Genetic Literacy Project | January 20, 2016
A few more pieces of evidence are needed to make the link causative, said Daniel Lucey an infectious diseases specialist at Georgetown University when GENeS reached out to him for comment. This includes finding the presence of viruses in children born with microcephaly and their mothers, along with ruling out other viruses such as rubella or cytomegalovirus that can also cause the defect. Additionally epidemiological studies to show that pregnant women with Zika are more likely to have children with microcephaly will have to be performed. And lastly, an animal model that can make clear the mechanism behind how exactly Zika leads to a birth defect would need to be developed.