Research progress on characteristics of Zika virus and its infection in human / 中华临床感染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Zika virus was named after the Ugandan forest where it was first isolated in a rhesus monkey in 1947, and the first confirmed human case was reported in 1954 in Nigeria.The incidence of Zika virus disease is very low.In the year 2014, Zika virus infection appeared in the Western hemisphere, and then the virus rapidly spread to Americas, Caribbean and Pacific island countries.Currently more than 30 countries have reported Zika virus infection, and officials estimate there will be 4 million Zika infections. Zika virus disease is a self-limited disease with mild symptoms, however, Zika virus is neuroinvasive.It can be transmitted to infants from mothers who infected in the early months of pregnancy, and may cause microcephaly, retinae macula and optic nerve abnormalities.Guillain-Barré syndrome is also found as a complication of Zika virus infection in some cases.Zika virus is mainly transmitted by aedes mosquito, and no vaccine is available at present, so the prevention of its infection is difficult.This paper reviews the research progress of Zika virus infection, including virus characteristics, epidemiology and clinical feature of Zika infection in human.