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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Not just Zika: Other mosquito-borne viruses may cause birth defects, study suggests [statnews.com]

When scientists discovered that the Zika virus was causing birth defects [statnews.com], it seemed to catch the world off guard. The mosquito-borne virus could slip from mother to fetus and damage the developing brain, leaving newborns with a range of serious complications [statnews.com].

But what if other viruses spread by insects also pose a threat to fetuses?

On Wednesday, scientists reported that two viruses, West Nile and Powassan [cdc.gov], attacked mouse fetuses when pregnant mice were infected, killing about half of them. The viruses also successfully infected human placental tissue in lab experiments, an indication that the viruses may be able to breach the placental barrier that keeps many maternal infections from reaching the fetus.

Just because a virus proves fatal to a mouse fetus or replicates in human tissue in the lab does not mean that it causes pregnancy complications or birth defects in people, the scientists were quick to say. But Dr. Jonathan Miner, the senior author of the study [sciencemag.org] [DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aao7090] [DX [doi.org]], which was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, said the results called for further research into these and other emerging viruses, and for experts to keep an eye out for possible complications when pregnant women acquire these infections.

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