Researchers from a southeastern Spanish university announced the discovery of a molecule that could be used as a potential drug to fight the effects of a Zika virus infection.

San Antonio Catholic University of Murcia said that scientists belonging to its Bioinformatics and High-Performance Computing research group had found that a compound previously used as an antibiotic countered the symptoms of the mosquito-borne disease.

It’s a drug that had been withdrawn from the market because it had lost its potency as an antibiotic, but we know it can be administered to humans.

The molecular structure of the proteins involved in the Zika virus’ replication process was first described only a year ago.

Zika: Know More

Zika virus is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae.

It is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus.

Its name comes from the Zika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947.