Experts Discuss Zika Virus At UC Davis
UC DAVIS (CBS13) — The Zika virus drew top experts to UC Davis to discuss the outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease on Thursday.
As summer nears, the growing risk of the virus and its potentially devastating toll on pregnant women has experts scrambling to find answers.
Doctors from Brazil, the epicenter of the virus, joined top UC Davis doctors in a packed symposium exploring the agonizing question of what can be done.
Chemical ecologist Walter Leal says the solution may lie inside his highly secured lab. Behind the doors, he's breeding mosquitoes in an effort to develop a new repellent to ward off the blood-sucking insects.
"You can use these mosquitoes and test repellents before going to the market," he said.
For now, he says the synthetic chemical deet is considered one of the most effective protections against Zika. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention says deet is safe even for young children and pregnant women, but doctors worry about its bad reputation.
"The worst thing that we want to happen in an epidemic situation is that people end up not using repellents and may end up harming themselves, contracting the disease," Leal said.
Back at the symposium, Hanni Newland is paying close attention. His grandmother just passed away after a long battle with another mosquito virus.
"You expect a flu or some sort of illness, but not west Nile," he said.
He's studying the risk of severe birth defects from the virus, such as microcephaly or small brains in babies. Just as important, are infected women who show no symptoms, mostly fever and rash.
For now, the focus is on prevention before it's too late.
