Summary Background Knowledge regarding the risks associated with Zika virus (ZIKV) infections in pregnancy has relied on individual studies with relatively small sample sizes and variable risk estimates of adverse outcomes, or on surveillance or routinely collected data. Using data from the Zika Brazilian Cohorts Consortium, this study aims, to estimate the risk of adverse outcomes among offspring of women with RT-PCR-confirmed ZIKV infection during pregnancy and to explore heterogeneity between studies. Methods We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis of the offspring of 1548 pregnant women from 13 studies, using one and two-stage meta-analyses to estimate the absolute risks. Findings Of the 1548 ZIKV-exposed pregnancies, the risk of miscarriage was 0.9%, while the risk of stillbirth was 0.3%. Among the pregnancies with liveborn children, the risk of prematurity was 10,5%, the risk of low birth weight was 7.7, and the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) was 16.2%. For other abnormalities, the absolute risks were: 2.6% for microcephaly at birth or first evaluation, 4.0% for microcephaly at any time during follow-up, 7.9% for neuroimaging abnormalities, 18.7% for functional neurological abnormalities, 4.0% for ophthalmic abnormalities, 6.4% for auditory abnormalities, 0.6% for arthrogryposis, and 1.5% for dysphagia. This risk was similar in all sites studied and in different socioeconomic conditions, indicating that there are not likely to be other factors modifying this association. Interpretation This study based on prospectively collected data generates the most robust evidence to date on the risks of congenital ZIKV infections over the early life course. Overall, approximately one-third of liveborn children with prenatal ZIKV exposure presented with at least one abnormality compatible with congenital infection, while the risk to present with at least two abnormalities in combination was less than 1.0%. Funding National Council for Scientific and Technological Development - Brazil (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq); Wellcome Trust and the United Kingdom's Department for International Development; European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program; Medical Research Council on behalf of the Newton Fund and Wellcome Trust; National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Foundation Christophe et Rodolphe Mérieux; Coordination for the improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Capes); Ministry of Health of Brazil; Brazilian Department of Science and Technology; Foundation of Research Support of the State of São Paulo (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo – FAPESP); Foundation of Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro – FAPERJ); Foundation of Support for Research and Scientific and Technological Development of Maranhão; Evandro Chagas Institute/Brazilian Ministry of Health (Instituto Evandro Chagas/Ministério da Saúde); Foundation of Research Support of the State of Goiás (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás – FAPEG); Foundation of Research Support of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul – FAPERGS); Foundation to Support Teaching, Research and Assistance at Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto (Fundação de Apoio ao Ensino, Pesquisa e Assistência do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto); São Paulo State Department of Health (Secretaria de Saúde do Estado de São Paulo); Support Foundation of Pernambuco Science and Technology (Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia de Pernambuco – FACEPE).

6th February 2023 • 0 comments

In low-resource settings, resilience to infectious disease outbreaks can be hindered by limited access to diagnostic tests. Here we report the results of double-blinded studies of the performance of paper-based diagnostic tests for the Zika and chikungunya viruses in a field setting in Latin America. The tests involved a cell-free expression system relying on isothermal amplification and toehold-switch reactions, a purpose-built portable reader and onboard software for computer vision-enabled image analysis. In patients suspected of infection, the accuracies and sensitivities of the tests for the Zika and chikungunya viruses were, respectively, 98.5% (95% confidence interval, 96.2–99.6%, 268 serum samples) and 98.5% (95% confidence interval, 91.7–100%, 65 serum samples) and approximately 2 aM and 5 fM (both concentrations are within clinically relevant ranges). The analytical specificities and sensitivities of the tests for cultured samples of the viruses were equivalent to those of the real-time quantitative PCR. Cell-free synthetic biology tools and companion hardware can provide de-centralized, high-capacity and low-cost diagnostics for use in low-resource settings.

30th March 2022 • 0 comments

*Portuguese content* Com objetivo de avaliar como as famílias dessas crianças foram impactadas, a pesquisa Impactos econômicos e sociais do vírus Zika foi realizada no IFF-Fiocruz, hospital público federal situado no Rio de Janeiro, que atua em ensino, pesquisa e atendimento a mulheres, crianças e adolescentes.

30th March 2021 • comment

Results in this paper reveal that the anti-inflammatory response in pregnant women infected with ZIKA is characterized by high CXCL10, a cytokine correlated with congenital malformations.

