Mutations acquired trans-Pacific may be key to changes in Zika severity

(University of North Carolina at Charlotte) Though Zika has been known for 70 years, in many ways the virus is still poorly understood. A new phylogenetic and geographic analysis of Zika's collected genetic sequences provides the most complete study of the virus's history to date. The analysis reveals indications of a surprisingly complex global background including an under-recorded ancestry in Asia. Further, the analysis identifies specific mutations in the Pacific transit that suggest possibl...