Zika virus, transmitted by mosquitos and sexual contact, causes fevers, rashes, headaches, and, most concerning, microcephaly in babies born to infected mothers. The current outbreak of Zika in the Americas has left us struggling to find ways to contain the virus. Unfortunately, the actual dynamics of infection, replication, and shedding of this virus are poorly understood. A recent paper published in Nature Medicine identifies some of the ways in which Zika interacts with its hosts.

The authors of this study infected 28 rhesus macaques and eight cynomolgus macaques using two different strains of the Zika virus, tracking the dynamics of the virus within blood, tissues, cerebrospinal fluid, and mucosal secretions. They found that both strains of Zika peaked in the blood within the first week of infection, with no significant differences between males and females.

The study also showed that all animals had significantly elevated body temperatures a day after infection and that they remained significantly elevated for the entire first week of infection.