SCOTTISH scientists have provided new insight into the workings of the Zika virus after sequencing the genome of the disease.

The team at Glasgow University studied samples taken from a patient in Brazil and helped to identify how the illness fights the immune system.

It is hoped the advance will aid the search for a vaccine to protect people – particularly pregnant women – from the virus.

Zika, once a little-known virus, has spread rapidly from Brazil to other parts of South and Central America as well as the Caribbean.

While the symptoms it causes tend to be mild, there is evidence it leads to birth defects – in particular, a condition associated with a small head, called microcephaly.

The researchers in Glasgow studied a Zika virus isolated from a patient with classic symptoms and then detailed the full genomic sequence of the virus, including the most difficult parts to sequence.

They identified a Zika virus-derived molecule that inhibits an important part of the host’s immune system, which the researchers say may be key to understanding how the virus causes disease.

The research, published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, was supported by the UK Government and Brazilian partners through the Newton Fund and undertaken with a group of international colleges, including in Brazil.

The team compared the genome sequence from the South American Zika virus sample with other available Zika sequences.

Dr Alain Kohl, of the Glasgow Centre for Virus research, said: “There has been a lot of progress in the last six months – an interesting number of findings that have been made by a number of groups across the world.

“This is, I think, an interesting next step because it is adding to what we know about how the virus fights the human response.”

The team in Glasgow have a grant from the Department of Health to work on the development of a Zika vaccine.

Dr Claire Donald, from the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, added: “This work shows that Zika virus acts in a way that is comparable in some respect to what we know about host immune response antagonism for related viruses such as dengue and West Nile viruses.

“Comparing our isolate with other Zika viruses shows that they are very similar to each other at the genetic level. Therefore it is important for us to understand what factors are involved in the development of disease as well as identifying the key differences between the strains.”

Dr Jonathan Pearce, head of infections and immunity at the Medical Research Council, said the research demonstrated the importance of cross-border working in the face of global health threats.

He said: “Our researchers in the UK were able to get to work with colleagues in Brazil well ahead of the virus being declared a global public health emergency.

“Together they have gained a much deeper understanding of how the infection develops, and in-depth insights like this is exactly what we need if we are to develop successful approaches to combat the disease.”