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CONFIDENTIAL: Embargoed Until Tuesday, February 16, 2016 10:00 ET
Global Virus Network (GVN) Launches Zika Task Force Comprised of Leading
Virus Researchers from Around the Globe
GVN catalyzes international collaborations in an effort to address the urgent need to share
information and research to better combat the global Zika outbreak
February XX, 2016, Baltimore, MD: The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing 35 Centers
of Excellence and 5 Affiliates in 26 countries, and comprising foremost experts in every class of
virus causing disease in humans, today announced the formation of the GVN Zika Task Force
chaired by Scott Weaver, PhD, who is also co-chairman for the GVN Chikungunya Task Force
and is director of the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Institute for Human Infections and
Immunity and scientific director of the Galveston National Laboratory, a GVN Center of
Excellence. The GVN Zika Task force, which is expected to grow, fills a gap identified by leading
scientists to catalyze urgent international collaborative research. The announcement was made
today by Robert Gallo, MD, co-founder of the GVN and chair of GVN’s Scientific Leadership
Board and José Esparza, MD, PhD, president of the GVN.
“I am pleased to chair GVN’s Zika Task Force which will serve as a catalyst for driving
communication and information flow between fellow GVN colleagues researching and
responding to the Zika epidemic gripping much of Central and South America and the
Caribbean,” said Dr. Weaver. “Our research team has been studying Zika virus for several years
now, including working with countries such as Senegal to study enzootic ecology as well as
Brazil and Mexico in developing sensitive diagnostics to identify those infected and follow the
epidemiology of these outbreaks.” Dr. Weaver continued, “We look forward to beginning
nonhuman primate model development next month and continuing vaccine research, and to
coordinating efforts with others in the GVN Zika Task Force in these efforts.”
“GVN’s mission includes accelerating research from our Centers of Excellence to advance
testing, treating and prevention tools to clinics worldwide,” said Dr. Gallo, who is also The
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Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine and Director of the Institute of
Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a GVN Center of Excellence.
“Having said that, people constantly ask scientists to move faster, act quicker. To them I
suggest investing more in research to advance laboratory discoveries so that when acute
outbreaks such as Zika or Ebola occur, public health officials are better prepared.” He
continued, “We need to be – and we can be – on the offense, not defense.”
Zika virus is transmitted to humans primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species
mosquito, which are the same species spreading the chikungunya and dengue viruses. This
presents a scientific problem in that the Zika virus is challenging to diagnose because, once
viremia ends after about 7 to 10 days of acute infection, there are cross reactions among
antibodies generated by other flaviviruses such dengue and yellow fever, which are endemic in
many regions experiencing outbreaks.
“Zika virus is being actively transmitted in 29 countries and one US territory, and the numbers
will continue to grow,” said Dr. Esparza. “A global response is imperative. International
collaborations and shared information is key to addressing the Zika virus outbreak. The GVN
Zika Task Force fulfills this by strengthening GVN’s internal and external strategic alliances
involved in the urgent response to this global public health emergency.”
Giuseppe Ippolito, MD, scientific director of the National Institute for Infectious Diseases
Lazzaro Spallanzani in Rome, Italy, which is a member of Italy’s GVN Center of Excellence said,
“We are pleased to be of service in the international response to this world crisis via the Global
Virus Network. Our institute has established a collaborative project with colleagues in Slovenia
and Brazil to study Zika virus occurrence and pathogenesis, and we look forward to sharing our
findings with other members of the GVN Task Force.”
There is evidence suggesting Zika virus can cause microcephaly, a neurological condition in
newborns that includes an abnormally small head due to abnormal brain development, leading
to lifelong mental impairment and in some cases death. Currently, there are no reports of
infants obtaining Zika virus through breastfeeding. Although spread of the virus through blood
transfusion and sexual contact has been reported, more research is needed to determine the
role of direct human-to-human transmission in the current epidemic.
Jorge Osorio, PhD, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
and a GVN Zika Task Force member, recently returned from researching Zika virus in Colombia,
where the total of confirmed Zika cases is second only to Brazil. “We are building the capacity
to better diagnose Zika infections in Colombia, as well as dengue and chikungunya, which are
also viruses contracted by the same mosquitoes. As we learn more about this virus and others
like it, particularly through other members of the GVN Task Force, we will better predict similar
outbreaks. In the meantime, we need to control mosquito populations in affected regions, and
promote protection tactics against mosquitoes.”
In children and adults, Zika virus infection is generally mild - some develop flu-like symptoms,
joint pain, eye inflammation and rashes, while other people may not have any symptoms. The
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disease may also lead to serious complications, including Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder
where the immune system attacks the peripheral nerves, sometimes leading to paralysis.
Members of the Global Virus Network Zika Task Force include:
Chair: Scott Weaver, MS, PhD
Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston,
TX, USA
Sazaly Bin Abu Bakar, PhD, Msc, Bsc
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Michael Diamond, MD, PhD
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
Leroy Eric DVM, PhD
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier, France
Antoine Gessain, MD PhD
Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
Xavier Abad Morejón de Girón, PhD
Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, Catalonia, Spain
Diane Griffin, MD, PhD
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
Andrew Haddow, PhD
United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, Ft. Detrick, MD, USA
Giuseppe Ippolito, MD
National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani, Rome, Italy
Albert Ko, MD
Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
Alain Kohl, PhD
MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, Scotland
Marc Lecuit, MD PhD
Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
Julius Lutwama, PhD
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Makerere University, Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda
John Mackenzie, AO, PhD, FTSE, FASM, FACTM
Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Núria Busquets Martí, PhD
Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal, Catalonia, Spain
Ken Olson, PhD
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA
Jorge Osorio, PhD
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
University of Antioquia Medical School and Fundacion Antioqueña de Infectologia, Medellin,
Colombia
Amadou Sall, PhD
Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
Raymond Schinazi, PhD, Hon DSc
Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
Ed Tramont, MD
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA
Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD
Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
Nikos Vasilakis, PhD
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
David Watkins, PhD
University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Stephen Whitehead, PhD
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA
About the Global Virus Network (GVN)
The Global Virus Network (GVN) is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, comprised of leading medical
virologists from 35 Centers of Excellence and 5 Affiliates in 26 countries. The GVN’s mission is to combat
current and emerging pandemic viral threats through international collaborative research, training the
next generation of medical virologists, and advocacy. For more information, please visit www.gvn.org.
Follow us on Twitter @GlobalVirusNews
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