UK Medicines Research Council pledges £1.5m in funding to tackle Zika virus
Aims to fast track research into the nature of the virus, its transmission and potential link to microcephaly
The UK Medical Research Council is making funds available in a 'Rapid Response' initiative to encourage research into the Zika virus.
Initially, up to £1m from the Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund will be made available to researchers applying for grants to study the virus, its transmission and potential link to neurological conditions such as microcephaly.
The MRC suggests possible avenues of research could include:
- Epidemiological characteristics, e.g. vector transmission potential, geographical spread, interactions with other arboviruses, changing viral genotype, host susceptibility, incubation period, etc
- Development of more specific rapid diagnostic tests for Zika virus that can reduce misdiagnosis that may occur due to the presence of dengue or other viruses in a test sample
- Viral pathogenicity, association with and potential mechanistic links to neurodevelopment/microcephaly
- Mechanisms of infection and host immune responses and potential therapeutics/vaccines
'It’s critical that we find out more about the Zika virus as soon as possible, so we are allocating funding to help researchers answer some of the most pressing questions about the disease,' said Professor Sir John Savill, Chief Executive of the MRC.
'We need to be able to develop treatments and vaccines but first we need answers to vital questions about the nature of this virus – such as if and how it is changing, how to control the spread of the disease, and how to both diagnose and prevent infection.'
He added: 'The UK has a wealth of excellent scientists working in virus research and in the fields of genetics, immunology, epidemiology and mosquito vectors.
It’s critical that we find out more about the Zika virus as soon as possible
'Zika is unlikely to be a serious public health problem in the UK, because the virus is spread by tropical mosquitoes, but it’s hugely important that we use our home-grown expertise to help tackle health problems of significant global impact.'
At the Spending Review the Government announced a £1.5 billion Global Challenges Research Fund to keep the UK at the forefront of research into issues of global importance.
Universities and Science Minister, Jo Johnson, said: 'The spread of the Zika virus to a growing number of countries in Central and South America has now been recognised as a global emergency by the WHO. Zika needs to be fought on a number of fronts, and the UK’s world-class scientists have an important role to play. Thanks to the Government’s decision to protect the science budget and establish a new Global Challenges Research Fund, UK scientists can immediately start tackling this problem.'
At the same time as the rapid response initiative, the MRC and the Foundation for Science and Technology of the state of Pernambuco (FAPERPE) have recently agreed to jointly fund a research proposal to investigate the viral features and host responses to Zika virus with a view to designing new preventative strategies. This agreement follows a joint call for research applications under the UK Government’s Newton Fund.
Researchers at the MRC Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow will be working with a team at the Research Centre Aggeu Magalhães at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Pernambuco, Brazil. The joint award is around £300,000.
The main objective of the project is to study the presence and epidemiology of the Zika virus in Brazil and to understand how the immune system of people infected with the virus responds to the infection. Genetic techniques will be used to support diagnostics and vaccine development studies as well as helping to understand the biology of the Zika virus during infection.
