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Previous exposure to dengue may make Zika worse, scientists find

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists studying the Zika outbreak in Brazil say previous exposure to another mosquito-borne virus, dengue, may exacerbate the potency of Zika infection. The scientists said their results, published in the journal Nature Immunology, suggested that some dengue antibodies can recognize and bind to Zika due to the similarities between the two viruses, but that these antibodies may also amplify Zika infection in a phenomenon called antibody-dependent enhancement. This effect is already known with dengue, they said, and is thought to explain why, when a person gets dengue fever a second time, the infection is often more serious than the first.

Colombia reports first two Zika-linked microcephaly cases

Colombian health authorities on Thursday reported the country's first two cases of microcephaly associated with Zika, the day after US scientists concluded the virus can cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads. Colombia has the second largest number of Zika cases in Latin America after Brazil, putting it on the leading edge of a mosquito-borne epidemic that has spread as far north as the United States. “Colombia confirmed the two first cases of microcephaly associated with Zika,” Colombia's public health ministry said in a statement.

CDC, Brazil start big study to test Zika link to birth defects

U.S. and Brazilian researchers are heading to João Pessoa in the state of Paraíba on Monday to recruit mothers and babies in one of the biggest government-led studies to understand whether the Zika virus is linked to microcephaly, a rare birth defect. Brazil has confirmed more than 500 cases of microcephaly, defined by an unusually small head, since the start of the outbreak. The spike in microcephaly prompted the World Health Organization on Feb. 1 to declare Zika an international health emergency.

Brazil confirms zica virus link to fetal brain-damage outbreak

By Jeb Blount RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – A link between a form of fetal brain damage and the mosquito-born zica virus has been confirmed by Brazilian health authorities on Saturday. The link between zica, first medically identified as a new disease half a century ago, and birth defects has never been made. The virus, endemic in parts Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and some Pacific Islands, has until now been blamed for symptoms such as fever, mild headache, skin rashes, joint pain and conjunctivitis, or “red eye.” Initial analysis shows that the virus can be passed to a fetus and that the fetus is at greatest risk from the virus during the first three months of pregnancy, the statements said.

Anger at burst dams in Brazil focuses on Vale, mining code

By Stephen Eisenhammer and Marta Nogueira MARIANA, Brazil (Reuters) – As despair turns to anger over a deadly dam burst at a Brazilian mine, lawmakers pushed on Tuesday for tougher regulations in a new mining code and iron ore giant Vale SA came under pressure to help mourning families and contain the environmental impact. In five days of rescue efforts in towns ravaged by the massive mudflow, six bodies have been found and 22 people are still missing, making it one of the worst mining disasters in Brazil's history. The tragedy in the mineral-rich southeastern state of Minas Gerais has displaced hundreds of residents, triggered investigations by prosecutors and spurred calls for stricter oversight of the mining industry, a huge provider of jobs and government tax receipts.

Prosthetic leg stolen from California blade-runner

By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A leading U.S. amputee athlete seeking to compete in next year’s Paralympic Games in Brazil has been sidelined from training after his $30,000 prosthetic running leg was stolen from his car in San Francisco, he said on Thursday. The prosthesis, consisting of a carbon fiber blade and titanium, hydraulic-operated knee socket, had been specially designed to allow Ranjit Steiner to bend his right leg with human-like mechanics when he runs, he said. Steiner said he had been driving to work on Tuesday, his 24th birthday, when he realized that a rear window of his car had been smashed – apparently while parked on the street overnight in the Mission District – and he discovered that his laptop computer and prosthesis had been stolen. “There’s no value to anybody who can’t use this thing,” he said of the artificial leg.