Disease

Measles Alert in New Zealand

Medical Officer of Health Michael Hale has confirmed a measles alert for various locations in central Auckland and Newmarket. People who have visited these locations at these times are likely to be exposed to the disease and if they are not immune could get measles.

France: More animal anthrax

In a follow-up to a report two weeks ago, authorities in Moselle department in Northeast France say the number of cattle that have died from the bacterial disease, anthrax, has risen to 25, according to a Europe 1 report.

The additional cases have been reported on several farms. Vaccination of animals, including sheep and cattle, has begun. Cases of anthrax near Lunéville have caused some problems with farmers as authorities have taken a long period (several days) to collect samples from the animals and to dispose of the diseased carcasses.

Zika may cause brain damage in adults, too

Zika may pose a danger for far many more of us than pregnant women and babies, a new study suggests.

Mosquitoes have now transmitted the virus in a second area in South Florida, officials announced on Friday, as they advised pregnant women not to travel to the zone in Miami Beach. As the virus spreads in the Americas, with more than 10,000 cases confirmed in the United States, researchers are working to understand its subtleties and develop a vaccine.

In addition to causing the birth defect microcephaly, Zika can wreak havoc in our brains’ stem cells, researchers from Rockefeller University and La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology found in a study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell Thursday.

The stem cells, known as neural progenitor cells, help replace damaged neurons—the main components of our brain and spinal cord—and assist with learning and memory. Using a mouse model, the researchers found that Zika can target those cells, which can lead to reduced brain volume and complications in brain functioning—similar to the long-term effects of microcephaly.

“Getting infected with Zika as an adult may not be as innocuous as people think,” Joseph Gleeson, the study’s lead author and head of Rockefeller’s paediatric brain disease laboratory, said in a release.