Just before a very news-rich week begins, an item from NEJM Journal Watch: Zika Virus: GM Mosquitoes, Vision Problems in Infants, Map of U.S. Zika Imports. Click or tap through for links to the original reports:
Here is the latest news on the Zika virus from the weekend:
• Scientists in Brazil are working on a genetically-modified Aedes aegypti mosquito to combat the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses. Male mosquitoes would pass a deadly gene to their offspring that would kill them prior to adulthood, the New York Times reports. In addition, another group of scientists is infecting mosquitoes with bacteria that make the mosquitoes less likely to acquire and transmit viruses.
• Infants born with microcephaly in Brazil seem to be at risk for vision problems, Reuters reports. Half of infants evaluated in a rehab center in one city had impaired vision because of deformed optic nerves and retinas.
• Scientific American has constructed a map showing where all of the imported cases of Zika in the U.S. were likely infected, using data from state health departments.
