Challenges in Searching for Zika Therapeutics

Copyright: © 2016 Zhao Y. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Zika virus was discovered nearly 70 years ago, but received little attention prior to 2015, as the virus infection causes no or only a mild, self-limiting illness without need for treatment. However, large scale outbreaks in South and Central America and the Caribbean in 2015 strongly suggested Zika epidemic may have associations with the increased cases of birth defect called microcephaly. Microcephaly is a condition in which a person’s head is significantly smaller than normal for their age and sex, and occurs most often when a baby’s brain has not developed properly during pregnancy. The microcephalus babies may have life-long intellectual or physical disabilities. Now, a compilation of evidences solidified the link between the Zika virus infection in pregnant mothers and microcephaly of their babies. As the Zika virus has ‘explosive’ pandemic potential in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and the Americas, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in early 2016.