Zika Virus News, Update: Recent Studies On Mosquito-Related Virus More Confusing As Findings Drastically Differ

Extensive studies conducted on the notorious Zika virus are getting more and more confusing. The two latest medical researches on the disease presented this week, nonetheless by top medical journals, have arrived at very different findings as reported by PBS.

One of the studies reported only 6 percent of pregnancies being affected by the virus, while the other reported a whopping 42 percent. Given that the two studies did not use the same number of subjects, the first one studied 125 pregnant women in Brazil while the second one looked at 442 women in the US, the results they yielded are still staggeringly worlds apart.

The enormous difference of the findings has given rise to confusion, but has also paved the way for researchers to ask the correct questions such as how often the virus affects pregnant women and exactly at what trimester. These questions need urgent answers as Zika has been linked to a rise in the number of infant death in Brazil as reported by Sciencemag.

Going back to the confusing findings, it's no secret that due to the cloudy outcomes of the studies, a deluge of similar researches are expected to flood the medical community in the following months. Still, Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist with the Pasteur Institute in Paris, is excited that so many researches are being conducted on the matter. She says that it is natural for the studies not to arrive to the same conclusion since all of them are at different stages and have been using various methodologies.

Another important reason why the scientist regularly yield confusing results is the fact that most of the medical terminologies used in the Zika case are confusing themselves. Take for example the definition of microcephaly, which basically means "small head". This deformity is the main feature of a baby affected by Zika virus. Interestingly, there isn't one accepted definition of the word. In effect, the same baby that is deemed microcephalic in one country might not be accepted as one in another as reported by PBS.

Despite being the most popularly searched and feared virus of 2016, what we know about the Zika virus is still minimal at best. Scientists are working around the clock to get a clearer picture hopefully soon

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