Zika virus may be one step away from explosive outbreak

A new outbreak of Zika virus is quite possible, warn researchers, with a single mutation potentially enough to trigger an explosive spread.

The disease caused a global medical emergency in 2016, with thousands of babies born brain-damaged after their mums became infected while pregnant.

US scientists say the world should be on the lookout for new mutations.

Lab work, described in the journal Cell Reports, suggests the virus could easily shift, creating new variants.

Recent infection studies suggest those variants may prove effective at transmitting the virus, even in countries which have built up immunity from previous outbreaks of Zika, say the team from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology.

Experts said the findings, although theoretical, were interesting - and a reminder that viruses other than Covid could pose a threat.

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