Full Answer
What is Zika fever?
A Review of the Ongoing Research on Zika Virus Treatment The Zika fever is an arboviral disease resulting from the infection with Zika virus (ZIKV). The virus is transmitted to humans by the bite of <i>Aedes</i> mosquitos, mainly <i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Aedes albopictus</i>.
Are there any FDA-approved treatments for Zika?
Several investigational vaccines are under development, including early human clinical trials. There are no FDA-approved treatments for Zika virus, nor is the FDA aware of treatments in advanced development for Zika at this time. Also see Zika Virus Treatment Research, from NIAID, and BARDA’s Medical Countermeasure Response to Zika
Why did the who issue a warning about Zika in Europe?
Because A. albopictusis present in Southern Europe, the WHO issued a warning to European countries to be on the lookout for potential cases of Zika infection [55]. An analysis of the transmission potential for the Zika virus by various species of the Aedesmosquito was conducted [56].
What is the FDA’s role in the Zika virus response?
The FDA has a critical role in facilitating the development, and availability of investigational products for use against emerging infectious diseases, such as the Zika virus.
Why is Zika a concern?
Complications of Zika virus disease Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of microcephaly and other congenital abnormalities in the developing fetus and newborn. Zika infection in pregnancy also results in pregnancy complications such as fetal loss, stillbirth, and preterm birth.
Is there a treatment for Zika virus?
There is no specific medicine or vaccine for Zika virus. Treat the symptoms. Get plenty of rest.
What is the latest news on Zika virus?
Feb. 3, 2021 — A preclinical study has discovered a new mechanism for how Zika virus can pass from mothers to their children during pregnancy - a process known as vertical transmission.
Is Zika virus still a concern?
Zika virus continues to be a concern in many parts of the world. Transmission can occur in most areas of the world where the mosquito Aedes aegypti, the principal vector, occurs. This means that there is the potential for transmission through much of the tropical and subtropical world and beyond.
How is Zika virus prevented?
How can Zika be prevented? The best protection from Zika virus is preventing mosquito bites indoors and outdoors, especially from sunrise to sunset when mosquitos are most active. Such measures include: Use mosquito repellent in accordance with the instructions indicated on the product label.
How can the Zika virus be prevented and treated?
There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available. The best form of prevention is avoiding being bitten mosquitoes if you are in a country affected by Zika virus.
Is Zika still a concern 2021?
But since 2018, no local Zika transmission has been reported in the continental United States; and less than 100 travelers have acquired the disease. In 2021, only 1 traveler contracted Zika and there have been no confirmed cases of Zika using molecular testing from the U.S. territories.
Is Zika virus a concern 2022?
Zika in the modern era As of April 2022, there are no current outbreaks of Zika worldwide, although a significant outbreak did occur in India in November of 2021.
What causes Zika virus?
Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus). These mosquitoes bite during the day and night.
Is Zika still a concern for pregnancy?
CDC recommends you take special precautions if you are pregnant to protect yourself from Zika virus infection. Because Zika during pregnancy can cause severe birth defects, if you are pregnant, you should not travel to areas with Zika outbreaks (as indicated by red areas on the Zika map).
Where is Zika a risk?
Zika virus is found in parts of: South and Central America. the Caribbean. the Pacific islands.
How to protect yourself from Zika?
Take steps to protect yourself from exposure to the person’s blood and body fluids (urine, stool, vomit). If you are pregnant, you can care for someone with Zika if you follow these steps. Do not touch blood or body fluids or surfaces with these fluids on them with exposed skin.
What is the best medicine for a fever?
Take medicine such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®) to reduce fever and pain.
What to do if you are taking medicine for another condition?
If you are taking medicine for another medical condition, talk to your healthcare provider before taking additional medication.
How to prevent Zika?
The best way to prevent Zika and other diseases spread by mosquitoes is to avoid being bitten. More: Prevention, from CDC
Why is it important to review the use of innovative strategies to help suppress the population of virus-carrying mosquitoe?
Reviewing the use of innovative strategies to help suppress the population of virus-carrying mosquitoes is one of many activities in which FDA is engaged to help mitigate the threat of vector-borne epidemics , such as Zika.
