Mouse studies link Zika virus infection to microcephaly
By Meghan Rosen
Three new studies published May 11 further bolster the idea that Zika virus infection in utero causes birth defects.
One study shows that mice engineered to be susceptible to Zika can pass the virus to offspring via the placenta. In these pregnant mice, which have severely crippled immune systems, Zika infection can kill fetuses and developing brain cells, too, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis report in Cell. But the researchers can’t say for certain whether the virus itself snuffs out cells, or whether damage to the placenta starves cells of oxygen.