Zika Virus Exploits Pregnant Women's Immune Systems to Infect & Replicate

New research from the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California (USC) has found that the Zika virus—known for causing devastating birth defects such as microcephaly in newborns—targets specific white blood cells to suppress pregnant women’s immune systems, which allows it to spread.

The virus works to “handicap” the immune system in a way comparable to HIV, senior study author Jae Jung, distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Keck School of Medicine, noted in a recent press release.

“Pregnant women are more susceptible to the Zika virus because pregnancy naturally suppresses a woman’s immune system so her body doesn’t reject the fetus—essentially it’s a foreign object,” Dr. Jung explained. “Our study shows pregnant women are more prone to immune suppression. Zika exploits that weakness to infect and replicate.”

Even though it is known that pregnant women have increased susceptibility to infection and the fear of microcephaly and other associated birth defects is what has researchers desperate to develop a vaccine, Dr. Jung pointed out that none of the phase 1 clinical trials for Zika vaccine candidates have included this population thus far.

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