Zhejiang doctors publish new treatments that cause global concern or will be able to treat Zika virus

According to the Ministry of Health of Singapore, as of September 7, the total number of Zika virus infections in Singapore increased to 283. Among them, there are still 30 cases of Chinese citizens infected in Singapore.

Singapore's local spread of Zika cases has proliferated in the past week or so. As Aedes mosquitoes breed in Southeast Asia, it means that Zika virus may become an epidemic in the region. Zhejiang has a large number of people coming to and from Singapore, will it bring risks to Zhejiang? What should you pay attention to when you travel?

In addition, the reporter learned from the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital that Dr. Xu Miao, who was sent to the National Translational Medicine Research Center of the United States, together with American scientists, has found three types of effective drugs among more than 6,000 alternative drugs. Of course, these drugs are subject to animal and clinical trials before they can be used for treatment.

Zhejiang has reported 4 cases of imported cases

On February 9 this year, the National Health and Family Planning Commission informed that the first case of imported Zika virus infection was found in China.

On February 19, Zhejiang Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission reported: First case of imported Zika virus infection in our province: the patient was male, 38 years old, from Yiwu City, and traveled to Fiji and Samoa on February 2 (Fiji And Samoa as the country of the outbreak);

On February 23, two new cases of imported Zika virus infection were found: two cases were father-son relationship, and Yiwu people were the same group of tourists in the province.

On February 26, another case was reported. The patient was a female, 42 years old. Wenzhou County Wencheng County, working in Suriname, South America (Suriname is the country where Zika virus outbreaks occurred), has a history of mosquito bites.

Wang Linghang, deputy director of the Infection Center of Beijing Ditan Hospital, said that the species of Aedes mosquitoes related to the spread of Zika virus in China are mainly Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Among them, Aedes aegypti is mainly distributed in Hainan, Guangdong, Yunnan, Guangxi and other places. Aedes albopictus is widely distributed in the north to Shenyang and Dalian, through Tianshui and Weinan, to the Medog and the southeastern part of Tibet. From the perspective of mosquito density, the risk of Zika virus transmission in the north is much smaller than in the south.

Returning from Singapore for at least 8 weeks before returning to pregnancy

Our country has frequent exchanges with Singaporeans. Singapore is also one of the important travel destination countries for our citizens. For this reason, the epidemic is not excluded through the infection or the introduction of poisonous mosquitoes. On September 7, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued the "Announcement on Travel Alerts on Zika Virus Diseases in Singapore and Other Countries/Regions", as follows:

1. Those who travel to countries such as Singapore where Zika virus disease is locally spread should take strict precautions during travel to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, such as wearing light-colored long-sleeved clothes and trousers, spraying mosquito repellents, Use mosquito nets, etc. Self-monitoring of health status during Singapore, such as being bitten by mosquitoes and having symptoms such as fever and rash, should seek medical advice promptly.

2. Persons who have recently returned to China from countries where Zika virus disease has been transmitted in Singapore, especially those who have been known to have local epidemic areas or are bitten by mosquitoes, should have symptoms such as fever and rash when entering the country. Proactively report to the entry-exit inspection and quarantine institution orally. If you have any of the above symptoms after entry, you should seek medical advice immediately, and explain to the doctor the history of recent travel and the history of mosquito bites, and continue to spray mosquito repellent within 21 days to avoid spreading family members or others.

Third, pregnant women or pregnant women and their sexual partners should try to avoid going to Singapore and other areas known to have local epidemics. If you really need to go, you can consult the International Travel Health Care Center of the local Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau before the departure of the plan, and take precautionary measures in advance. Recently, there are people living and traveling in the local epidemic areas of Zika virus disease in Singapore. If they are bitten by mosquitoes and have symptoms such as fever and rash, they should seek medical advice promptly. After returning home, it is recommended to plan for pregnancy at least 8 weeks later. If you are pregnant, you should inform your doctor about the history of travel and the history of mosquito bites, and closely monitor the development of the fetus.

Chinese and American scientists find three types of effective drugs

On Friday, Cai Xiujun, the president of Run Run Shaw Hospital, received a good news from the United States. The hospital sent to the National Translational Medicine Research Center to study the intensive medical doctor Xu Miao, recently as the first author in the global authoritative magazine "Nature Medicine" " published a discussion and caused a sensation in the industry. On the same day, the Wall Street Journal, the National Institutes of Health, and a number of mainstream media in Europe and the United States reported on this.

So, what did Dr. Xu Miao write about in the end, can cause so much attention from so many foreign mainstream media?

As we all know, there is currently no vaccine against Zika virus, and there is no corresponding treatment. In this context, in March of this year, Dr. Xu Miao's National Center for Translational Medicine researched with Johns Hopkins University and Florida State University to study drugs for the treatment of Zika virus infection.

The researchers used a high-throughput screening method to test day and night on neural stem cells, astrocytes, and astrocytoma induced by iPS cells. After more than three months, the researchers finally found three effective drugs in more than 6,000 drug libraries: Emricasan can effectively protect brain cells from Zika virus, and Niclosamide and CDK inhibitors can effectively inhibit the virus. Replicate, and have synergistic anti-viral effects with each other. At the same time, they are effective against the African, Asian and Puerto Rican Zika viruses.

On August 29th, Xu Miao and the results of research by American scientists, "Studies on anti-Zika virus infection and treatment of small cell drugs caused by neuronal necrosis" were published in the global authoritative journal Nature Medicine.

"Our article is just a new beginning. These drugs will go through animal and clinical trials before they can eventually be used for the treatment of Zika virus." Dr. Xu Miao, who is in the United States, told reporters.

[ News help]

What is Zika virus?

The Zika virus was first discovered in 1947. It was originally only prevalent in Africa and some South Asian countries. The disease was not serious, and 80% of the infected people had no symptoms. However, since 2015, the Zika virus epidemic has spread rapidly in South America, and there have even been more than 4,100 cases of neonatal microcephaly in Brazil. In addition, some countries, including Brazil, report adult Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death. A growing number of studies have shown that the Zika virus spread in the Americas is the culprit in neonatal microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Zika virus is mainly transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, and other types of mosquitoes may also transmit Zika virus. Mosquitoes are infected with Zika virus infection, and then it spreads the virus to others by biting. Aedes mosquitoes generally bite people during the day, and the peak activity is 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset, which is usually 8:00 am and 4 or 5 pm. The female bites are female mosquitoes. Once they have been full of blood, they can lay eggs in about 3 days. Each female mosquito can produce hundreds of eggs.

In addition to mosquito bites, Zika patients can also be transmitted through sexual transmission and mother-to-child transmission.