Two zika virus strains isolated
Beijing, Feb. 25: Chinese scientists have successfully isolated two Zika virus strains, which will assist research into a possible vaccination and the transmission pattern of the mosquito-borne disease that has triggered a global health emergency.
The two strains were isolated from blood and urine samples from two patients, Xinhua news agency reported.
The urine test was the first successful isolation from a sample such as that, according to the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and Guangzhou No. 8 People’s Hospital. With five confirmed imported Zika virus cases and the weather beginning to warm up across the country, China is on high alert.
The isolation can help scientists study transmission pattern of the virus while providing a foundation for invention of reagent and vaccine. Chinese scientists have announced on Monday they had decoded the gene sequence of the first imported Zika virus.
The WHO has declared a global health emergency over the Zika virus and its suspected links to birth defects.
The virus was reported in at least 34 countries, many of them in Central and Latin America.
The World Health Organisation and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised pregnant women to consider delaying travel to Zika-infected countries.