Researchers: Zika Virus Blocked From Fetus By Antibiotic

BERKELEY, CA — Scientists at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco have collaborated on research that may lead to the prevention of microcephaly due to Zika virus, according to a paper published this week in Cell Host & Microbe.

The scientists found that an old antibiotic, duramycin, blocked Zika virus from reaching the developing fetus.

“Very few viruses reach the fetus during pregnancy and cause birth defects,” said Lenore Pereira, a virologist and professor of cell and tissue biology in the UCSF school of dentistry. “Understanding how some viruses are able to do this is a very significant question and may be the most essential question for thinking about ways to protect the fetus when the mother gets infected.”

The researchers report that Zika reaches the fetus by two routes — through the placenta in the first trimester, and across the amniotic sac beginning in the second trimester. Duramycin blocked both routes.

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“Our paper shows that duramycin efficiently blocks infection of numerous placental cell types and intact first-trimester human placental tissue by contemporary strains of Zika virus recently isolated from the current outbreak in Latin America, where Zika virus infection during pregnancy has been associated with microcephaly and other congenital birth defects,” said study coauthor Eva Harris, a professor of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. “This indicates that duramycin or similar drugs could effectively reduce or prevent transmission of Zika virus from mother to fetus across both potential routes and prevent associated birth defects.”

Duramycin has also proven effective in experiments against dengue and West Nile virus, which, like Zika, are flaviviruses. The antibiotic is also being tested as a treatment for other diseases.

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Read the full scientific paper here

Photo by Takako Tabata, UC San Francisco via UC Berkeley Media Relations

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