Elevated levels of a neurotoxin in northeastern Brazil’s drinking water and a high incidence of microcephaly in the region led scientists to look for a link, and they found one.

By infecting glioblastoma cells but not healthy brain tissue, some form of the virus could serve a therapeutic purpose.

Children were 38 percent less likely to show signs of Zika infection if they had previously had dengue.

Climate change may open up new habitats suitable for the virus’s spread.

The results suggest the virus could severely alter brain development in infants infected after birth, but blocking a signaling protein early on might ease certain symptoms.

Warmer weather is thought to be behind the rise in vector-borne illnesses in recent years.

The findings highlight the need for long-term monitoring of children exposed to the virus, say scientists. 

The drugs’ disruption of the microbiome makes a subsequent flavivirus infection more severe.

Studies in mice suggest that other flaviviruses, such as West Nile virus and Powassan virus, may cause birth defects, too.