Zika: a re-emerging infectious virus disease of public health concern

ABSTRACT

Zika is caused by a flavivirus transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes species, mainly Aedes aegypti. It causes a mild self-limiting illness in people that it infects, leaving most people asymptomatic. However, the recent rise in the spread of Zika virus predominantly in Latin America has been accompanied by unprecedented rise in a number of children being born with abnormally small heads-identified as microcephaly. In addition several countries, including Brazil, which has experienced the world largest Zika outbreaks, reported a steep increase in Guillain Barre Syndrome- a neurological autoimmune disorder that could lead to paralysis and death. Although it has not been definitively proven, evidence is growing that Zika virus causes both microcephaly and Guillain Barre Syndrome. Obviously, these reports made the World Health Organization to declare Zika as a significant global public health concern. Apart from using insecticides to control the spread of mosquitoes, several other approaches are being implemented to prevent Zika virus infection. These include vaccine development and impairing egg-laying female mosquito’s ability to transmit infection and also genetic modification and sterilization of male Aedes aegypti.