NIH launches large multi-country study.

• Position: Zika Virus - Brief article

The National Institutes of Health and Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, a national scientific research organization linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, have begun a multi-country study to evaluate the magnitude of health risks 1hat Zika virus infection poses to pregnant women and their developing fetuses and infants. The study is opening in Puerto Rico and will expand to several locations in Brazil, Colombia, and other areas that are experiencing active local transmission of the virus.

Zika virus is spread primarily through bites from infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, although other forms of transmission--notably, mother-to-child and sexual--also occur. Active virus transmission currently is ongoing in 60 countries and territories.

The virus has been linked to a spike in cases of microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and possible neurological damage, sparking international...