8th January 2021 • comment

This article provides a protocol for the joint analysis of the prospective cohort studies of the ZIKAlliance, ZikaPLAN and ZIKAction consortia.

15th December 2020 • comment

This paper finds that Ae. aegypti vector competence for ZIKV from macaques is low, likely to be due to low viral load and the short duration of ZIKV viremia in primates suitable for infecting susceptible mosquitoes.

20th November 2020 • comment

Results indicate that Brazilian populations of Ae. aegypti exhibit a much higher transmission potential for ZIKV than Ae. albopictus.

8th September 2020 • comment

Viral surveillance and mosquito control measures must be strengthened to avoid the spread of new ZIKV lineages and minimize the transmission of viruses currently circulating.

16th July 2020 • comment

In this study, researchers provide the first demonstration of ZIKV accumulation in the saliva of Cx. pipiens upon forced infection. Nevertheless, they consider Cx. pipiens as a highly inefficient vector for ZIKV.

19th June 2020 • comment

Researchers have found that ZIKV immunity might be shorter-lived than previously thought, which may contribute to local ZIKV resurgence once individual immune responses wane sufficiently to reduce community protective immunity in addition to birth and migration.

15th June 2020 • comment

This study demonstrates the circulation of ZIKV in Mali and provides evidence of a previously unidentified outbreak that occurred in the late 1990s.

1st May 2020 • comment

Given that Ae. japonicus can experimentally transmit arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) like ZIKV and USUV and is currently expanding its territories, we should consider this mosquito as a potential vector for arboviral diseases in Europe.

13th April 2020 • comment

Mapping the response to Zika, a public health emergency, demonstrated a clear pattern of the participation of countries in the scientific advances. The pattern of knowledge production found in this study represented varying country perspectives, research capacity and interests based first on their level of exposure to the epidemic and second on their financial positions regarding science.

12th March 2020 • comment

Building on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals commitment to “leave no one behind” and the recent championing of a need for a people-centered approach to epidemic preparedness and response, the authors call for more evidence that can support policy recommendations and advocacy efforts for gender-mainstreamed arbovirus control programs in Latin America.

27th February 2020 • comment

This study reveals how the ZIKV epidemic was ignited and maintained within the largest urban metropolis in the Amazon. These results might contribute to improving the public health response to outbreaks in Brazil.

18th February 2020 • comment

Results showed in this article have strong implications for developing anti-ZIKV vaccines and therapeutic mAbs.

4th February 2020 • comment

Uncertainty was a defining feature of the Brazilian Zika crisis of 2015–2016. This article identifies three forms of uncertainty: global health, public health and clinical uncertainty, and it suggests that “emergency research” was effective in tackling global health uncertainty.    

1st February 2020 • comment

Findings from this article explain why explosive ZIKV epidemics occurred in DENV-endemic regions of Micronesia, Polynesia and the Americas where Culex-borne flavivirus outbreaks are infrequent, and why ZIKV did not cause major epidemics in Asia where Culex-borne flaviviruses are widespread.

1st February 2020 • comment

Data from this study suggest that immunity against the Zika virus may not last as long as previously thought, which could affect the chances of future outbreaks.

28th January 2020 • comment

This study emphasizes the burden of microcephaly during the outbreak in Pernambuco, with estimates higher than in some previous studies, and with high risk in an inland region of the state for reasons which are yet to be clarified.

21st January 2020 • comment

Book chapter in Locating Zika Social Change and Governance in an Age of Mosquito Pandemics; Edited by Kevin Bardosh  

16th January 2020 • comment

Comment

1st January 2020 • comment

These results suggest that genetically determined tissue barriers, especially in the midgut, play a vital role in inhibiting ZIKV for transmission in the tested sylvatic mosquito species. Thus, an independent enzootic transmission cycle for ZIKV in South America is very unlikely.

27th December 2019 • comment

Results of large cohort studies will provide better risk estimates for birth defects and other developmental abnormalities associated with ZIKV infection including possible co-factors for the variability of risk estimates between other countries and regions. Additional outcomes include incidence and transmission estimates of ZIKV during and after pregnancy, characterization of short and long-term clinical course following infection and viral kinetics of ZIKV.

