Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged as a major global public health concern in the last two years due to its link as a causative agent of human birth defects. Its rapid expansion into the Western ...Hemisphere as well as the ability to be transmitted from mother to fetus, through sexual transmission and possibly through blood transfusions has increased the need for a rapid and expansive public health response to this unprecedented epidemic. A non-invasive and rapid ZIKV diagnostic screening assay that can be performed in a clinical setting throughout pregnancy is vital for prenatal care of women living in areas of the world where exposure to the virus is possible. To meet this need we have developed a sensitive and specific reverse transcriptase loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay to detect ZIKV RNA in urine and serum with a simple visual detection. RT-LAMP results were shown to have a limit of detection 10-fold higher than qRT-PCR. As little as 1.2 RNA copies/μl was detected by RT-LAMP from a panel of 178 diagnostic specimens. The assay was shown to be highly specific for ZIKV RNA when tested with diagnostic specimens positive for dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The assay described here illustrates the potential for a fast, reliable, sensitive and specific assay for the detection of ZIKV from urine or serum that can be performed in a clinical or field setting with minimal equipment and technological expertise.
Clinical and serologic evidence indicate that 2 American scientists contracted Zika virus infections while working in Senegal in 2008. One of the scientists transmitted this arbovirus to his wife ...after his return home. Direct contact is implicated as the transmission route, most likely as a sexually transmitted infection.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus first isolated in Uganda from a sentinel monkey in 1947. Mosquito and sentinel animal surveillance studies have demonstrated that ZIKV is endemic to ...Africa and Southeast Asia, yet reported human cases are rare, with <10 cases reported in the literature. In June 2007, an epidemic of fever and rash associated with ZIKV was detected in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia. We report the genetic and serologic properties of the ZIKV associated with this epidemic.
A reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay was designed, according to previously determined and newly derived genetic data, to target S genomic segments of 47 viruses, including 29 arthropod-borne ...human pathogens, of the family BUNYAVIRIDAE: The analytical sensitivity of the presented assay was evaluated through its application to RNAs extracted from quantitated dilutions of bunyaviruses of interest. Additionally, the assay's analytical specificity was determined through the evaluation of RNAs extracted from selected bunyaviruses and other representative arthropod-borne viruses isolated from a diverse group of host species and temporal and geographic origins. After RT-PCR amplification, DNAs amplified from bunyaviruses of interest were subjected to a novel multiplex sequencing method to confirm bunyavirus positivity and provide preliminary, species-level S segment identification. It is our goal that this assay will be used as a tool for identification and characterization of emergent arthropod-borne bunyavirus isolates of medical import as well as related viruses of the family Bunyaviridae that have not been associated with human illness.
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-borne alphavirus, is endemic in Africa and Asia. In 2005-2006, CHIKV epidemics were reported in islands in the Indian Ocean and in southern India. We present ...data on laboratory-confirmed CHIKV infections among travelers returning from India to the United States during 2006.
West Nile virus (WNV) causes epidemics of febrile illness, meningitis, encephalitis, and flaccid paralysis. Since it was first detected in New York City in 1999, and through 2004, >16,000 WNV disease ...cases have been reported in the United States. Over the past 5 years, research on WNV disease has expanded rapidly. This review highlights new information regarding the virology, clinical manifestations, and pathology of WNV disease, which will provide a new platform for further research into diagnosis, treatment, and possible prevention of WNV through vaccination.
Zika virus is a flavivirus known to cause human infection in Asia and Africa. This article describes an outbreak of Zika virus infection on Yap Island, Federated States of Micronesia, with ...predominant symptoms of rash, fever, arthralgia, and conjunctivitis. An estimated 73% of Yap residents 3 years of age or older became infected during the 4 months of the outbreak.
This article describes an outbreak of Zika virus infection on Yap Island, Federated States of Micronesia, with predominant symptoms of rash, fever, arthralgia, and conjunctivitis. An estimated 73% of Yap residents 3 years of age or older became infected.
Zika virus is a flavivirus (family Flaviviridae) related to West Nile, dengue, and yellow fever viruses.
1
Zika virus was isolated in 1947 from a rhesus monkey in the Zika forest near Entebbe, Uganda
2
; its genome was sequenced in 2006.
3
There is serologic evidence of human Zika virus infection in Africa and Asia, and the virus has been isolated from humans in Uganda, Nigeria, and Senegal.
2
–
12
Zika virus is believed to be transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes and has been isolated from
Aedes africanus, Aedes luteocephalus,
and
Aedes aegypti
.
13
–
16
No outbreaks and only 14 cases of . . .
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