Asian scientists race to make Zika test kit, but lack of live sample a challenge

Patricia Araujo, 23, who is seven months pregnant, stands in front of her stilt house, a lake dwelling also known as palafitte or 'Palafito', in Recife, Brazil, February 8, 2016. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Scientists in Asia are racing to put together detection kits for the Zika virus, with China on Thursday confirming its first case, but the researchers are challenged by the lack of a crucial element - a live sample of the virus.

Zika, suspected of causing brain defects in more than 4,000 newborns in Brazil after spreading through much of the Americas, is a particular worry in South and Southeast Asia, where mosquito-borne tropical diseases such as dengue fever are a constant threat.