26th December 2019 • comment

Based on vector competence data and vector distribution, the auhtors generate a prediction risk map for CHIKV stressing the fear of CHIKV and to a lesser extent, of other arboviruses for Europe, calling us for new public health strategies.

28th November 2019 • comment

Results in this study stress the poor ability of Ae. albopictus to sustain a local transmission of ZIKV in Europe and provide a promising tool to evaluate the risk of ZIKV transmission in future outbreaks.

18th November 2019 • comment

ZIKV cases confirmed by qRT-PCR indicate that the virus was circulating on Curaçao between at least December 2015 and March 2017, and on Bonaire between at least October 2016 and February 2017, with peak cases occurring in November 2016.

12th November 2019 • comment

In this paper the authors describe an altmetrics-based framework which allows the identification of specialists and important research in specific research scenarios.

1st October 2019 • comment

Yeast-derived EDIII is a safe and effective ZIKV vaccine candidate with desirable production traits.

1st October 2019 • comment

Researchers developed a ZEDIII-based ELISA that can discriminate between past or current DENV and ZIKV infections, allowing the detection of a serological scar from other flaviviruses. This could be used to confirm exposure of pregnant women or to follow the spread of an endemic disease.

20th September 2019 • comment

Letter to the Editor

3rd September 2019 • comment

This study described a large-scale representative ZIKV seroprevalence study in South America from the recent 2015–2016 Zika epidemic. The findings reveal that the majority of the population remains susceptible to ZIKV, which could potentially allow future reintroductions of the virus.

16th August 2019 • comment

The results reported in this study suggest that multitypic dengue virus infection may protect from, rather than enhance, development of congenital Zika syndrome.

26th July 2019 • comment

Results from this research show that the differentiation state of hNPCs is a significant factor contributing to the outcome of ZIKV infection and furthermore suggest that ZIKV infection might initiate early activation of the Notch pathway resulting in an abnormal differentiation process, implicated in ZIKV-induced brain injury.

8th July 2019 • comment

Comparison of Zika virus quantitative reverse transcription PCR results in single timepoint whole blood–plasma pairs from 227 patients with suspected Zika virus infection resulted in confirmation of 8 additional patients with Zika virus infection.

1st July 2019 • comment

The authors of this study performed a phylogeographic and population genetics study of A. aegypti in Cape Verde in order to infer the geographic origin and evolutionary history of this mosquito.

20th June 2019 • comment

This study shows a broad picture of possible interactions between mosquito cellular miRNAs and the viral RNA of different genotypes/lineages of arboviruses, providing a list of mosquito cellular miRNAs candidates for experimental validations in future studies.

10th June 2019 • comment

Zika virus infection: an update

by Ferraris et al.

Since the ZIKV outbreak in Brazil in 2015, the scientific community has joined efforts to gather more information on the epidemiology, clinical features and pathogenicity of the virus. Here, you can read a summary of the most important advances made recently and the discussion of promising, innovative approaches to understand and control ZIKV infection.

31st May 2019 • comment

Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes from Guadeloupe are not able to experimentally transmit ZIKV. It was also noticed better transmission of ZIKV strain from Senegal by Ae. aegypti from Guadeloupe compared to Malaysia and Martinique strains.

20th May 2019 • comment

In this study, the authors developed an efficient method to classify virus sequences with respect to their species and sub-species (i.e. serotype and/or genotype).

8th May 2019 • comment

This study offers an opportunity to strategically target surveillance and control programmes and thereby augment efforts to reduce arbovirus burden in human populations globally.

1st May 2019 • comment

In this study, the authors explore the potential of antivirals to serve as an effective strategy to prevent sexual transmission. The data illustrate the value of a mouse model to validate the efficacy of new potential ZIKV drugs at the level of the male reproductive system.

29th April 2019 • comment

In this study, the authors provide in vitro evidence that infection of HUVECs with ZIKV induces apoptosis and elevation of TF expression that leads to activation of secondary hemostasis.

24th April 2019 • comment

In this review, the authors summarize the results of the evidence to date and elaborate on other possible detrimental effects of cross-reactive flavivirus antibodies, both for ZIKV infection and the risk of ZIKV-related congenital anomalies, DENV infection, and dengue hemorrhagic fever.

18th April 2019 • comment

This study characterized the contribution of household transmission in ZIKV epidemics, demonstrating the benefits of integrating multiple data sets to gain more insight into epidemic dynamics.

