Scientists Investigate How Viruses Like Zika Cause Birth Defects

The Zika virus has quickly gained Ebola-level notoriety as it has spread through the Western Hemisphere in recent months. Researchers in Brazil, where it was first detected in May, have linked infections in pregnant women to a condition known as microcephaly: infants born with undersize heads.

Where birth defects are concerned, however, the Zika virus is far from unique. A number of other viruses, such as rubella and cytomegalovirus, pose a serious risk during pregnancy. Researchers have uncovered some important clues about how those pathogens injure fetuses — findings that are now helping to guide research into the potential link between Zika and microcephaly.

“I think we’ll discover a lot of parallels,” said Dr. Mark R. Schleiss, the director of pediatric infectious diseases and immunology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

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