Dr. Albert Ko Discusses The Zika Virus in Brazil

By CLAYTON LAUPUS              Feb 5, 2016         

Dr. Albert Ko spoke on January 29, 2016 at Weill Cornell Medical College and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to give an update on the recent Zika virus epidemic in Brazil.  Dr. Ko is a former Cornell faculty member and is currently a Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine as well as Department Chair of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Public Health. He conducts research on infectious diseases that have emerged as a result of rapid urbanization and urban poverty in Brazil.

The Zika virus is a flavivirus; it is in the same family as dengue and chikungunya and is spread mainly by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. From its discovery in 1947 in Uganda until 2007 Zika virus remained contained to a narrow equatorial belt in Africa and Asia. In 2007 the first outbreak of the virus was reported outside of this equatorial belt on Yap Island, east of the Philippines. Since then, outbreaks have been reported in Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands, and New Caledonia. The most recent outbreak began in Brazil with the first case reported in early 2015. Cases of Zika virus have now been reported throughout the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and Central America.

The symptoms of the virus are only present in about 20 percent of cases and are relatively mild, including fever, rash, fatigue, and joint pain. However, recent reports of microcephaly in infants born to mothers with Zika virus have brought up serious concerns about the virus’ effects on pregnant women and their children. Reports from Brazil suggest that Zika virus during pregnancy may be associated with microcephaly of the newborn.

During his lecture Dr. Ko discussed many of the challenges that the medical community faces when combating Zika. For one, the potential co-infection of dengue virus and Zika virus makes diagnosing Zika more difficult due to the similar and confounding symptoms. For pregnant women or women who may become pregnant in countries with recent outbreaks, Dr. Ko highlighted the need to screen as well as follow up on the women and their children in order to detect possible birth defects. He also discussed a possible link to Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system and can result in paralysis. The association between Zika and Guillain-Barré was first reported during the French Polynesia outbreak of Zika.

Dr. Ko laid out a few guiding questions which need to be answered going forward; Are microcephaly cases truly associated with Zika infection? Are microcephaly cases just the tip of the iceberg and are there other sequelae? During what period of pregnancy are women at the highest risk for infection and related complications? What is the best way to screen for the virus? How do we develop a vaccine against the virus? Hopefully these questions will be answered in the coming months as research and attention on Zika virus ramps up to address this global health emergency.

For more information on Zika virus you can visit the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/