17th April 2019 • comment

Data in this study suggest that the human upper respiratory tract epithelium is a target for flaviviruses and could potentially play a role in the spread of infection to other body compartments through basolateral virus release. Further work is required to evaluate the risks and define the adapted measures to protect individuals exposed to flavivirus-contaminated body fluids.

16th April 2019 • comment

Data provided in this article add important insights into specific host cellular lipids that are likely associated with ZIKV replication and may serve as platform for antiviral strategy against ZIKV.

12th April 2019 • comment

This study shows that urine ZIKV RT-PCR testing in the acute phase of infection can improve the sensitivity of diagnosis, while testing serum is probably less useful despite more sustained shedding in some cases. Higher sensitivity and specificity serological tests are needed for the diagnosis of patients who seek medical attention after the period of ZIKV detection by RT-PCR and for surveillance purposes in settings of high DENV background infection.

8th April 2019 • comment

This study shows that a Zika researcher’s influence is basically determined by three factors: (a) number of publications; (b) diversified partnerships; and (c) the links established with the research area’s pioneers.

8th April 2019 • comment

In this study, the authors determined the global proteomic profile of CHIKV and ZIKV infections in human skin fibroblasts using Stable Isotope Labelling by Amino acids in Cell culture (SILAC)-based mass-spectrometry analysis.

5th April 2019 • comment

The discovery of the link between ZIKV infection and UPR activation has a broader relevance, since this pathway plays a crucial role in many distinct cellular processes and its induction by ZIKV may account for several reported ZIKV-associated defects.

26th March 2019 • comment

The authors of this study review the mosquito and vertebrate host species potentially involved in ZIKV vector-borne transmission worldwide; provide an evidence-supported analysis regarding the possibility of ZIKV spillback from an urban cycle to a zoonotic cycle outside Africa; and review hypotheses regarding recent emergence and evolution of ZIKV.

18th March 2019 • comment

With a low herd immunity in the Vientiane population, ZIKV represents a risk for future large-scale outbreaks. Implementation of a nationwide ZIKV surveillance network and epidemiological studies throughout Laos is needed.

6th March 2019 • comment

This study strengthens the evidence that congenital ZIKV infection, particularly in the first 2 trimesters of pregnancy, is associated with microcephaly and less frequently with other birth defects. The finding of no alternative causes for geographic differences in microcephaly rate lead the authors to hypothesize that the Northeast region of Brazil was disproportionately affected by this Zika outbreak, with 94% of an estimated 8.5 million total cases occurring in this region, suggesting a need for seroprevalence surveys to determine the underlying reason.

5th March 2019 • comment

Correspondence re: Familiar barriers still unresolved - a perspective on the Zika virus outbreak research response

3rd March 2019 • comment

In Suriname, 770 participants were recruited from 1 urban area and 2 rural villages in the tropical rainforest in order to conduct a ZIKV serosurvey. Researchers found that 35.1% of the participants had neutralizing antibodies against ZIKV. In 1 remote village in the rainforest, 24.5% of the participants had neutralizing antibodies against ZIKV, suggesting that ZIKV was widely spread across the country.

12th February 2019 • comment

The authors of this study demonstrate Flavivirus-dependent differences in the interaction with monocyte-derived dendritic cells. These may play a role in pathogenesis but appear to only partially reflect the expected species tropism.

28th January 2019 • comment

Recurrent recent arbovirus infections suggested by serologic data and unspecific symptoms highlight the need for exhaustive virologic testing.

25th January 2019 • comment

A fragment-based drug design approach on flavivirus methyltransferase.

1st January 2019 • comment

The authors of this study propose a strategy allowing implementing efficient and practicable large-scale seroepidemiological studies for Zika Virus (ZIKV).

27th December 2018 • comment

The authors of this study demonstrate that both human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) and the Huh7 hepatoma cell line support the complete ZIKV replication cycle.

19th December 2018 • comment

Letter to the Editor

13th December 2018 • comment

The authors of this study report the engineering of a chimeric virus vaccine candidate (YF-ZIKprM/E) by replacing the antigenic surface glycoproteins and the capsid anchor of YFV-17D with those of a prototypic Asian lineage ZIKV isolate.

