Release date: 2016-03-02
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, researchers injected Zika virus into rhesus monkeys and analyzed serum samples. Image source: Kristi L. Hall
Recently, American researchers who infected monkeys with Zika virus disclosed the first data. However, they are not published in the journal, but they are published online so that everyone can see it and update the results every day.
The team uploaded raw data on the number of viruses detected in the blood, saliva and urine of three Indian rhesus monkeys. On February 15, they injected Zika virus into the body of three monkeys. “This is the first time our team has released data in real time,†said David O'Connor, one of the virologists and project leader at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The scientists of the project called themselves ZEST (Zika Experimental Science Team). O'Connor hopes that the release of this data will help accelerate the study of the nature of this virus that has spread in the Americas.
Although some teams have begun to share genomic data over the Internet during disease outbreaks, real-time, open data releases are still a special case rather than a general one, especially in clinical research. O'Connor said he was inspired by researchers who quickly published genomic sequencing data online during the Ebola epidemic and encouraged others to analyze it again. At the time, the O'Connor team downloaded the raw data shared by the team led by the Broad Institute and Harvard computational geneticist Pardis Sabeti. This then helped advance O'Connor's Ebola research and contributed to the collaboration with the Sabeti research group.
"The O'Connor team's approach to getting Zika virus data as public as possible should be commended," said Nathan Yozwiak, senior scientist at Sabeti Labs, "publishing the latest information as widely and publicly as possible - in this case It is animal model data that is critical during an emergency outbreak such as Zika, because there is relatively little understanding of its pathogenesis, but public concerns and concerns are high."
“This approach is worth emulating.†Koen Van Rompay, who studies the non-human primate HIV infection model at the National Primate Research Center at the University of California, Davis, agrees. Van Rompay is a joint team member who plans to inject Zika into the pregnant rhesus monkey. He said that the team will also share data in real time and publicly.
Van Rompay believes that the O'Connor team seems to have obtained the earliest information from the rhesus monkeys infected with Zika virus, so the rapid data release allows other researchers who plan to conduct similar experiments to take the latest research into account, saving time and Resources. “This is a very urgent public health emergency, so it should not be a competition between competing scientists. We are racing against the Zika virus and racing at the same time.â€
Like other researchers, the ZEST team wanted to know when a developing fetus might be at risk of developing a birth defect due to Zika. Usually, the virus does not produce symptoms. Even if it is, it is very slight. But scientists are eager to assess the strength of the association between Zika infection and the apparent increase in the number of infants with microcephaly born in northeastern Brazil.
O'Connor said that if the virus behaves in the same way in humans and rhesus monkeys, researchers will be able to collect relevant information by injecting different doses of Zika into monkeys. And these data cannot be obtained quickly and ethically from people. For example, scientists can repeatedly sample amniotic fluid in pregnant rhesus monkeys to determine whether Zika virus can and how quickly the fetus is infected.
The team is starting with male monkeys to get information about how the virus works in rhesus monkeys and to determine which dose is best for subsequent trials. They have confirmed that Zika can infect rhesus monkeys, and not only in the blood, but also in the cerebrospinal fluid and urine. Researchers will continue testing on rhesus monkeys at different stages of pregnancy to examine the presence of the virus in a range of tissues and organs.
O'Connor said that pregnant rhesus monkeys were used to study fetal birth defects. For example, studies of the effects of cytomegalovirus or Listeria have shown that these diseases have similar effects in rhesus monkeys and humans. The team also hopes to carry out the Zika study on the apes. The apes are native species in northeastern Brazil and are smaller than rhesus monkeys, making it easier for scientists to conduct research in the laboratory. If the virus may infect apes, this may indicate that the apes are also involved in the spread of Zika in Brazil.
“I hope that even those who disagreed in principle with animal research can realize that making data public is actually working to achieve a common goal.†O'Connor also said, “If scientists know others What is being done, the animals used in the study will be reduced, and the information obtained from each animal will be maximized." (Zong Hua)
Related Reading
WHO releases guidance on preventive transmission of Zika virus
Based on the limited evidence of current sexually transmitted Zika virus, the World Health Organization issued a “Provisional Guidance on the Prevention of Potential Transmission of Zika Virus†in Geneva on February 18.
According to the guidance, the main route of transmission of Zika virus is Aedes bites, but evidence from a small number of infections indicates that Zika virus can spread through sexual contact.
In 2008, a male patient infected with Zika virus in Senegal returned to the United States for 4 days and his wife developed symptoms of Zika virus infection. Considering that his wife had not left the United States in the previous year, she only had sex with her husband after returning to the United States, indicating that Zika virus can be transmitted by semen.
On February 2 this year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a patient in Texas was infected with Zika virus through sexual contact. In addition, French Polynesia had an outbreak of Zika in December 2013, when quarantine officers isolated Zika virus in the semen of a male patient.
Based on the precautionary principle, WHO recommends that all Zika virus-infected persons and their sexual partners (especially pregnant women) be aware of the potential risks of sexually transmitted Zika virus, contraceptive measures and safe sex, and Provide condoms for the above-mentioned people under feasible conditions; if the sexual partners of pregnant women live or come from Zika virus-transmitted areas, they should adopt safe sex or abstinence during pregnancy; since most Zika virus infections are asymptomatic, life People in the area where the virus is transmitted should consider adopting safe sex or abstinence. Other people returning from the affected area should also consider taking safe sex or at least abstinence for 4 weeks.
The WHO also said that the available evidence on sexually transmitted Zika virus is still very limited, and it is not currently recommended to check Zika virus through routine semen testing. Once new evidence is discovered, the guidance will be re-evaluated and updated.
In addition, the World Bank announced in Washington on February 18 that it would provide $150 million for the Zika virus-ravaged Latin America and Caribbean region to fight against Zika virus.
The statement said that these aid funds will support a series of anti-Zika action, including mosquito vector monitoring and control, identify high-risk groups, especially pregnant women and women of childbearing age, track and care for newborns with neurological complications, and strengthen Zika knowledge promotion ,and many more.
Source: Chinese Journal of Science
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