Zika virus

For the 2015-16 outbreak, see Zika virus outbreak (2015 The virus was rst isolated in 1947 from a rhesus
- present).
macaque in the Zika Forest of Uganda and in 1968 was
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the Flaviviridae virus isolated for the rst time from humans in Nigeria.[14]
From 1951 through 1981, evidence of human infection
was reported from other African countries such as the
Central African Republic, Egypt, Gabon, Sierra Leone,
Tanzania, and Uganda, as well as in parts of Asia including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand,
and Vietnam.[14]
The pathogenesis of the virus is hypothesized to start
with an infection of dendritic cells near the site of inoculation, followed by a spread to lymph nodes and the
bloodstream.[12] Flaviviruses generally replicate in the
cytoplasm, but Zika virus antigens have been found in infected cell nuclei.[15]

Aedes aegypti mosquito

There are two lineages of Zika virus, the African lineage

and the Asian lineage.[16] Phylogenetic studies indicate
that the virus spreading in the Americas is most closely related to French Polynesian strains.[16] Complete genome
sequences of Zika viruses have been published.[17] Recent preliminary ndings from sequences in the public
domain uncovered a possible change in NS1 codon usage
that may increase viral replication rate in humans.[18]

family and the Flavivirus genus.

In humans, it causes a mild illness known as Zika fever,
Zika, or Zika disease, which since the 1950s has been
known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from
Africa to Asia. In 2014, the virus spread eastward across
the Pacic Ocean to French Polynesia, then to Easter
Island and in 2015 to Central America, the Caribbean,
and South America, where the Zika outbreak has reached
pandemic levels.[1] Zika virus is related to dengue, yellow
fever, Japanese encephalitis and West Nile viruses, all of
which are arthropod-borne aviviruses.[2] The illness is
similar to a mild form of dengue fever,[2] is treated by
rest,[3] and cannot be prevented by drugs or vaccines.[3]
A link between Zika fever and microcephaly in newborns
of infected mothers is now thought possible.[4][5] In January 2016, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued travel guidance on aected countries, including the use of enhanced precautions and considering postponing travel, and guidelines for pregnant
women.[6][7] Other governments or health agencies soon
issued similar travel warnings,[8][9][8][10] while Colombia,
Ecuador, El Salvador, and Jamaica advised women to
postpone getting pregnant until more is known about the
risks.[9][11]

2 Transmission
Zika virus is transmitted by daytime-active mosquitoes
and has been isolated from a number of species in the
genus Aedes, such as A. aegypti, and arboreal mosquitoes
such as A. africanus, A. apicoargenteus, A. furcifer, A.
hensilli, A. luteocephalus, and A. vitattus. Studies show
that the extrinsic incubation period in mosquitoes is about
10 days.[14] The vertebrate hosts of the virus are primarily monkeys and humans. Before the current pandemic,
which began in 2007, Zika virus rarely caused recognized 'spillover' infections in humans, even in highly
enzootic areas.[19]

Virology

Along with other viruses in this family, Zika virus is

enveloped and icosahedral with a nonsegmented, singlestranded, positive-sense RNA genome. It is most closely
related to the Spondweni virus and is one of the two Global Aedes aegypti predicted distribution. The map depicts the
probability of occurrence (blue=none, red=highest occurrence).
viruses in the Spondweni virus clade.[12][13]
1

HISTORY

The potential societal risk of Zika virus can be delimited

by the distribution of the mosquito species that transmit it
(its vectors). The global distribution of the most cited carrier of Zika virus, A. aegypti, is expanding due to global
trade and travel.[20] A. aegypti distribution is now the most
extensive ever recorded across all continents including
North America and even the European periphery.[21]
Recent news reports have drawn attention to the spread
of Zika in Latin America and the Caribbean.[22] The
countries and territories that have been identied by the
Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) as having
experienced local Zika virus transmission are Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala,
Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique,
Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin,
Suriname, and Venezuela.[23][24]
In 2009 Brian Foy, a biologist from the Arthropod-borne
and Infectious Diseases Laboratory at Colorado State
University, sexually transmitted Zika virus to his wife.
He visited Senegal to study mosquitoes and was bitten on
a number of occasions. A few days after returning to the
United States, he fell ill with Zika, but not before having
had unprotected intercourse with his wife. She subseRash on an arm due to Zika virus
quently showed symptoms of Zika infection with extreme
sensitivity to light. Foy is the rst person known to have
passed on an insect-borne virus to another human by sex- been ruled out to reduce the risk of bleeding.[29]
ual contact.[25][26]
In a French Polynesian epidemic, 73 cases of Guillain
In 2015, Zika virus RNA was detected in the amniotic Barr syndrome and other neurologic conditions occurred
uid of two fetuses, indicating that it had crossed the in a population of 270,000, which may be complications
placenta and could cause fetal infection.[27] On 20 Jan- of Zika virus.[19] In December 2015, the European Cenuary 2016, scientists from the state of Paran, Brazil, de- tre for Disease Prevention and Control issued a compretected genetic material of Zika virus in the placenta of a hensive update on the possible association of Zika virus
woman who had undergone an abortion due to the fetuss with congenital microcephaly and this syndrome.[30]
microcephaly, which conrmed that the virus is able to
pass the placenta.[28]

