Emma E Taylor1, Eyad Kinkar2, Kyana St Amant2 and Mazen Saleh2*
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
2Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
*Corresponding Author: Mazen Saleh, Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Received: March 24, 2018; Published: April 25, 2018
Citation: Mazen Saleh., et al. “Zika Virus: Transmission and Infectivity”. Acta Scientific Microbiology 1.5 (2018).
Since its first discovery in 1947, the Zika virus did not cause any public health concerns at a global level until 2015 in South America. The virus belongs to the family flaviviridae and it is an enveloped virus housing within its capsid a positive sense RNA genome. The primary mosquito vectors for the transmission of this virus are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, amongst others. The virus appears to infect phagocytic cells through apoptotic mimicry, utilizing receptors involved in the phagocytic uptake of apoptotic bodies. In addition to transmission through mosquitos Zika virus infection can be perinatal or congenital. In the latter, infection of the mother in the first trimester has been implicated in causing microcephaly. Not all Zika virus infections present clinical signs and symptoms but when present they may include low-grade fever, maculopapular rash, arthralgia/arthritis, edema, headaches, retroorbital pain, conjunctivitis, maculopapular rash on face and limbs, myalgia, vomiting and other digestive disorders. Less commonly reported symptoms, as seen in other flaviviruse infections, are lymphadenopathy, prostatitis, anorexia, vertigo and hematospermia. The similarities between the Zika virus and the Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Tick-Borne Encephalitis, and Dengue viruses allowed for rapid and effective development of diagnostic methods and great progress towards vaccine development.
Keywords: Zika Virus; Flavivirus, Microcephaly, Aedes aegypti
Copyright: © 2018 Mazen Saleh., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.