UW-Madison researchers plan next week to start monkey studies of Zika virus, which has caused an outbreak apparently linked to birth defects in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Campus scientists will infect rhesus macaque monkeys with the mosquito-borne virus to examine three questions: how long Zika persists in blood, urine and saliva; if infection protects against future exposure; and whether the stage of pregnancy in which infection occurs impacts the effects on offspring. Read the full Wisconsin State Journal story here.