Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine have discovered that people previously infected with Dengue and West Nile have an increased risk for severe Zika virus infection.
Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, PhD, Director of Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine: “If people behave similarly to what we have seen in mice, then that will indicate that these people that have antibodies against Dengue or West Nile are at risk of having an enhanced disease if they experience Zika virus infection.”
Jean Lim, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: “Among the cohort of Dengue and West Nile samples we studied, a large percentage of them were highly cross reactive to Zika virus. Not only that, but they were also able to enhance Zika virus infection.”