ABSTRACT
The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus (Aedes), similar to other arboviruses, first identified in Uganda in 1947. Few human cases were reported until 2007, when a Zika outbreak occurred in Yap, Micronesia, even though ZIKV activity had been reported in Africa and in Asia through virological surveillance and entomological studies. French Polynesia has recorded a large outbreak since October 2013. A great number of cases and some with neurological and autoimmune complications have been reported in a context of concurrent circulation of dengue viruses. The clinical presentation is a "dengue-like syndrome". Until the epidemic in French Polynesia, no severe ZIKV disease had been described so far. The diagnosis is confirmed by viral genome detection by genomic amplification (RT- PCR) and viral isolation. These two large outbreaks occurred in a previously unaffected area in less than a decade. They should raise awareness as to the potential for ZIKV to spread especially since this emergent disease is not well known and that some questions remain on potential reservoirs and transmission modes as well as on clinical presentations and complications. ZIKV has the potential to spread to new areas where the Aedes mosquito vector is present and could be a risk for Southern Europe. Strategies for the prevention and control of ZIKV disease should include the use of insect repellent and mosquito vector eradication.
Subject(s)
Aedes/virology , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/epidemiology , Disease Outbreaks , Insect Vectors/virology , Zika Virus Infection/epidemiology , Zika Virus/isolation & purification , Adolescent , Adult , Africa/epidemiology , Aged , Animals , Asia/epidemiology , Child , Child, Preschool , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/prevention & control , Communicable Diseases, Emerging/virology , Haplorhini , Humans , Infant , Insect Bites and Stings/virology , Male , Micronesia/epidemiology , Middle Aged , Monkey Diseases/epidemiology , Monkey Diseases/virology , Mosquito Control , Polynesia/epidemiology , Young Adult , Zika Virus/pathogenicity , Zika Virus Infection/prevention & control , Zika Virus Infection/transmission , Zika Virus Infection/virologyABSTRACT
Since November 2003, the epidemic intelligence team at the French Institut de Veille Sanitaire has been gathering data on influenza A(H5N1) circulation in poultry and on human cases worldwide. As Indonesia notifies the world's 500th case to the World Health Organization, we discuss the epidemiological situation and trends of A(H5N1) influenza. Although the overall number of cases reported worldwide has decreased, influenza A(H5N1) continues to circulate intensely in some countries and more cases are to be expected, especially in Egypt and Indonesia.
