Researchers from Purdue University announced a major breakthrough, becoming the first team to determine the structure of the Zika virus. The groundbreaking discovery reveals insights that are critical to finding an effective antiviral treatment or vaccine for the virus. The team, which published a paper on their findings in the journal Science, also identified regions within the Zika virus that set it apart from other insect-borne viruses such as dengue, West Nile, and yellow fever.

• The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease, has recently been associated with a birth defect called microcephaly that causes brain damage and an abnormally small head in babies born to mothers infected during pregnancy.
• It also has been associated with the autoimmune disease Guillain-Barré syndrome, which can lead to temporary paralysis.
• In the majority of infected individuals symptoms are mild and include fever, skin rashes and flulike illness, according to the World Health Organization.
• Zika virus transmission has been reported in 33 countries. Of the countries where Zika virus is circulating 12 have reported an increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome, and Brazil and French Polynesia have reported an increase in microcephaly, according to WHO.
• In February WHO declared the Zika virus to be “a public health emergency of international concern.”

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