Outbreaks of the virus on islands in the Pacific spread quickly to south and central America and the Caribbean in 2015 and 2016. The World Health Organisation declared the state of emergency to contain the epidemic as quickly as possible as there is currently no vaccine or antiviral drug available to prevent or treat an infection.
Professor Johan Neyts
Professor Johan Neyts, Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy explained: “The Zika virus is transmitted by the tiger mosquito. Roughly twenty percent of the people who are infected get sick.
“The most common symptoms are fever, fatigue, joint and muscle pain, rash, and red eyes. A small number of infected people go on to develop Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which causes muscle weakness and temporary paralysis. In some cases, the patient needs to be put on a ventilator.”
Neyts continued: “The biggest cause for concern is that pregnant women with the infection can pass on the virus to the foetus. As a result, some babies are born with microcephaly, a disorder of the central nervous system whereby the child’s skull and brain are too small. In severe cases, these children grow up with serious physical and mental disabilities.”
“As the Zika virus is related to the hepatitis C virus, we examined whether some inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus also prevent the multiplication of the Zika virus in human cells. We have identified at least one experimental drug that is effective against the Zika virus.
Neyts concluded: “The experimental hepatitis C inhibitor is not very powerful yet, nevertheless, our study opens up important new possibilities. We can now start testing the effectiveness of other promising virus inhibitors and vaccines against the Zika virus.”