microcephaly

Rubella virus and birth defects

Amidst the fear surrounding Zika virus, remember that there are over 100,000 children born each year with birth defects caused by infection with rubella virus. The virus Rubella virus is a member of the Togaviridae family, which also includes chikungunya virus. The genome is a 9.7 kilobase, positive strand RNA enclosed in a capsid and surrounded by a membrane …

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Zika virus

The rapid spread of Zika virus through the Americas, together with the association of infection with microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome, have propelled this previously ignored virus into the limelight. What is this virus and where did it come from? History Zika virus was first identified in 1947 in a sentinel monkey that was being used to …

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