viruses, like dengue, may influence the body's response to Zika.
The CDC has recently expanded the scope of the potential Zika threat in the continental U.S. On April 13, the agency confirmed the link between Zika and the birth defect microcephaly.
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Infographic: Where in the US have Zika cases been reported? [April 15 update]