Abstract
BackgroundZika virus (ZIKV) became a global human health concern owing to its rapid spread worldwide and its association with congenital and neurological disorders. The current epidemiological profile of arboviruses in Brazil is characterized by widespread co-circulation of Dengue virus, Chikungunya virus, and ZIKV throughout the country. These viruses cause acute diseases frequently with overlapping symptoms, which could result in an inaccurate diagnosis based solely on clinical and epidemiological grounds. Here we conducted a screening for ZIKV RNA in serum samples from patients across Brazil with suspected ZIKV infection.MethodsUsing RT-qPCR, we investigated ZIKV RNA in 3001 serum samples. Samples were passively acquired through a private laboratory network, between December 2015 and August 2016, from 27 Brazilian Federative Units. We performed descriptive statistics on demographic variables including sex, age, and geographic location.ResultsZIKV was detected in 11.4% (95%CI = 10.3–12.6%) of the sera. ZIKV RNA was detected in sera collected throughout the country, but during the analyzed period, RNA was more frequently detected in samples from the Southeast, Midwest, and North regions (3.9 to 5.8 times higher) when compared to the Northeast and South regions.ConclusionsThese data reinforce the importance of laboratory diagnosis, surveillance systems, and further epidemiological studies to understand the dynamics of outbreaks and diseases associated with ZIKV and other arboviruses.
Highlights
Zika virus (ZIKV) became a global human health concern owing to its rapid spread worldwide and its association with congenital and neurological disorders
In the present study, 3001 serum samples from ZIKV infection suspected patients were received over a nine-month period were analyzed by RT-qPCR to detect ZIKV infection
The majority of the patients were women (70.3%; 2111/3001), approximately half were from individuals aged 21–40 years (51.4%; 1543/3001) (Table 1, Fig. 1b), and 41.3% (1240/ 3001) of the samples were from the Southeast region of Brazil, especially the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo (Table 1, Fig. 1c)
Summary
Zika virus (ZIKV) became a global human health concern owing to its rapid spread worldwide and its association with congenital and neurological disorders. The current epidemiological profile of arboviruses in Brazil is characterized by widespread co-circulation of Dengue virus, Chikungunya virus, and ZIKV throughout the country. These viruses cause acute diseases frequently with overlapping symptoms, which could result in an inaccurate diagnosis based solely on clinical and epidemiological grounds. The genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae contains several well-known mosquito-borne viruses of medical importance, including Zika virus (ZIKV), Dengue virus (DENV), West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and Yellow fever virus [1, 2]. Most ZIKV infections are mild or asymptomatic [2, 3, 6], but severe complications have been observed, as fetal microcephaly and neurologic symptoms such as Guillain-Barré syndrome [2, 3, 7].
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