Scientists may have the first evidence that Zika virus, currently sweeping Latin America, can cause temporary paralysis and a dangerous neurological disorder, according to a new study of patients who
Scientists may have the first evidence that Zika virus, currently sweeping Latin America, can cause temporary paralysis and a dangerous neurological disorder, according to a new study of patients who developed the rare condition during an outbreak of the virus in Tahiti two years ago.
In a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, a team probed Zika’s suspected role in a 2013-2014 outbreak in French Polynesia of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) — a rare condition in which the body’s immune system attacks a part of the nervous system that controls muscle strength.
Zika is currently spreading with alarming speed across the Americas. The World Health Organisation declared the epidemic to be a global emergency several weeks ago based on suspicions it may be behind a surge in disturbing birth defects and in Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological illness that mostly lasts a few weeks.
Before reaching South America last year, the mosquito-spread Zika had triggered outbreaks in the South Pacific on Yap island in Micronesia and in French Polynesia, including its largest island, Tahiti.
Researchers in Tahiti, France and elsewhere went back and analysed blood samples from all 42 adults diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome from the 2013-14 outbreak; nearly everyone showed signs of a previous Zika infection.
Research into patients who fell ill with GBS, supported by blood tests, proved that the mosquito-borne virus was the culprit, they said.
“This is the first evidence for Zika virus causing Guillain-Barre syndrome,” the study said.
The syndrome provokes muscle weakness in the legs and arms.