13th December 2018 • comment
26th November 2018 • comment

The authors of this study have identified three major bottlenecks in the implementation of a swift response to the increasing frequency of widespread infectious disease outbreaks: the absence of a timeline for the funding process, delays in regulatory and ethical approval, and the challenging logistics of laboratory support, including diagnostics.

9th November 2018 • comment

The model provided in this study correctly estimates the number of imported cases and can be easily adapted to other urban areas where Ae. albopictus is the only potential vector present.

6th November 2018 • comment

This review focuses on the recent advances regarding research models, as well as available experimental tools that can be used for the identification and characterization of potential antiviral targets and therapeutic intervention strategies.

30th October 2018 • comment

The findings from this study suggest a possible long-term detrimental effect of ZIKV infection on human male fertility that has to be further explored in well-characterized samples from cohort studies conducted in ZIKV-endemic areas.

25th October 2018 • comment

In the present study, the authors investigate the metabolomic profile of ZIKV-infected microglia.

25th October 2018 • comment

The findings in this article suggest that the ZIKV epidemic is by and large over within LAC, with incidence projected to be low in most cities in 2018. Local low levels of transmission are probable, but the estimated rate of infection suggests that most cities have a population with high levels of herd immunity.

3rd October 2018 • comment

This study provides key insights into how ZIKV may persist in semen and alter semen parameters, as well as a valuable tool for testing antiviral agents.

1st October 2018 • comment

The results of this study demonstrate that Ae. aegypti from New Caledonia can become infected and replicate different ZIKV strains belonging to all lineages. These data emphasize the importance of studying the interaction between vectors and their arboviruses according to each local geographic context.

26th September 2018 • comment

Comment

24th August 2018 • comment

Data from this study support a link between maternal ZIKV infection and congenital malformations and suggest the occurrence of predominantly vector-borne ZIKV transmission in these cases. In addition, some highly prevalent TORCH pathogens may be misinterpreted as representative of ongoing ZIKV activity in the absence of exhaustive diagnostics in northeastern Brazil.

8th August 2018 • comment

Results from this study indicate a low ZIKV transmission by Ae. aegypti and Ae. polynesiensis tested from the Pacific region. These results were unexpected and suggest the importance of other factors especially the vector density, the mosquito lifespan or the large immunologically naive fraction of the population that may have contributed to the rapid spread of the ZIKV in the Pacific region during the 2013–2017 outbreak.

17th July 2018 • comment

Pettersson et al provide a short commentary on their research article Re-visiting the evolution, dispersal and epidemiology of Zika virus in Asia published in Emerging Microbes & Infections in May 2018. This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under ZIKAlliance Grant Agreement no. 734548 and ZikaPLAN Grant Agreement no. 734584.

3rd July 2018 • comment

In this study, the authors have traced the phylogenetic history and spatio-temporal dispersal pattern of ZIKV in Asia prior to its explosive emergence in the Pacific region and the Americas.

9th May 2018 • comment

The results from this study emphasize the need for continuous quality assessments of Zika virus diagnostic testing globally.

17th April 2018 • comment

Researchers found no significant association between ZIKV infection and GBS in Bangladesh, but GBS following ZIKV infection was characterized by a distinct clinical and electrophysiological subtype compared to C. jejuni infection. These findings indicate that ZIKV may precede a specific GBS subtype but the risk is low.

6th April 2018 • comment

The risk of congenital neurologic defects related to Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has ranged from 6 to 42% in various reports. The aim of this study was to estimate this risk among pregnant women with symptomatic ZIKV infection in French territories in the Americas.

15th March 2018 • comment

The authors conclude that ZIKV has been circulating in Bolivian tropical areas but not in highlands, and that the epidemic has not been limited by previous immunity against dengue. Specific attention should be paid to the region of Santa Cruz, where the seroprevalence is still limited, but the density of Aedes aegypti populations makes plausible further spreading of the disease.

7th March 2018 • comment

In this study researchers show that ZIKV containing BeH819015 structural proteins is much less efficient in cell-attachment leading to a reduced susceptibility ofepithelial A549 and neuronal SH-SY5Y cells to viral infection.

