Zika infection may give future immunity, monkey study suggests

Infection with the Zika virus may protect against future infection, but pregnancy seems to extend how long the mosquito-borne virus stays in the body, a new study in monkeys suggests.
"We have good news for most people: If you are not pregnant and not at risk of becoming pregnant, you probably don't need to be worried about Zika," said study leader David O'Connor. He is a professor of pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"But my concern for Zika virus in pregnancy is much higher now than it was six months ago," O'Connor added.
In the study, researchers infected rhesus macaque monkeys with the Zika virus strain that emerged in South America in 2015. The investigators found that those monkeys resisted infection with the same strain 10 weeks later.
"This is good news for vaccine design. It suggests the sort of immunity that occurs naturally is sufficient. If you can mimic that in a vaccine, you'll likely have a very successful vaccine," O'Connor said in a university news release.
However, the researchers also found that the virus remained in the blood of pregnant female monkeys for 30 to 70 days after infection, compared with 10 days in non-pregnant females.
That extended period has implications for the severe impacts of Zika infection during pregnancy, according to the scientists. The virus has been linked to a birth defect called microcephaly, in which babies have abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.
"What we've shown in the monkey model matches a lot of what people have observed in epidemiological studies of humans," said study first author Emma Mohr, a pediatric infectious disease fellow at UW-Madison.  "It's important for us to show in a lab setting what people have expected in humans -- that you clear viremia (infection by the Zika virus) within a week, and you are protected from future infections by the same virus," she explained.
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Zika infection may give future immunity, monkey study suggests

Infection with the Zika virus may protect against future infection, but pregnancy seems to extend how long the mosquito-borne virus stays in the body, a new study in monkeys suggests. We have good news for most people: If you are not pregnant and not at risk of becoming pregnant, you probably dont need to be worried about Zika, said study leader David OConnor. He is a professor of pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But my concern for Zika virus in pregnancy is much higher now than it was six months ago, OConnor added. In the study, researchers infected rhesus macaque monkeys with the Zika virus strain that emerged in South America in 2015. The investigators found that those monkeys resisted infection with the same strain 10 weeks later. This is good news for vaccine design. It suggests the sort of immunity that occurs naturally is sufficient. If you can mimic that in a vaccine, youll likely have a very successful vaccine, OConnor said in a university news release. However, the researchers also found that the virus remained in the blood of pregnant female monkeys for 30 to 70 days after infection, compared with 10 days in non-pregnant females. That extended period has implications for the severe impacts of Zika infection during pregnancy, according to the scientists. The virus has been linked to a birth defect called microcephaly, in which babies have abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains. What weve shown in the monkey model matches a lot of what people have observed in epidemiological studies of humans, said study first author Emma Mohr, a pediatric infectious disease fellow at UW-Madison. Its important for us to show in a lab setting what people have expected in humans -- that you clear viremia (infection by the Zika virus) within a week, and you are protected from future infections by the same virus, she explained. HealthDay