The University of the West Indies has started the enrollment. This is a real milestone for the ZIKAction VT study and we wish Celia Christie-Samuels and her team all the best for their work.
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Accuracy of Zika virus disease case definition during simultaneous Dengue and Chikungunya epidemics
Jun 26, 2017
By Braga JU, Bressan C, Dalvi APR, Calvet GA, Daumas RP, Rodrigues N, Wakimoto M, Nogueira RMR, Nielsen-Saines K, Brito C, Bispo de Filippis AM, Brasil P
Zika is a new disease in the American continent and its surveillance is of utmost importance, especially because of its ability to cause neurological manifestations as Guillain-Barré syndrome and serious congenital malformations through vertical transmission. The detection of suspected cases by the surveillance system depends on the case definition adopted. As the laboratory diagnosis of Zika infection still relies on the use of expensive and complex molecular techniques with low sensitivity due to a narrow window of detection, most suspected cases are not confirmed by laboratory tests, mainly reserved for pregnant women and newborns. In this context, an accurate definition of a suspected Zika case is crucial in order for the surveillance system to gauge the magnitude of an epidemic.
Published in: PLoS One. 2017 Jun 26;12(6):e0179725.
Zika virus infection-associated acute transient polyneuritis
Jun 13, 2017
By Nascimento OJM, Frontera JA, Amitrano DA, Bispo de Filippis AM, Da Silva IRF; RIO-GBS-ZIKV Research Group.
This article describes a case series of 3 patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 outbreak of Zika virus infection in Brazil.
Published in: Neurology 2017 Jun 13;88(24):2330-2332.
Trends of Microcephaly and Severe Arthrogryposis in Three Urban Hospitals following the Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue Fever Epidemics of 2016 in Jamaica
Jun 12, 2017
By James-Powell T., Brown Y., Christie CDC., Melbourne-Chambers R., Moore JT., Morgan O., Butler B., Swaby K., Garbutt A., Anzinger J., Pierre RB., Onyonyor A., Bryan L., Palmer PM, Mitchell P., Johnson P., Bishop K., Jaggon JR., De La Haye W.
Jamaica experienced its maiden Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic in 2016, while dengue (serotypes 3 and 4) and chikungunya were also circulating. In this article, we describe initial trends in microcephaly and arthrogryposis observed by the clinicians from three urban birthing facilities during late 2016 to early 2017.
Published in: West Indian Medical Journal, 2017; 66:10-19 and Epub-ahead-of-print, 12 Jun, 2017; DOI 10.7727/wimj.2017.124.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our first quarterly ZIKAction newsletter, which was born from the collaboration with the other EU funded ZIKA consortia: ZIKAlliance and ZIKA PLAN. Hope you enjoy it!
ZIKAction and the other two EU funded Zika consortia have contributed to the creation of a Latin American and Caribbean preparedness and response network
Successful infection of pregnant ewes in ZIKAction sheep model of Zika vertical transmission
Apr 20, 2017
Within the ZIKA-PATHO work package of ZIKAction, Dr. Maureen Long and her lab at the University of Florida have developed a sheep model of mother-to-child Zika virus transmission. Fetal sheep have proven to be an excellent model of fetal stress in human pregnancies, highly succeptible to early viral infection and demonstrating brain and limb defects in association with these infections.
ZIKAction visited the West African country of Cape Verde, which last year experienced an outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV). The hospital personnel in Praia, the capital of Santiago – main-island warmly welcomed the ZIKAction team and are eager to contribute their first-hand experience with and knowledge of ZIKV infection in pregnancy to ZIKAction activities.
Study on the persistence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in body fluids of patients with ZIKV infection in Brazil
Apr 07, 2017
By Calvet GA, Kara EO, Giozza SP, et al. Zika virus (ZIKV) has been identified in several body fluids of infected individuals. In most cases, it remained detected in blood from few days to 1 week after the onset of symptoms, and can persist longer in urine and in semen. ZIKV infection can have dramatic consequences such as microcephaly… Read More »
We are excited to begin enrollment in the prospective cohort study of mother-to-child transmission of Zika (ZIKV), Dengue (DENV) and Chikungunya (CHIKV) virus infection, having received ethics approval in Jamaica on April 5.
