|
 
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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1 |
|
Zika virus: An emerging pathogen
Abdulaziz A Al-Quorain
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Dammam, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| Date of Web Publication | 16-Nov-2016 |
Correspondence Address:
Abdulaziz A Al-Quorain
P. O. Box 40001, Al-Khobar 31952
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 DOI: 10.4103/1658-631X.194246 PMID: 30787744 
How to cite this article:
Al-Quorain AA. Zika virus: An emerging pathogen. Saudi J Med Med Sci 2017;5:1 |
Zika virus is a flavivirus, transmitted by mosquitoes, mainly Aedes Aegypti. The virus was first isolated in 1947 from a rhesus monkey in the Zika forest in Uganda, Africa with the first human infections reported in 1952 in Uganda, Tanzania, and Nigeria.[1],[2],[3]
The geographic spread of the Zika virus has involved more than 52 countries worldwide.[4],[5] In 2014, it reached the Western Hemisphere and was detected in Brazil in 2015.[6] In 2016, the Zika virus infection reached the United States and currently, it has been reported in North, Central and South America, Micronesia, the Caribbean and some Southeast Asian countries.[7],[8],[9]
The transmission of the Zika virus to humans can occur through various modes, including blood transfusion, laboratory exposure, sexual contact, maternal-fetal transmission, and mosquitoes.[10],[11]
The clinical presentation is usually asymptomatic in the majority of cases. However, when symptoms are present, they are usually mild and can include low-grade fever, arthralgia, rash, and conjunctivitis.[12] Severe clinical manifestations, including microcephaly, have been described in infants and Guillain-Barre syndrome has been reported as a neurological complication.[13],[14] Although the Zika virus infection is mild in more than 80% of cases, further multicenter studies are required to improve the management of the infection.
In this issue, Professor Adel Al-Afaleq reviews the pathogenesis, transmission, clinical manifestation, diagnosis, management, and prevention of this virus.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Dick GW, Kitchen SF, Haddow AJ. Zika virus. I. Isolations and serological specificity. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1952;46:509-20.  |
| 2. | Macnamara FN. Zika virus: A report on three cases of human infection during an epidemic of jaundice in Nigeria. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1954;48:139-45. |
| 3. | Korhonen EM, Huhtamo E, Smura T, Kallio-Kokko H, Raassina M, Vapalahti O. Zika virus infection in a traveller returning from the Maldives, June 2015. Euro Surveill 2016;21:30107. |
| 4. | Petersen LR, Jamieson DJ, Powers AM, Honein MA. Zika Virus. N Engl J Med 2016;374:1552-63. |
| 5. | Musso D, Gubler DJ. Zika Virus. Clin Microbiol Rev 2016;29:487-524. |
| 6. | Gatherer D, Kohl A. Zika virus: A previously slow pandemic spreads rapidly through the Americas. J Gen Virol 2016;97:269-73. |
| 7. | Meaney-Delman D, Hills SL, Williams C, Galang RR, Iyengar P, Hennenfent AK, et al. Zika virus infection among U.S. pregnant travelers – August 2015-February 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:211-4. |
| 8. | Armstrong P, Hennessey M, Adams M, Cherry C, Chiu S, Harrist A, et al. Travel-associated Zika virus disease cases among U.S. residents – United States, January 2015-February 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:286-9. |
| 9. | |
| 10. | Musso D, Nhan T, Robin E, Roche C, Bierlaire D, Zisou K, et al. Potential for Zika virus transmission through blood transfusion demonstrated during an outbreak in French Polynesia, November 2013 to February 2014. Euro Surveill 2014;19. pii: 20761. |
| 11. | Brooks JT, Friedman A, Kachur RE, LaFlam M, Peters PJ, Jamieson DJ. Update: Interim guidance for prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus – United States, July 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:745-7. |
| 12. | |
| 13. | Rasmussen SA, Jamieson DJ, Honein MA, Petersen LR. Zika virus and birth defects – Reviewing the evidence for causality. N Engl J Med 2016;374:1981-7. |
| 14. | |
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