3.1 Microcephaly

Clinical

Data suggest that newborns of mothers who had a Zika

virus infection during the rst trimester of pregnancy
are at an increased risk for microcephaly.[31] Since December 2015, it had been suspected that a transplacental infection of the fetus may lead to microcephaly and
brain damage.[32][33] The Brazilian Ministry of Health has
since conrmed the relation between the Zika virus and
microcephaly.[34]

Main article: Zika fever

Common symptoms of infection with the virus include
mild headaches, maculopapular rash, fever, malaise, pink
eye, and joint pains. The rst well-documented case of
Zika virus was described in 1964; it began with a mild
headache, and progressed to a maculopapular rash, fever,
and back pain. Within two days, the rash started fading,
and within three days, the fever resolved and only the rash 4 History
remained. Thus far, Zika fever has been a relatively mild
disease of limited scope, with only one in ve persons In 1947 scientists researching yellow fever placed a rhedeveloping symptoms, with no fatalities, but its true po- sus macaque in a cage in the Zika Forest (zika meantential as a viral agent of disease is unknown.[14]
ing overgrown in the Luganda language), near the East
As of 2016, no vaccine or preventive drug is avail- African Virus Research Institute in Entebbe, Uganda.
able. Symptoms can be treated with paracetamol (ac- The monkey developed a fever, and researchers isolated
etaminophen), while aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti- from its serum a transmissible agent that was rst deinammatory drugs should be used only when dengue has scribed as Zika virus in 1952.[35] It was subsequently iso-

3
lated from a human in Nigeria in 1954. From its discovery until 2007, conrmed cases of Zika virus infection
from Africa and Southeast Asia were rare.[36]

[1] McKenna, Maryn (13 January 2016). Zika Virus: A

New Threat and a New Kind of Pandemic. Germination.
Retrieved 18 January 2016.

In April 2007, the rst outbreak outside of Africa and

Asia occurred on the island of Yap in the Federated
States of Micronesia, characterized by rash, conjunctivitis, and arthralgia, which was initially thought to be
dengue, Chikungunya, or Ross River disease.[37] However, serum samples from patients in the acute phase of
illness contained RNA of Zika virus. There were 49
conrmed cases, 59 unconrmed cases, no hospitalizations, and no deaths.[38] More recently, epidemics have
occurred in Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands,
and New Caledonia.[36]

[2] Zika virus infection. ecdc.europa.eu. Retrieved 18 January 2016.

Since April 2015, a large, ongoing outbreak of Zika virus

that began in Brazil has spread to much of South and
Central America, and the Caribbean. In January 2016,
the CDC issued a level 2 travel alert for people traveling
to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing.[39] The agency also suggested that
women thinking about becoming pregnant should consult
with their physicians before traveling.[40] Governments or
health agencies of the United Kingdom,[8] Ireland,[9] New
Zealand,[41] Canada,[10] and the European Union[10] soon
issued similar travel warnings. In Colombia, Minister
of Health and Social Protection Alejandro Gaviria Uribe
recommended to avoid pregnancy for eight months, while
the countries of Ecuador, El Salvador, and Jamaica have
issued similar warnings.[9][11]
Plans were announced by the authorities in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, to try to prevent the spread of the Zika
virus during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in that
city.[10]

[3] Symptoms, Diagnosis, & Treatment. Zika Virus.

DVBD, NCEZID, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[4] Oliveira Melo, A. S.; Malinger, G.; Ximenes, R.; Szejnfeld, P. O.; Alves Sampaio, S.; Bispo de Filippis, A. M. (1
January 2016). Zika virus intrauterine infection causes
fetal brain abnormality and microcephaly: tip of the iceberg?". Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology 47 (1): 6
7. doi:10.1002/uog.15831. ISSN 1469-0705.
[5] Epidemiological update: Outbreaks of Zika virus and
complications potentially linked to the Zika virus infection. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
[6] Zika Virus in the Caribbean. Travelers Health: Travel
Notices. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 15
January 2016.
[7] Petersen, Emily E.; Staples, J. Erin; Meaney-Delman,
Dana; Fischer, Marc; Ellington, Sascha R.; Callaghan,
William M.; Jamieson, Denise J. (2016). Interim Guidelines for Pregnant Women During a Zika Virus Outbreak
United States, 2016. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report 65 (2): 3033. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6502e1.
PMID 26796813.
[8] Zika virus: Advice for those planning to travel to outbreak areas. ITV News. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 24
January 2016.
[9] Pregnant Irish women warned over Zika virus in central

