Zika virus: a new global threat for 2016

Abstract

Concerns about the threat posed to global health security by Zika virus are escalating, with new outbreaks reported in Central and South America. Locally transmitted (autochthonous) cases of Zika have now been detected in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. The first five autochthonous cases detected in Suriname are reported in Correspondence online, with complete coding of the Zika virus sequence for one patient, and envelope protein coding sequences for three others. Phylogenetic analyses show that the Suriname strains belong to the Asian genotype, and are closely related to the strain that was circulating in French Polynesia in 2013. Last month, the Ministry of Health in Brazil reported a twentyfold annual increase in cases of newborn babies with microcephaly in the northeastern region of the country. The ocular findings (funduscopic changes in the macular region) in three of these babies with microcephaly are described in a second Correspondence published online. A causal link between Zika virus in the mother and microcephaly in the newborn baby has yet to be firmly established, but is a worrying possibility. Other congenital neurological anomalies and an increased frequency of Guillain-Barré syndrome linked to Zika virus have also been reported. Zika virus is an emerging mosquito-borne arbovirus that was first isolated from a rhesus monkey in Uganda in 1947, and caused sporadic human infections in some African and Asian countries, with usually mild symptoms of fever, rash, and arthralgia. In 2007, it caused an epidemic on Yap Island in the Federated States of Micronesia, then spread to many countries in Oceania, before arriving in the Americas in 2014–15, probably via Easter Island. With an estimated 440 000–1 300 000 cases currently in Brazil alone, Zika virus could be following in the footsteps of dengue and chikungunya, which are also transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Given that an outbreak anywhere is potentially a threat everywhere, now is the time to step up all efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to Zika virus. Zika virus genome from the AmericasOn Oct 1, 2015, a 52-year-old man was hospitalised with exanthema and conjunctivitis at the Academic Hospital in Paramaribo, Suriname. During the next few days, four patients were admitted with mild symptoms including exanthema. Sera from these patients were negative for dengue and chikungunya viruses but positive for Zika virus (ZIKV) by specific real-time reverse transcription PCR.1 Full-Text PDF Zika virus in Brazil and macular atrophy in a child with microcephalyZika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne Flavivirus, was first reported in human beings in 1952.1 Before April, 2015, no case had been reported in Brazil. However, between April and November, 2015, 18 of the 27 Brazilian states reported ZIKV autochthonous cases.2 Full-Text PDF A new mosquito-borne threat to pregnant women in BrazilAn apparent connection between the emergence of Zika virus and an unusual rise in microcephaly has alarmed Brazilian authorities. Marcia Triunfol reports. Full-Text PDF Zika virus: following the path of dengue and chikungunya?On May 7, 2015, the Pan American Health Organization issued an alert about potential Zika virus (ZIKV) transmission in northeast Brazil.1 This has now been confirmed with wide spread of the disease, underscoring the potential for ZIKV to spread globally, similar to dengue (DENV) and chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses. Full-Text PDF Safer countries through global health securityCountries around the world face a perfect storm of converging threats that might substantially increase the risk from infectious disease epidemics, despite improvements in technologies, communication, and some health systems. New pathogens emerge each year, some of which have high mortality and the potential for efficient transmission—eg, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS),1 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus,2 and avian influenza A H7N9.3 Existing pathogens are becoming resistant to available antibiotics and several are now resistant to virtually all available treatment. Full-Text PDF