Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV), a neurotropic single-stranded RNA flavivirus, remains an important cause of congenital infection, fetal microcephaly, and Guillain-Barré syndrome in populations where ZIKV has adapted to a nexus involving the Aedes mosquitoes and humans. To date, outbreaks of ZIKV have occurred in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific islands, the Americas, and the Caribbean. Emerging evidence, however, suggests that the virus also has the potential to cause infections in Europe, where autochtonous transmission of the virus has been identified. This review focuses on evolving ZIKV epidemiology, modes of transmission and host-virus interactions. The clinical manifestations, diagnostic issues relating to cross-reactivity to the dengue flavivirus and concerns surrounding ZIKV infection in pregnancy are discussed. In the last section, current challenges in treatment and prevention are outlined.
Highlights
Zika Virus (ZIKV) is an RNA Flavivirus which was first isolated in 1947 in Uganda, Africa [1].Its impact on public health was limited until the first viral outbreak in the Yap Islands, Pacific, in 2007 [2], followed by its emergence in French Polynesia in 2015 and subsequently in other Pacific Islands [3]and its massive spread into the Americas from 2015
On February 2016 Zika was declared to be a public health emergency of worldwide importance by the World Health Organization (WHO) [5]
The emergence of ZIKV in South America has been extensively reported in the literature and readers can report to previous reviews [6,7], in this review, we discuss the 2019–2020 recent findings in epidemiology, transmission, immunogenicity and host factors, clinical features and potential treatments of Zika
Summary
Zika Virus (ZIKV) is an RNA Flavivirus which was first isolated in 1947 in Uganda, Africa [1]. Its massive spread into the Americas from 2015. On February 2016 Zika (the disease caused by ZIKV) was declared to be a public health emergency of worldwide importance by the World Health Organization (WHO) [5]. Since 2017, the transmission of ZIKV declined; ZIKV, is still circulating and could potentially cause massive outbreaks in some regions [6]. The emergence of ZIKV in South America has been extensively reported in the literature and readers can report to previous reviews [6,7], in this review, we discuss the 2019–2020 recent findings in epidemiology, transmission, immunogenicity and host factors, clinical features and potential treatments of Zika.
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