What is the ZIKV 2.0 IgM test?
ZIKV Detect 2.0 IgM Capture ELISA - On May 23, 2019, FDA authorized marketing of the ZIKV Detect 2.0 IgM Capture ELISA to detect Zika virus immunoglobulin (IgM) antibodies in human blood. The ZIKV Detect 2.0 IgM Capture ELISA is the first Zika diagnostic test the FDA has allowed to be marketed in the U.S. FDA reviewed the data for the test through the De Novo premarket review pathway. Previously, tests for detecting Zika virus immunoglobulin (IgM) antibodies—including the ZIKV Detect 2.0 IgM Capture ELISA—had been authorized only for emergency use under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) authority. For more information, see Serological assays below
What is the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization?
Under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) mechanism, the agency can enable the use of an unapproved medical product, or the unapproved use of an approved medical product, during emergencies, when, among other circumstances, there are no adequate approved, and available alternatives. An EUA is an important mechanism that allows broader access to available medical products under specific circumstances.
How does Zika spread?
Zika virus is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. Most people never know that they have been infected with the virus. It is estimated that four out of five people with Zika virus infections have no symptoms at all. When symptoms do occur, the most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). Even in those who develop symptoms, the illness is usually mild, with symptoms lasting from several days to a week.
When was the DPP Zika IgM system cleared?
Accordingly, FDA withdrew the guidance titled, “Revised Recommendations for Reducing the Risk of Zika Virus Transmission by Blood and Blood Components,” dated July 2018. June 3, 2020: FDA cleared the DPP Zika IgM System for detecting Zika virus IgM antibodies.
When was the ADVIA Centaur test approved?
ADVIA Centaur Zika test – On July 17, 2019, FDA cleared the ADVIA Centaur Zika test. This is the second Zika diagnostic test FDA has allowed to be marketed in the U.S. for detecting Zika virus IgM antibodies. Previously, the test had been authorized only for emergency use under FDA’s EUA authority.
What is the role of the viral envelope in the cell?
The viral envelope mediates entry into the cell , the capsid enters into the nuclear membrane, and the genome is all that enters the nucleus. In electron micrographs of HSV infection, it can be seen that the intact virus initially reacts with cell-surface proteoglycans, then with specific receptors. This is later followed by viral capsids docking ...
What is the TMV virus?
The plants would develop the typical symptoms of TMV infection. A researcher lyses a cell that contains nucleic acid molecules and capsomeres of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). The cell contents are left in a covered test tube overnight. The next day this mixture is sprayed on tobacco plants.
Do all viruses have an envelope?
Envelope: Not all viruses have an envelope. If a virus has this outer layer, explain how it forms.
How has Zika impacted the world?
The Zika virus has found its way into the public consciousness, as it has recently been associated with brain damage in the offspring of infected pregnant women. The news outlets have latched onto this hot item and have been bombarding the public with information that is both legitimate and misleading. The internet age has allowed rapid dissemination of such information, therefore causing rapid reactions or responses by both national and international agencies, regulatory bodies and professional organizations. The story of the impact the Zika virus has played upon humanity is an interesting and unique one, which has led to the government issuing non-traditional recommendations, in an effort to ensure the public's safety and health. Tracing the sequence of events from the discovery of the virus to the current state of affairs provides a useful learning tool that would allow effective responses during unexpected pandemics. Although there are over 325 published articles associated with the Zika virus, the majority coming out of Uganda, there is still little known about the potential of the virus [1].
Where has Zika been detected?
It has been detected in multiple travelers in Europe, including Germany, France and Italy. Serological studies from German tourist travelers showed both IgG and IgM positivity to the ZIka virus upon return from Thailand [44].
What is the family of Zika?
