Johns Hopkins Teams Tapped For Zika Virus Research Grant

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore researchers have been selected to develop a solution to head off a potential outbreak of the Zika virus.

Four research teams from Johns Hopkins University are among 21 teams chosen by the U.S. Agency for International  Development to form a defense against the virus, which could pose a serious health threat.

As WJZ's Tracey Leong reports, their research is focused on trapping mosquitoes, which carry the virus, to prevent it from spreading.

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They are "trying to characterize what part of the chemistry of human scent do mosquitoes find attractive, and with this information at hand, we want to engineer a synthetic chemical lure to mimic human scent to create a bait for mosquito traps," said Dr. Conor McMeniman, assistant professor for Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins.

Currently, there is no vaccine to treat the virus.

Symptoms of the virus, which can be spread through sexual contact, tend to be mild. But pregnant women are especially at risk because the virus has been linked to severe birth defects, including microcephaly.

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"We've seen the complications for pregnant women can be severe," President Obama said previously.

The approach from the Johns Hopkins teams would attack the virus at the source, meaning it would not only target Zika but other mosquito-borne illnesses as well. Plus, their goal is to develop a method to prevent future infectious disease outbreaks.

We "may be able to engineer more effective mosquito repellents," said Dr. McMeniman.

Nearly 900 research teams from around the world applied for the grant awarded to Johns Hopkins.

At last check, there were 57 confirmed cases of the Zika virus in Maryland, but all of them are thought to be related to victims traveling to areas where the virus is prevalent.

Still, the recently confirmed cases of locally-transmitted Zika in South Florida have health officials nationwide on high alert.