1st February 2018 • comment

The authors of this study tested nonhuman primates (NHP) sampled during 2012 to 2017 in urban and peri-urban areas severely affected by ZIKV and CHIKV in Brazil. Seroprevalence and antibody titers were low for both viruses. Additionally, they found evidence for infection by heterologous viruses eliciting cross-reactive antibodies. These data suggest that urban or peri-urban NHP are not easily infected by ZIKV and CHIKV despite intense local transmission, and they may also imply that the ZIKV and CHIKV outbreaks in the Americas cannot be sustained in urban or peri-urban NHP once human population immunity limits urban transmission cycles.

31st January 2018 • comment

The findings of this study have implications for the development of multifaceted infection control programs, including strategies for prevention and awareness, helping the population to develop an accurate perception of the threat they are facing and encouraging behavior changes.

25th January 2018 • comment

The authors of this study discuss gaps in the knowledge and the challenges ahead to anticipate, prevent, and control emerging and re-emerging epidemics of arboviruses in Brazil and worldwide.

9th January 2018 • comment

The authors of this article demonstrated that recombinant ZIKV NS1 expressed in mammalian cells stably transduced with a lentiviral vector is suitable for inducing the production of specific antibody directed against NS1 oligomer. According to the authors, anti-ZIKV immune serum could be a great tool for the specific detection of secreted NS1 hexamer in human cells infected with ZIKV of African and Asia lineages, including contemporary epidemic strains.

23rd December 2017 • comment

In this study, researchers assessed for the first time the venereal transmission of ZIKV between Aedes aegypti under laboratory conditions. Their conclusion is that venereal transmission between Aedes mosquitoes might contribute to Zika virus maintenance in nature.

15th December 2017 • comment

In this study, by adding 13 new full ZIKAV genome sequences, isolated from different places in the Pacific region and at different periods of time, along with other published genomes, the authors provide for the first time a map of the whole ZIKAV Pacific sublineage, from the Western to the Eastern edges of the Pacific ocean.

14th December 2017 • comment

In order to understand the mechanism of Zika virus-associated microcephaly, the authors combined analysis of human fetuses infected with Zika virus, cultures of human neuronal stem cells and mice embryos. They showed that ZIKV infection of cortical progenitors controlling neurogenesis triggers a stress in the endoplasmic reticulum in the embryonic brain, inducing signals in response to incorrect protein con-formation.

12th December 2017 • comment

The authors performed an experimental oral infection with the Asian genotype of ZIKV in Ae. albopictus from La Réunion and found a strong midgut barrier to dissemination. This result is discussed in the light of previous vector competence assays for DENV and CHIKV performed on other Ae. albopictus populations from La Réunion.

30th November 2017 • comment
29th November 2017 • comment

In this article, authors find that the high burden of Zika virus infection in a northeastern Brazilian metropolis questions the fate of the outbreak due to population protective immunity; that Zika virus infection predominantly affects geographic areas with low socioeconomic status, demonstrating a clear link between poverty and Zika virus infection; and, finally, additional evidence for the link between Zika virus infection and microcephaly.

14th November 2017 • comment

A study published this week in mBio demonstrates rapid spread of ZIKV in Salvador, a metropolis in northeastern Brazil representing one of the most affected areas during the American ZIKV outbreak, and infection rates exceeding 60%.

14th November 2017 • comment

This study shows that the extrinsic incubation period of Ae. aegypti for transmission is shorter than that of Ae. albopictus.

10th November 2017 • comment

In 2015–2016 in the Recife Metropolitan Region, the authors of this study detected the tail end of a Zika epidemic, which was displaced by a chikungunya epidemic. Few dengue cases were identified despite a high number of official dengue notifications in the area during this period. This study shows here important epidemiological features of these cases.

6th November 2017 • comment
31st October 2017 • comment

The authors of this study found that Culex quinquefasciatus does not support ZIKV replication and Wolbachia is not involved in producing this phenotype. These mosquitoes are therefore very unlikely to play a role in transmission of ZIKV.

27th October 2017 • comment

In order to overcome potential technological issues related to the study of arboviruses, the authors of this study designed an improved DNA transfection protocol for insect cells and then demonstrated that the simple and flexible ISA (Infectious Subgenomic Amplicons) reverse-genetics method can be efficiently applied to both mammalian and mosquito cells to generate in days recombinant infectious positive-stranded RNA viruses belonging to genera Flavivirus (Japanese encephalitis, Yellow fever, West Nile and Zika viruses) and Alphavirus (Chikungunya virus). 

