HelenBranswell

That's going to take time. And there won't be a moment where they say: Ah, there's the final proof. They've found traces of virus in brain tissue from 2 microcephalic babies who died after birth and from amniotic fluid and placenta from 4 women who were carrying fetuses with microcephaly. Those are really good clues infection in the mother is leading to infection in the fetus. But labs will want to confirm those results by finding this evidence in more cases. Brazil, with the help of the US CDC, will also conduct what are called case control studies. They will interview, in huge detail, women who were infected during pregnancy and who had a baby with microcephaly. They will ask about their experiences during pregnancy -- what did they eat, where did they travel, what were they exposed to? They'll ask the same questions of women who were pregnant at the same time but didn't have babies with microcephaly to see if there are obvious things that are different and they'll explore them further. This is all going to take months, unfortunately. In the mean time, authorities will be watching to see if microcephalic babies are born in other countries that are having Zika outbreaks.

Hi. I can't know how bad Zika will be there. But most people who contract the virus don't get sick. That's important to remember.

Hi, traveLover. The thinking is that the Zika virus doesn't last in one's system all that long. Maybe 10 days or so. At present the experts don't think getting infected in say April could affect a pregnancy that doesn't yet exist. But you should watch the CDC Zika site for information updates and speak with your doctor closer to the time if you are concerned.

So currently the antibody test for Zika isn't super useful for doing the type of study you are asking about. It cross reacts with dengue, so if you get a positive result, you know the person had Zika or dengue, but you don't know which. Brazil has had a huge dengue outbreak in the past few years.

I got into journalism and science journalism by fluke. I had been a journalist for more than 20 years when the health job at my former media outlet came open. I was asked to apply. I didn't want to. Thank goodness I was talked into it. Best. Job. Ever. I don't have a graduate degree and my BA is in English lit. My path was happenstance and serendipity -- and a lot of reading!