WIKIMEDIA, AIR FORCE FILE PHOTO/AIRMAN 1ST CLASS CHAD KELLUMResearchers have sequenced the World Health Organization’s (WHO) reference strain of the Zika virus, potentially making it easier to diagnose the disease in infected individuals. The international team of scientists published the sequence in the September 1 issue of Genome Announcements.
Because Zika is spreading rapidly in the U.S. and elsewhere, the WHO has fast tracked the use of the reference strain in products meant to diagnose and treat the disease. The organization will formally review the reference material next month. “WHO’s go-ahead before its expert committee meeting in October reflects the urgent need for researchers and companies to access valid reference material to diagnose Zika virus infection,” Sally Baylis of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut in Langen, Germany, who coauthored the paper said in a statement. “This will facilitate the development of sensitive, better performing tests to detect Zika in patients.”
Meanwhile, honey bees may be bearing the brunt of pesticides meant to knock down populations of Zika-carrying mosquitoes. In Dorchester County, South Carolina, last week, dozens of ...
