46 percent of pregnancies studied showed abnormalities

The current Zika virus outbreak, which began in 2015 and is spread through mosquito bites and sexual intercourse, has been confirmed in 47 countries and has affected 1.3 billion people around the world

How a highly potent antibody that neutralizes Zika infection was discovered

Study recently presented at the 2016 AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition reveals solution to mitigating environmental transmission is found in commonly used disinfectants

In this preclinical study, 100 percent of the animal models were protected from Zika after vaccination followed by a challenge with the Zika virus

Similar protection studies in primates are warranted, and if the findings hold up, ZIKV-177 could be developed as a protective antibody treatment for pregnant women at risk of Zika infection, the researchers concluded

Human studies needed to determine if men similarly affected

Findings may influence vaccine and therapy development

The protection against reinfection was one of several findings published in a recent Nature Medicine article

In the new study, the scientists observed the virus’s effects in animal models at two different points—during early postnatal development, when the brain is growing rapidly, and at weaning, when the brain has largely reached adult size