Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, you probably didn't expect to be talking quite so much about monkeypox — or to see that an outbreak of the virus, which normally circulates in west and central Africa, would spread to 18 people in nine U.S. states and nearly 180 cases in the U.K.

Wound healing events in mucous tissues during early infection by Simian Immunodeficiency Virus, or SIV, guard some primate species against developing AIDS, a recent study has learned. The research looked at why certain species can carry the virus throughout their lives, and still avoid disease progression.

SIV is closely related to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is used as a laboratory model for many studies seeking AIDS and HIV cures and preventions.

By Leila Gray / UW Medicine

“Current criteria using head size to diagnose Zika-related brain injury fail to capture more subtle brain damage that can lead to significant learning problems and mental health disorders later in life,” said Dr. Kristina Adams Waldorf, Professor Global Health and Obstetrics and Gynecology in the University of Washington's Schools of Public Health and Medicine, who specializes in maternal and fetal infections. “We are diagnosing only the tip of the iceberg.”

By Molly Shen

SEATTLE -- On the heels of the World Health Organization declaring a public health emergency related to the Zika virus, local scientists said they are already working on a cure. And if they're able to treat Zika, it could also mean a cure for viruses ranging from West Nile to Ebola, to the common cold.

Scientists at biotech company Kineta and the University of Washington are developing the compound. Just like antibiotics treat bacterial infections, their antiviral drug would fend off a range of viruses.