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USU researchers studying live Zika virus to develop immunization compound

Utah State University scientists at the Institute for Antiviral Research are taking a close look at the Zika virus in the hopes of discovering an antiviral treatment. In Logan, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016.

LOGAN — The Zika virus has arrived in Utah, but not inside a mosquito nor in the blood of a traveler from Brazil.

Instead, the pathogen is secured in a laboratory at Utah State University as scientists there begin studies at the Institute for Antiviral Research.

As mosquito-bourne viruses go, Zika is not new. It's been around since 1947 but hasn't really captured the spotlight until recently.