«The whole world has been in urgent need of a serological method to distinguish dengue virus from Zika virus infections, and this the first to have such high sensitivity and specificity in dengue - endemic regions,» said Eva Harris, study co-author and UC Berkeley professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at the School of Public Health. (sciencedaily.com)
She said the study also suggests that co-infection with chikungunya inhibits infection of Zika virus in the Aedes aegypti mosquito, meaning that one virus may outcompete another in mosquitoes, which could have an impact on the epidemiology of two mosquito - borne viruses circulating at the same time. (sciencedaily.com)
Four cases of Zika infection in Florida were probably acquired via the bite of local mosquitoes, the state's health department announced July 29. (sciencenews.org)