key: cord-0765629-h8ebk6zu authors: Rajendram, Rajkumar; Preedy, Victor R.; Patel, Vinood B. title: Research and recommended resources on Zika virus, pathology, and control date: 2021-07-09 journal: Zika Virus Biology, Transmission, and Pathology DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-820268-5.00044-4 sha: e0dafc8c6323f6ebec3fd5be77a80d548eb6c80b doc_id: 765629 cord_uid: h8ebk6zu The Zika virus, a flavivirus is related to viruses that cause dengue and yellow fever and is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. The virus was first isolated in 1947, during studies conducted in the Zika Forest of Uganda. During the first 60 years of Zika’s discovery (i.e., until 2007), epidemic infections were unheard of. Less than 20 cases of confirmed human infection were described between 1952 and 2007. This is likely because the presentation is generally mild and nonspecific, so Zika fever was either ignored or misdiagnosed. Since 2007 several devastating epidemics piqued international interest fuelling the research on this hitherto neglected flavivirus. Importantly, as control of viral pandemics requires broadly similar public health measures; the international response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been facilitated by observations made during Zika epidemics. There has been a recent explosion in the knowledge and understanding of the Zika virus. It is now difficult even for experienced scientists to remain up-to-date. To assist colleagues who are interested in understanding more about this field we have therefore produced tables containing up-to-date resources in this chapter. As with many of the greatest scientific advances, the discovery of the Zika virus was at least partly serendipitous. The virus was first isolated from a rhesus macaque monkey, in 1947, during studies conducted in the Zika Forest of Uganda, to identify the vector of yellow fever (Dick, Kitchen, & Haddow, 1952; Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) . The "filterable transmissible agent" isolated from its serum was named after the Zika Forest (Dick et al., 1952) . It was first suggested that Zika could infect humans after the results of a serological survey in Uganda were published in 1952 (Dick et al., 1952) . Further serendipity in 1962 resulted in the first confirmation of an acute human infection. In 1964, Simpson, reported his observations after accidentally infecting himself with Zika while isolating the virus from mosquitoes (Simpson, 1964) . The Zika virus is a member of the genus Flaviviridae of viruses (Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) . Related to viruses that cause dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile fever (Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) it is spread by Aedes mosquitoes (e.g., A. aegypti, A. albopictus) (Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) . The Zika virus replicates in the mosquito's salivary glands and is present in the mosquito's saliva. The virus can infect human epidermal keratinocytes, skin fibroblasts, and Langerhans cells if inoculated into human skin by an infected mosquito (Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) . The virus then spreads to lymph nodes and enters the bloodstream (Chan, Choi, Yip, Cheng, & Yuen, 2016) . Within the first 60 years of Zika's discovery (i.e., until 2007), epidemic infections were unheard of. Less than 20 cases of confirmed human infection were described between 1952 and 2007 (Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) . However, in retrospect, because the clinical presentation of Zika is nonspecific (Chan et al., 2016; Musso & Gubler, 2016) , these sporadic cases are likely to have represented only the very tip of the iceberg of this infection. Many cases are likely to have been either managed symptomatically or misdiagnosed as dengue, Japanese encephalitis, or another flaviviral infection endemic to the regions where Zika virus is prevalent. Since 2007, several large epidemics of Zika virus infection have left their mark around the world. The most recent epidemic began in April 2015 in Brazil, and spread to other several countries in North and South America (Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) . Infection with Zika usually causes mild if any symptoms. This illness known as Zika fever or Zika virus disease is like a very mild form of dengue fever (Chan et al., 2016; Musso & Gubler, 2016) . At the time of writing this chapter in late 2019, although several specific vaccines and antivirals are under development; the illness cannot be prevented and there is no specific treatment. However, supportive treatment (e.g., paracetamol, fluids, and rest) may relieve the symptoms associated with a mild Zika fever (Chan et al., 2016) . Unfortunately, in some people, infection with Zika virus can have severe consequences. For example, Guillain-Barr e syndrome is a rare sequela of Zika infection (Chan et al., 2016; Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) and a woman infected while pregnant can pass the infection on to the fetus in utero (Chan et al., 2016; Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) . This may be ruinous because the consequences of in utero infection with Zika include devastating birth defects such as microcephaly and severe malformations of the brain (Chan et al., 2016; Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) . During the most recent epidemic, an