Infection with Zika virus (ZIKV) in pregnancy can lead to neurological disorders, fetal abnormalities, and fetal death. Until now it’s not been clear how the virus manages to cross the placenta, which forms a strong barrier against microbes and chemicals that could harm the fetus. The results of a laboratory study carried out by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, in collaboration with a team at Pennsylvania State University, have identified a strategy that Zika virus uses to covertly spread in placental cells, raising little alarm in the immune system. The team suggests their findings could point to new therapeutic strategies against the virus.
“The Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, triggered an epidemic in the Americas that began in 2015 and by 2018 had reached as many as 30 million…