BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Borrowing for Zika

Additional strategies to combat Zika spread

February 25, 2016 8:00 AM UTC

While companies and international aid organizations scramble to address the Zika outbreak, the research community is putting its foot on the gas to understand more about the basic biology of the virus, clarify the mechanism of its pathology and find new ways to stop the disease. The big focus is on a vaccine, but lessons from Ebola, dengue and malaria might pave the way to other options.

On Feb. 10, over 30 organizations committed to rapid, open sharing of data on Zika and future public health emergencies in a joint statement published in multiple journals. The group included NIH and parallel funding agencies from the U.K, China, Japan and four other countries, in addition to seven foundations and eight leading journals...