estimated 1.5 million people were infected by Zika, in North and South America and over 3500 cases of microcephaly were reported (Chan et al., 2016; Musso & Gubler, 2016; Sikka et al., 2016) . In February 2016, the WHO declared this situation a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (Sikka et al., 2016) . Several countries issued travel warnings with specific guidance aimed at pregnant women (Sikka et al., 2016) . In November 2016, the WHO declared that Zika virus was no longer a global emergency (WHO, 2016) . However, the WHO still considers the virus to be "a highly significant, long-term problem" (WHO, 2016) . While there are many important differences between Zika virus and Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), the local, regional, national, and international responses to these viral pandemics were broadly similar. Observations on the efficacy of public health initiatives during Zika epidemics greatly facilitated the initiation of these policies (e.g., quarantines, restriction of local and international travel, closure of schools, physical distancing measures, and educational campaigns) during the global COVID-19 pandemic. There has been an explosion in the knowledge and understanding of the Zika virus since it was first isolated in 1947. The recent epidemics of Zika virus infection have piqued international interest; further fuelling research in this rapidly developing field. It is now difficult even for experienced scientists to remain up-to-date. Scientists, academics, or scholars are often interested to know which research centers are most active, and what type of material is being published. Other queries related to what resources the experienced scientists would suggest remaining up to date. To assist colleagues who are interested in the characteristics of research in the area of Zika induced pathology, transmission, and control, we have compiled a section on bibliometric statistics. To assist colleagues who are interested in understanding more about this field, we have produced tables containing up-to-date resources in this chapter. The experts who assisted with the compilation of the data on research and the tables of resources are acknowledged below. Tables 1-6 list the most up-to-date information on the regulatory bodies (Table 1) , journals (Table 2) , books (Table 3) , professional societies (Table 4) , online resources and platforms (Table 5) , and other resources for health care professionals or patients (Table 6) who are relevant to an evidence-based approach to Zika virus. The WHO considers that the Zika virus is "a highly significant, long-term problem." l Zika virus is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae. l It is now difficult even for experienced scientists to remain up-to-date on Zika virus pathology and control. The Lancet The Lancet Infectious Diseases: Article on Zika Virus Health Organization (PAHO) Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization: Article on Zika Virus PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases: Article on Zika Virus Zika Epidemiology Global overview World Health Organization (WHO) Zika virus vectors and risk of spread in the WHO European Region This table lists some other resources of interest or relevance for health care professionals or patients in relation to Zika virus Zika fever and congenital Zika syndrome: An unexpected emerging arboviral disease Zika virus. I. Isolations and serological specificity Zika virus The emergence of Zika virus as a global health security threat: A review and a consensus statement of the INDUSEM Joint Working Group (JWG) Zika virus infection in man Zika virus situation report 24/11/16. World Health Organisation We thank the following authors for contributing to the development of this resource. We apologize if some suggested material was not included in this chapter or has been moved to different sections.Arajo The recommended resources listed in this chapter will be of great interest to those developing policies and procedures on the research into the prevention and treatment of Zika. Some examples of current policies in this field are listed below.National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, United States of America. Zika Virus. "https://www.niaid.nih. gov/diseases-conditions/zika-virus World Health Organization. WHO Zika virus research agenda. https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/zika/zikavirus-research-agenda/en/ World Health Organization. International Health Regulation Procedures concerning public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC). https://www.who.int/ihr/procedures/pheic/en/ Epidemic: A usually sudden increase in the occurrence a disease in excess of the levels expected for that region's population.Flaviviridae: This is a family of RNA viruses that contain positive-strand RNA. They are primarily spread to birds and mammals using ticks and mosquitoes as vectors.Public Health Emergency of International Concern: An unusual but serious event that risks public health risk and may need coordinated international action to prevent to international spread of disease.Zika virus: A member of the Flaviviridae genus of viruses. It causes the condition known as Zika fever, Zika virus disease or Zika. This is usually a mild self-limiting disease. The Zika virus was first isolated from a rhesus macaque monkey, in 1947. l The virus was named after the Ziika Forest of Uganda.