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Name: Veronica Rosero Morillo

The Zika Virus Grew Deadlier With a Small

Mutation, Study Suggests

The Zica virus existed for decades elsewhere in the

world but suddenly seem to become more
destructive when it is in Latin America due to a small
mutation called S139N.
Zika is believed to have first appeared in Latin
America later in 2013, possibly introduced by soccer
players from French Polynesia competing in a
tournament in Brazil. The mutation has appeared in
every strain of the virus in the Latin American
outbreak.

In Latin America, the Zika virus, cause thousands of babies to be born with microcephaly, small and
damaged brains while in Africa and Asia the Zika seemed to cause much less harm. A recent study in
mice suggests that a single genetic mutation helped transform the Zica virus into a devastating force
in Latin America. The study found that strains of Zika with the S139N mutation caused more death and
microcephaly in mice than other strains and the S139N strain killed many more human cells important
to early brain development than an earlier strain without the mutation.
The researchers do not claim the S139N mutation is only responsible for the birth defects among
children born to women infected by mosquitoes during pregnancy. Other causes could involve
differences in the population in Latin America, including the possibilities that their genetic makeup or
exposure to previous mosquito-borne viruses made them more susceptible to harm from Zika.
The experts said the tests must be replicated in primates, because laboratory experiments with mice
and even human brain cells cannot fully capture how the virus functions in nature.