Zika virus is transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. So in some regions, people have took measures to kill the mosquitoes. According to the World Health Organization, Zika is no longer a public health emergency of international concern, but it is still pose bid threat to human health.There is no specific medicine for Zika at present. In addition, CusAb is a supplier of antibodies, including HRP conjugated antibody. Now Chinese researchers have found antibodies that have the promise to prevent Zika infection. The antibodies are harvested form a patient with Zika infection in China. When given to mice, the antibodies protect mice from the dangerous virus The involvement of Zika infection in fetal microcephaly and neurological complications has been revealed by many studies. For this reason, Zika virus becomes a source of major concern for the health care system. George F. Gao of Chinese Academy of Sciences is one of many scientists that seek preventive and therapeutic strategies for Zika infection. In Gao's study, first author Qihui Wang and colleagues identified 13 monoclonal antibodies in the bloodstream of a patient infected with the virus. Experiments showed that two of the antibodies -- Z23 and Z3L1 -- effectively killed Zika virus in vitro, while did not bind and neutralize dengue virus. This feature of the antibodies may reduce side effects. Next, the researchers tested the two antibodies in mice that were exposed to Zika virus. Both the antibodies successfully protected the animals. The researchers assumed that the two antibodies bind to the envelope protein on Zika virus and thus prevents it from entering cells. Zika virus, a mosquito-borne pathogen, was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in monkeys and was identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda. To date, 69 countries and territories have reported evidence of Zika transmission. The findings, described in Science Translational Medicine on 14 December, would help develop drugs and vaccines to combat this devastating virus.
