Letter: West Nile virus similar to Zika virus

Much concern has been expressed regarding the abnormal number of children born in our area with neural tube birth defects. With the advent of the Zika virus showing its involvement in microencephaly presenting in infected infants/mothers, it may be time to look at the role of the West Nile virus which is present in our area.

West Nile is spread by mosquitoes, and belongs to the same viral family as the Zika virus. Since the state health department has not been able to determine the causative agent for these birth defects, I propose that the mothers of these infants be tested to see if they have antibodies to the West Nile virus. This virus may be one that has been overlooked regarding birth defects, much as the Zika virus was overlooked.

Zika virus is a member of the Flaviviridae family and is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. It is related to other pathogenic vector-borne flaviviruses including Dengue, West-Nile and Japanese encephalitis viruses, but produces a comparatively mild disease in humans (extract from Wikipedia).

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Letter: West Nile virus similar to Zika virus."