The dreaded Zika virus has become the new game of cat and mouse that scientists once played with HIV‚ and while South Africa remains free of it‚ two African nations are now affected. Researchers have also found that microcephaly - small brain and head - is not the only problem Zika causes‚ while other scientists are developing a cheap and rapid detection test.Guinea-Bissau has reported three confirmed cases of the disease‚ while Cape Verde (also in West Africa) has seen 7500 cases since October 2015.South African researchers are monitoring the spread of the disease‚ and Professor Maureen Coetzee‚ director of the Wits Research Institute for Malaria‚ said in a statement: “Extremely rapid spread of Zika virus has opened up new avenues of research to determine the likelihood of a similar epidemic occurring in South Africa.”The American Chemical Society said it was pinning hopes to a rapid Zika test that costs only $2 and analyses saliva.Lead researcher Jinzhao Song‚ from the University of Pennsylvania‚ said the test was “highly sensitive”‚ could aid in the “rapid detection” of Zika and was “simple‚ easy to use‚ and inexpensive”.It could also be carried out at point of care and came in the form of a disposable cassette “that carries out all the unit operations from sample introduction to detection”.Song added: “Our system is particularly suitable for resource-poor settings where centralised laboratory facilities‚ funds and trained personnel are in short supply.”This could allay a global panic if early detection leads to slowing down the spread.Even though the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently advised that the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro should not be moved or postponed‚ because the risk of them causing a further spread was “very low”‚ public health experts are still debating the validity of the call.New information on the effects of the virus is fuelling the flames of fear.According to the Scientific American‚ “doctors have found that children who escape microcephaly remain vulnerable to joint pains‚ vision impairment and seizures”.Others effects reported in research to be presented next week at a conference in Texas include developmental delays that only become apparent “in the weeks and months after birth”‚ and “trouble with feeding‚ and persistent crying”.What has also spread panic is the WHO’s announcement in March of proof that the virus‚ like HIV‚ could be sexually transmitted.The organisation said transmission of the virus through sexual contact was “more common than we thought”. TMG Digital/Sunday Times..