Expansion of Zika virus circulation from Africa to the Americas, 1947-2018: a literature review

Background:

Since its discovery in 1947, the Zika virus (ZIKV) was responsible for sporadic and mild cases limited to Africa and Asia. This scenario changed in 2007 when the virus emerged as a pathogen capable of causing large-scale epidemics in the Pacific islands, eventually reaching the Americas in 2013-2014 and becoming a significant global public health problem associated with neurological complications and congenital malformations.

Abstract:

Objective: To describe the temporal and geographical expansion of ZIKV circulation in countries and territories from its isolation until 2018.

Methods: A non-systematic literature review covering the period from 1947 to 2018 was conducted using the MEDLINE database and World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.

Results: ZIKV circulation expanded from Africa through Asia and the Pacific before reaching the Americas in 2013, where it caused serious clinical manifestations. The highest seroprevalence rates were recorded in Yap Island (74%) and Brazil (63%). Factors such as genetic mutations, lack of population immunity, and high vector susceptibility likely influenced the virus’s transmissibility and the magnitude of its expansion.

Conclusion: The spread of ZIKV in the Americas was the most extensive recorded to date, possibly due to specific population and geographical characteristics of the affected regions.

Keywords: Zika virus; Flavivirus; Epidemiology; Epidemics; Congenital Abnormalities; Review Literature as Topic.

Clique aqui

• Data de Publicação: 21/03/2019
• Autores: Gilmara de Souza Sampaio1 – Carlos Brites1 – Jan Felix Drexler2 – Andres Moreira-Soto2 – Fernanda Miranda1 – Eduardo Martins Netto1