Cross-Protection From Dengue and Zika Infection

In some parts of the world, Zika is almost like a secondary infection. It has spread to Brazil/Latin America and is moving into places in Asia where people previously had dengue. When one encounters a pathogen in real life, two arms of the immune system spring into action to neutralize it. In the so-called humoral response, B-cells begin to secrete specific antibody proteins, which latch onto and neutralize pathogens in tissue or blood. Simultaneously, a cell-mediated immunity system also becomes active, deploying cytotoxic T-cells to directly recognize and kill pathogen-infected cells.