easy health life 23

Congenital Zika virus syndrome -- a pattern of birth defects found among fetuses and babies infected with the virus -- is a newly identified condition that occurs when women are infected during pregnancy. It is unknown to what degree the amount of Zika virus in the mother, the extent of Zika symptoms or the presence of prior dengue antibodies contribute to the syndrome. Laboratory studies suggest there is a phenomenon called antibody dependent enhancement, in which the presence of pre-existing dengue antibodies would enhance Zika's virulence, increasing risk to the fetus. Clinical studies, however, have found no evidence of this. It has also been unclear whether a high viral load, or the presence of Zika symptoms, would be associated with risk of harm to the fetus, or if there is a direct relationship between the amount of virus in the blood and severity of symptoms in the mother. Researchers developed an assessment tool to gauge severity of symptoms based on duration of fever,...

Some highly virulent pathogens may have a low prevalence rate and/or be restricted seasonally or geographically . However, the impact of transfusion-transmitted infection of such agents can have fatal consequences, particularly in highly vulnerable populations such as newborns, the elderly, or immunocompromised individuals. The cost effectiveness of a multiple agent test means that more testing could be done, resulting in safer blood. "All blood for transfusion must be tested for infectious agents. The increasing number of agents that may infect blood and the recognition that some of them only pose a risk in certain areas or certain times means that new methods to streamline blood testing must be developed. The major feature of our OpenArray device, the ability to test for multiple infectious agents at the same time, could be an answer to that need," explained Robert Duncan, PhD, an investigator with the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation ...