Unusual type of antibody shows ultrapotent activity against Zika

when passed from a pregnant person to their fetus, this discovery could lead to the development of therapies to protect babies from the potentially devastating effects of this disease., the investigators isolated an ultrapotent immunoglobulin M antibody—a five-armed immune protein that latches onto the virus— using blood cells taken from pregnant people infected with Zika.

Transmitted by infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the Zika virus usually causes a mild illness in adults. However, Zikain pregnant people can cause severe birth defects, including abnormally small heads and brain damage in their babies. One of these patients gave birth to an apparently healthy baby even after having Zika detectable in their blood for nearly two months, an unusually long period. The laboratory teams, led by first author Dr. Tulika Singh, a former graduate student at Duke University Medical Center where Dr.

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