Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family, which includes other clinically notable viruses such as the 4 dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1–4). Distinguishing DENVs from ZIKV using the established serologic assays widely used for monitoring DENV transmission is difficult because of antibody cross-reactivity between these closely related flaviviruses. We describe a modified and improved recombinant envelope domain III–based serologic assay for detecting ZIKV type-specific antibodies in regions with endemic DENV transmission. When the assay was used to measure ZIKV seroprevalence in 2017 among children 9–14 years of age living in a region of the Philippines with endemic DENV transmission, we observed a ZIKV seroprevalence of 18%. Investigators should consider using the ZIKV envelope domain III–based assay, which is simple and readily adaptable for use in standard clinical and public health laboratories, to assess ZIKV seroprevalence in areas with endemic DENV transmission.
Highlights
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family, which includes other clinically notable viruses such as the 4 dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1–4)
Development of Immunoassay for Detecting ZIKV Antibodies in Patient Serum We previously demonstrated that a serologic assay using the ZIKV EDIII fused to maltose-binding protein (MBP) reliably differentiated persons with past ZIKV infections from those with DENV infections [19]
Efforts to monitor the spread of ZIKV and the effect of cross-reactive immunity on viral pathogenesis were severely hampered by the inability of conventional serologic assays to accurately distinguish DENV from ZIKV seropositivity
Summary
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family, which includes other clinically notable viruses such as the 4 dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1–4). We describe a modified and improved recombinant envelope domain III–based serologic assay for detecting ZIKV type-specific antibodies in regions with endemic DENV transmission. When the assay was used to measure ZIKV seroprevalence in 2017 among children 9–14 years of age living in a region of the Philippines with endemic DENV transmission, we observed a ZIKV seroprevalence of 18%. Investigators should consider using the ZIKV envelope domain III–based assay, which is simple and readily adaptable for use in standard clinical and public health laboratories, to assess ZIKV seroprevalence in areas with endemic DENV transmission. Traditional Flavivirus serologic assays exhibit poor specificity in distinguishing DENV from ZIKV infections because these assays use whole virions or E proteins containing conserved epitopes as antigens [13,14,15]. We describe development of a second-generation ZIKV EDIII–based serologic assay and its use to measure the seroprevalence of ZIKV among children 9–14 years of age in the Cebu Province of the Philippines
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