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Current priorities in the Zika response
Author(s) -
Esposito Danillo L. A.,
Moraes Jonathan B.,
Antônio Lopes da Fonseca Benedito
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1111/imm.12878
Subject(s) - zika virus , arbovirus , microcephaly , virology , outbreak , aedes , pandemic , flaviviridae , biology , disease , virus , public health , flavivirus , dengue fever , immunology , medicine , infectious disease (medical specialty) , viral disease , covid-19 , pathology , genetics
Summary Zika virus ( ZIKV ), a single‐stranded RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family, is an arbovirus (viruses transmitted by arthropods) transmitted to humans and non‐human primates through the bites of infected female Aedes sp. mosquitoes. Although first isolated in 1947, it only recently emerged as a global threat, present in several countries resulting in a pandemic scenario. ZIKV infections may have severe outcomes, such as neurological impairment, and with the intrinsic ability of inducing microcephaly in fetuses of infected pregnant women, the virus has become a major public health problem. This review discusses some advances in diagnosis; vaccine development and the problems associated with their administration; the importance of the cross‐reactivity with other flaviviruses in protecting or worsening the disease; the implications of the recent outbreak caused by the virus in the world; and future prospects for the complete understanding of this disease.