Cura Zika

Cura Zika mark

CURA ZIKA: AN INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE

CURAZIKA.PITT.EDU

The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health is proud to launch Cura Zika, an international alliance to perform much-needed research addressing the Zika epidemic by uniting  Pitt biomedical scientists and their Brazilian collaborators.

Zika is a mosquito-borne and sexually transmitted virus which causes microcephaly in infants born to mothers infected with it. It is also associated with increased risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome and other neurological disorders in people who contract it. The virus is widespread in Southern and Central America and has a likelihood of gaining sustained transmission in the Southern U.S.

Cura Zika builds on Pitt Public Health’s long-standing collaboration with FIOCRUZ , the Brazilian Ministry of Health’s Fundação Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, the most prominent science and technology health institution in Latin America. Cura Zika—which means ‘Cure Zika’ in both Portuguese and Spanish—will provide quick access funding to scientists performing time-sensitive research on the virus. This support is designed to move early-stage innovative research ideas into larger studies in an accelerated manner.

An initial startup grant of $200,000 is being equally matched by funds from the Graduate School of Public Health and from the University of Pittsburgh schools of the health sciences. Already, an additional $800,000 in pledges has been received towards the alliance's efforts to fund research to stop the disease.

Cura Zika Symposium

If you missed the live event, you may still view the Cura Zika symposium video to get a look at some of the related research already underway at the University of Pittsburgh.

Cura Zika Pilot project presentations

Find out more about the research currently under way at this Pitt Public Health event: Cura Zika Pilot Research Grant Presentations.

Zika News

Zika and travel: Marques tells you what you need to know

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THE NEW YORK TIMES - The virus has been out of the headlines, but that doesn't mean it is gone. The World Health Organization just updated guideines for travelling to the Zika zone. "Summer in the north is winter in the south and vice versa, so you have to consider that," said IDM's Ernesto Marques. The virus is still circulating, but it's less prevalent in colder months than in the summer.   

The Zika virus is still a threat. Here's what Marques, other experts know

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THE NEW YORK TIMES - Remember Zika? With measles and Ebola grabbing headlines, it is easy to forget the health panic of 2016, when Zika was linked to severe birth defects in thousands of Brazilian newborns whose mothers were infected while pregnant, striking fear across the country and much of the Americas. "The next outbreak is not a matter of if, but when," said IDM's Ernesto Marques.   

Marques finds that previous exposure to Dengue Fever protects against Zika

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90.5 WESA - Pitt researchers have found that previous exposure to Dengue Fever lowers the risk of infection from the Zika virus. “If we use currently approved Dengue vaccines or vaccines that are already close to become approved, you could boost Dengue responses... and could provide some degree of protection [against the Zika virus]” said IDM's Ernesto Marques, the study’s senior author.  

Marques finds prior dengue infection protects against Zika

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The higher a person's immunity to dengue virus, the lower their risk of Zika infection, an international team of scientists reported in the journal Science. The study also provides evidence that Brazil's Zika epidemic has largely petered out because enough people acquired immunity to reduce the efficiency of transmission. The discovery relied on tests for dengue and Zika developed by IDM's Ernesto Marques and his team and patented by Pitt.   

As Zika babies become toddlers, some can’t see, walk, or talk

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NEW YORK TIMES - Infectious disease researcher ERNESTO MARQUES says about 3 percent of 1,000 pregnant Brazilian women in a recent sample were infected with Zika. “The problem’s not going away. We are still having cases. And the future of Zika babies already born is complicated by poverty and strained resources. “Most of these babies are from low socioeconomic status and rely on the public health system to provide care. It’s very difficult to mana... 

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SUPPORT CURA ZIKA

Help address the Zika epidemic by providing critical, quick-access funding to scientists with innovative, early-stage research ideas.

Click to donate online, or contact David Tye at 412-624-3608 or dat100@pitt.edu.

Zika News

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Zika and travel: Marques tells you what you need to know 

Zika and travel: Marques tells you what you need to know

THE NEW YORK TIMES - The virus has been out of the headlines, but that doesn't mean it is gone. The World Health Organization just updated guideines for travelling to the Zika zone. "Summer in the north is winter in the south and vice versa, so you have to consider that," said IDM's Ernesto Marques... (07/10/2019)
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The Zika virus is still a threat. Here's what Marques, other experts know 

The Zika virus is still a threat. Here's what Marques, other experts know

THE NEW YORK TIMES - Remember Zika? With measles and Ebola grabbing headlines, it is easy to forget the health panic of 2016, when Zika was linked to severe birth defects in thousands of Brazilian newborns whose mothers were infected while pregnant, striking fear across the country and much of the ... (07/03/2019)
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Marques finds that previous exposure to Dengue Fever protects against Zika 

Marques finds that previous exposure to Dengue Fever protects against Zika

90.5 WESA - Pitt researchers have found that previous exposure to Dengue Fever lowers the risk of infection from the Zika virus. “If we use currently approved Dengue vaccines or vaccines that are already close to become approved, you could boost Dengue responses... and could provide some degree of ... (03/07/2019)

View more Zika news

Questions?

Send questions about the Cura Zika initiative, an international alliance to perform much-needed research addressing the Zika epidemic, to CuraZika@pitt.edu.

Cura Zika mark

Media Contact

Allison Hydzik,
manager of media relations 
hydzikam@upmc.edu 
412-647-9975

Cura Zika Advisory Board

Program director
Donald Burke

Scientific director
Ernesto T. A. Marques

Scientific advisors 
Fernando Bozza   
Lee Harrison 
Cecilia Lo 
Celina Martelli 
Yoel Sadovsky