27th October 2017 • comment

The authors of this study developed novel multiplex real-time reverse transcription PCRs. The new PCRs enable yellow fever (YFV) detection with diagnostic sensitivity. Although the dual-target assay is superior to the single-target assay in sensitivity and robustness to target competition, the single-target assay – as stated by the researchers – may be advantageous in resource-limited settings and may be more convenient for multiplex usage in combination with assays targeting co-circulating arboviruses, such as chikungunya, Zika, and dengue viruses.

23rd October 2017 • comment

Results from this study suggest that ZIKV has mechanisms to evade mosquito innate immunity and it is therefore important to understand virus-vector interactions and the implications they have on transmission.

23rd October 2017 • comment

During the European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health (ECTMIH) conference in Antwerp, the three EU-funded Zika Consortia, ZIKAlliance, ZIKAction and ZikaPLAN organized a joint symposium, with an afternoon of presentations packed with up-to-date science regarding ZIKV on October 17th.

23rd October 2017 • comment

Marini et al provide a short commentary on their research article First outbreak of Zika virus in the continental United States: a modelling analysis published in September 2017 in Eurosurveillance. This was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under ZIKAlliance Grant Agreement no. 734548.

12th October 2017 • comment

The remarkable efficacy of the ClearColi BL21(DE3)-based expression system at eliciting the rapid production of specific anti-ZIKV antibodies endorses an innovative method, which can be extended to emerging viruses for which development of immunological tools is an urgent prerequisite.

12th October 2017 • comment

Results from this study suggest that despite the inter-individual variability in immune responses, the magnitude of the maternal ZIKV-specific neutralizing antibody response may prove useful to corroborate congenital ZIKV infection, contributing to reliable estimates of the manifestation index of ZIKV-associated congenital disease. Further studies will be needed to evaluate the time-course of maternal neutralizing antibody responses to identify whether a high maternal PRNT titer can be used as an early marker of congenital infection aiding potential antiviral intervention strategies.

9th October 2017 • comment
28th September 2017 • comment

In this work, the authors analysed the transmission dynamics of the Wynwood outbreak, recorded in Florida at the end of July 2016, using a mathematical model calibrated to outbreak data, and assessed the efficacy of the implemented vector control measures in containing viral transmission. Results from this analysis provide useful insights for prevention and control of possible future outbreaks in European areas.

20th September 2017 • comment
11th September 2017 • comment
11th September 2017 • comment

In this letter, the authors address the need for curation and standardized annotation of ZIKV reference genomes in order to guide researchers and clinicians in genomic analyses and the translation of research findings.

8th September 2017 • comment
6th September 2017 • comment

This study demonstrates for the first time that motor neurons support ZIKV replication and these cells are as a consequence of ZIKV replication destroyed by the virus, and that human iPSC derived neuronal cells offer a physiologically relevant system to assess the potential antiviral effect of small molecule inhibitors of viral replication that are being developed to clear ZIKV infections in the nervous system.

1st September 2017 • comment

Researchers have demonstrated that the recent ZIKV outbreak in Latin America substantially affects the DENV serology in routine diagnostic laboratories.

22nd August 2017 • comment

Results from this study indicate that bats do not sustain sufficient virus amplification in order to function as reservoirs and exclude them as players in the dengue virus transmission cycle.

22nd August 2017 • comment
18th August 2017 • comment
17th August 2017 • comment

Researchers found that in order for an antiviral treatment to effectively reduce the time to plasma viral clearance therapy should be initiated at the time of infection or given prophylactically.

15th August 2017 • comment

Taken together, this study shows that African and Asian ZIKV strains differ in their abilities to infect and replicate in different neural cells, as well as their abilities to cause cell death early after infection. This implies that caution is necessary against extrapolation of experimental data obtained using historical African ZIKV strains to the current outbreak. In addition, the fact that Asian ZIKV strains infect only a minority of cells with a relatively low burst size together with the lack of early cell death induction might contribute to their ability to cause chronic infections within the CNS.

26th July 2017 • comment

This study showed the up-regulation of several detoxification genes of multiple enzyme families associated with metabolic resistance, and the presence of the two kdr mutations, with the F1534C being fixed. Another suggested mechanism probably involved in the resistance phenotype is cuticle thickening, as several cuticle genes were found overexpressed. This study reinforces the importance of alternative control strategies to suppress Ae. aegypti population and thus reduce the likelihood of arbovirus transmission in the region.