According to the CDC, Brazilian health authorities reand South America. RTE. 22 January 2016. Retrieved
23 January 2016.
ported more than 3,500 microcephaly cases between
October 2015 and January 2016. Some of the af[10] Zika: Olympics plans announced by Rio authorities.
fected infants have had a severe type of microcephaly
BBC. 24 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016. The
and some have died. The full spectrum of outcomes
Rio de Janeiro authorities have announced plans to prevent
that might be associated with infection during pregnancy
the spread of the Zika virus during the Olympic Games
and the factors that might increase risk to the fetus
later this year. ... The US, Canada and EU health agenare not yet fully understood. More studies are planned
cies have issued warnings saying pregnant women should
to learn more about the risks of Zika virus infection
avoid travelling to Brazil and other countries in the Americas which have registered cases of Zika.
during pregnancy.[42] In the worst aected region of
Brazil approximately 1% of newborns are suspected of
[11] Zika virus triggers pregnancy delay calls. BBC. 23 Janmicrocephaly.[43]
uary 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.

See also
2007 Yap Islands Zika virus outbreak

References

This article contains public domain text from the CDC as

cited

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[23] Mitchell, Cristina. As the Zika virus spreads, PAHO advises countries to monitor and report birth anomalies and
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[24] Mitchell, Cristina. PAHO Statement on Zika Virus
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[25] Foy, B. D.; Kobylinski, K. C.; Foy, J. L. C.; Blitvich,
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[26] Enserink, M. (6 April 2011). Sex After a Field Trip
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January 2016). Zika virus intrauterine infection causes
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[39] Zika Travel Health Notices. www.cdc.gov. CDC. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
[40] Lowes R (15 January 2016). CDC Issues Zika Travel
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[41] Nina Burton (24 January 2016). Zika virus prompts

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External links
Zika Virus. Division of Vector-Borne Diseases
(DVBD), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic
Infectious Diseases (NCEZID). Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. 19 January 2016.
"Zika virus". NCBI Taxonomy Browser. 64320.
Medical Microbiology. 4th edition. Chapter 54.
Alphaviruses (Togaviridae) and Flaviviruses (Flaviviridae)
Flaviviridae Genomes database search results from
the Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center
Viralzone: Flaviviridae
Virus Pathogen Database and Analysis Resource
(ViPR): Flaviviridae

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8.1

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Zika virus Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zika_virus?oldid=701784199 Contributors: The Anome, Tpbradbury, Carol Fenijn,
Thue, Oaktree b, Jeq, Mervyn, Oddharmonic, Rich Farmbrough, Mpulier, Terrycojones, Amadeust, Ekem, RichardWeiss, FRED, Bgwhite, Tone, Samuel Wiki, Daniel Mietchen, Jamesmalone, Espresso Addict, Raym0ndh0lmes, Yamaguchi , RDBrown, Amphytrite,
Victor Lopes, Capmo, Iridescent, Ruslik0, Reywas92, Nabokov, Narayanese, ThomasO1989, BrotherE, Froid, R'n'B, Darkfrog24, Speciate, DrMicro, Udufruduhu, Gleiberg, GlassCobra, Afernand74, Wikikd, Sun Creator, Rui Gabriel Correia, Dthomsen8, WikHead, Addbot, K-MUS, Ironholds, Luckas-bot, Yobot, AnomieBOT, Citation bot, Jtamad, Boscaswell, Ditaviz, Coltsfan, Alvin Seville, CHawc,
Tlhslobus, SW3 5DL, Zikavirus, Jey Kottalam, Allforrous, 1Veertje, SporkBot, Peterh5322, Bellerophonvschimere, Teaktl17, ClueBot
NG, BarrelProof, BG19bot, Gorthian, BattyBot, Hsmart, RichardKPSun, Dexbot, Einstein2, ComfyKem, Corinne, Me, Myself, and I
are Here, Wuerzele, Punniped, Prokaryotes, Avinashmurali85, Nexttime4, Psycore22, ThiagoSousaSilveira, Sarr Cat, Crabchicken, Sizeont, LL221W, GeneralizationsAreBad, Viniciuscsg1, Leonardo Ferreira Fontenelle, Srednuas Lenoroc, Heaviside glow, McortNGHH,
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