Zika Virus: Transmission, Detection, Control, and Prevention.

Anshika Sharma,Sunil K Lal

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2017.00110

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne Flavivirus discovered in Uganda in the 1940s. To date, three major ZIKV outbreaks have been reported. ZIKV infections have known to be primarily asymptomatic while causing mild illness in a few cases. However, the recent emergence and spread of ZIKV in the Americas has resulted in the declaration of “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” due to the potential association between the infection and prenatal microcephaly or other brain anomalies. In Brazil, a 20-fold increase in prenatal microcephaly cases and 19% increase in Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) cases were reported in 2015, as compared to the preceding year. The probable deleterious effects of ZIKV infection prompt the urgent development of diagnostics and therapeutics. To this end, the existing evidences supporting the increasingly common prenatal microcephaly and GBS association and the current known ZIKV transmission dynamics, modes of detection (molecular and serology-based), and current control strategies are summarized in this review. This review also emphasizes the importance of understanding ZIKV transmission in order to design a sensitive yet cost and time-efficient detection technique. Development of an efficient detection technique would subsequently allow for better surveillance and control of ZIKV infection. Currently, limited literature is available on the pathogenesis of ZIKV, hence, focusing on the modes of ZIKV transmission could potentially contribute to the understanding of the disease spectrum and formulation of targeted treatment and control.

Highlights

TO ZIKA VIRUSZika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne Flavivirus belonging to the Flaviviridae family, is an emerging pathogen that is spreading rapidly across the Americas, raising concerns in the forefront of global healthcare (Ayres, 2016)
With the severity of ZIKV associated diseases and the urgent need to develop methods to control its spread, in this review we aim to provide consolidated up-to-date available information on ZIKV associated prenatal microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), ZIKV transmission dynamics, current molecular and serology-based modes of ZIKV detection, and the latest ZIKV control strategies in place
The recent ZIKV outbreaks in the Americas have raised alarming concerns regarding the possible association of ZIKV infection with unexpected clinical manifestations, such as prenatal microcephaly and GBS

Summary

Introduction

Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne Flavivirus belonging to the Flaviviridae family, is an emerging pathogen that is spreading rapidly across the Americas, raising concerns in the forefront of global healthcare (Ayres, 2016). The virus is closely related to other members of the Flavivirus genus (positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses), including the dengue virus (DENV), West Nile virus (WNV), yellow fever virus (YFV), tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) (Lazear and Diamond, 2016). ZIKV infection is reported to be subclinical in approximately 80% of the cases, the virus has recently raised a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” due to the dramatic increase in the cases of prenatal microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) in ZIKV endemic regions (Basarab et al, 2016).

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