Human-isolated monoclonal antibody shows promise for protective Zika treatment

Written by Courtney Johnson

Researchers at Vanderbilt University (MO, USA) and Washington University School of Medicine (MO, USA) have isolated a monoclonal antibody, known as ZIK-117, which has exhibited a demonstrable effect on reducing infection of the Zika virus in mouse models. The findings were published recently in Nature. Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that has surfaced as a global public health risk. Infants born to women infected by the Zika virus have been observed to develop congenital brain abnormalities, such as microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barré syndrome, a neurological disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system that can cause paralysis and even death. A...

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