24th July 2017 • comment

Results from this study further indicate that viruses from northeast Brazil were important for the continental spread of ZIKV. Within Brazil, the authors find instances of virus lineage movement from northeast to southeast Brazil; most of these events are dated to the second half of 2014 and led to onwards transmission in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states. The authors infer that ZIKV lineages disseminated from northeast Brazil to elsewhere in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.

29th June 2017 • comment

The study shows that Culex quinquefasciatus should not be considered a potential vector of ZIKV in Brazil.

28th June 2017 • comment

This study shows that imipramine strongly inhibits the replication of several Flaviviridae family members, including Zika, West Nile and Dengue virus. These data show that this compound is a potential drug candidate for anti-arboviral treatment.

12th June 2017 • comment

The findings from this study indicate that the immunity of the Cameroonian population against ZIKV is low and that circulation in urban populations is uncommon. Hence, the risk of epidemic spread of ZIKV does exist. The virus is likely to be imported by infected travelers coming from epidemic areas and has the potential to be transmitted by local peri-domestic mosquitoes. This study provides biological evidence that such introduction would occur in populations that are globally immunologically naïve against ZIKV infection and live in areas where potential epidemic vectors exist.

25th May 2017 • comment

The authors of this article describe inhibition of ZIKV replication by suramin, originally an anti-parasitic drug. They suggest that the inhibitory effect of suramin on ZIKV attachment and virion biogenesis and its broadspectrum activity warrant further evaluation of this compound as a potential therapeutic.

17th May 2017 • comment

Based on the reported data from Brazil in 2015/16, this publication describes a plausible range for the risk of microcephaly in women who were infected with Zika virus during pregnancy compared to those who were not infected. The key message is that the large uncertainty around the risk estimate needs to be further investigated because of a) the possible existence of co-factors that are yet to be validated, b) the assumptions that need be made for the proportion of women who were infected during pregnancy.

10th March 2017 • comment

In addition to representing the first ZIKV full-length NS5 activity report at the molecular level, this study should help the design of pan-flavivirus drugs aiming at the control of many Flavivirus members of this large family of emerging arboviruses, as well as understand the basis of re-purposing drugs against emerging viral diseases.

21st February 2017 • comment

The results outlined in the article contribute to a better understanding of the ZIKVMTase, a central player in viral replication and host innate immune response, and lay the basis for the development of potential antiviral drugs.

21st February 2017 • comment

This study showcases the contribution of modeling to inform local health-care planning during an outbreak. Timely studies that estimate the proportion of infected persons that seek care are needed to improve the predictive power of such approaches.

15th February 2017 • comment

Researchers demonstrate that strategically combining the suppression methods with Wolbachia can generate a sustained control while mitigating the risks of inadvertent exacerbation of the wild mosquito population.

30th January 2017 • comment

The article concludes that infection with Flaviviridae can increase centrosome numbers and impair spindle positioning, thus potentially contributing to microcephaly in the case of Zika.

18th January 2017 • comment

This study describes for the first time the specific antiviral gene expression in infected primary human astrocytes, the major glial cells within the central nervous system.

14th January 2017 • comment

This pioneering study suggests that the study of blood donors during outbreaks of emerging pathogens has become a key element of epidemiological surveillance.

12th January 2017 • comment

This study highlights the dual role of Axl during ZIKV infection of glial cells: promoting viral entry and modulating innate immune responses. Therefore, inhibiting Axl function may represent a potential target for future antiviral therapies.

11th January 2017 • comment

By using the bacterium-free ‘Infectious Subgenomic Amplicons’ (ISA) method, this study provides the scientific community with two simple and performing reverse genetics systems for ZIKV.

19th December 2016 • comment

The article argues that the off-label use of drugs that may protect against Zika virus-induced brain damage has to be balanced with their risk during pregnancy.

12th October 2016 • comment

Based on comparative ZIKV complete genome phylogenetic analyses and temporal estimates, the authors identify amino acid substitutions that may be associated with increased viral epidemicity, CZVS, and GBS. Reverse genetics, vector competence, and seroepidemiological studies will test the hypothesis that these amino acid substitutions are determinants of epidemic and neurotropic ZIKV emergence.

11th October 2016 • comment