The Zika virus belongs to the family Flaviviridae and the genus Flavivirus. Other Flaviviruses include yellow fever, dengue, West Nile and Japanese encephalitis viruses [8], [9]. Flaviviruses belong to a group of viruses labeled as “arborviruses”, which is a descriptive term that refers to hundreds of RNA viruses which rely on arthropods such as mosquitoes or ticks for transmission. Arboviruses (arthropod borne viruses) cause some of the most devastating diseases in humans and animals worldwide. The families of RNA arboviruses include Bunyaviridae, Flaviviridae, Reoviridae, Rhabdoviridae, and Togoviridae. The arboviruses are acquired orally by their hematogenous vectors in the form of a blood meal of an infected vertebrate host. These viruses are non-pathogenic to the vector but have to be able to survive in a live form in the vector which then transmits via saliva deposition into a new vertebrate host. This cycle is important to remember since the details of how the virus survives in the vector host and whether it replicates in the vector host, and if it replicates, the cell types that it infects in the vector and whether the virus changes in any form in the vector host (such as glycosylation of its envelope for example) are all important issues that influence the ability of the vector to transmit infection including the Zika virus. Evidence for recombination of the virus has already been documented to have potentially occurred by transmission of the virus via a different species of mosquitoes [10]. The Zika virus is closely related to the Spondwenivirus. There are a total of seven groups of mosquito-borne flaviviruses, according to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). The groups are categorized based on antigenic and genetic considerations. The genus Flavivirus consists of 39 different mosquito-borne viruses [11].
What is the genome of Zika?
The Zika virus is composed of a positive sense, single strand RNA genome. It is an enveloped, icosahedral virus that is a member of the Spondweni clade. The Zika virus is a positive polarity RNA virus with a genomic size of about 11 kb [12]. The single open reading frame sequence of its RNA genome encodes a polyprotein which constitutes the structural architecture of the virus [13]. This polyprotein contains 3 components, including a capsid (105 aa), membrane and premembrane portion (187 aa) termed C, M and P, respectively. There is also an envelope protein (E, 505 aa) and an addition 7 components that are non-structural (NS). These seven proteins are designated NS1 (352 aa), NS2a (217 aa), ND2b (139 aa), NS3 (619 aa), NS4a (127 aa), NS4b (255 aa) and NS5 904 aa) [14]. The non-structural proteins NS2B/NS3 includes a serine protease that along with host proteases co-translationally and post-translation cleaves the polyprotein into its components. The envelope protein is the primary flavivirus antigenic site and dictates attachment of the virion and penetration into the host cell. Folding of the E protein is controlled by the premembrane protein, which is cleaved by furin to form the membrane protein prior to mature virion release from the cell [15]. The function of the remaining non-structural proteins remain unknown, but may have specific essential roles in various replication stages. For example, NS5, the most highly conserved of the flavivirus NS proteins functions as a RNA-dependent RNA polymerase [16].
When did the Zika virus start in Brazil?
The first reports of Zika virus in Brazil appeared in May of 2015 [26], [27]. Prior to April of 2015, Zika virus was non-existent in Brazil. The first case of autochthonous transmission of the virus in Brazil was reported in March of 2015 [28]. The increased incidence of microcephaly in infants born in Brazil led to the realization that there is an extremely likely association between brain damage and Zika virus infection, though even to this day this has not yet been definitively confirmed [8], [29]. In barely eight months, there have been over 4000 confirmed cases of microcephaly in Brazil, according to a report in the British Medical Journal published on the 26th of January, 2016 [30]. The virus is widespread in multiple regions and states in Brazil [31], [32], [33], and the reports of microcephaly coincide temporally with the appearance of the Zika virus in Brazil. Other Latin American countries have since reported cases of Zika virus infection [34], [35]. Tracing the route of spread, one theory is that the beginning of the disease in Brazil was caused by transmission from the outbreak in French Polynesia in 2014, which coincided with the World Cup football competition [36], [37]. In addition, it has been proposed that climate changes may have facilitated the spread of Zika virus to the Americas by virtue of the warmer temperatures and drought conditions observed in the second half of 2015 in South America. Drier conditions may have enhanced vector dispersal [38].
What are the two lines of Zika?
There are two known lineages of the Zika virus, an African lineage and an Asian lineage [17]. These are distinguishable by detailed genetic analysis of the RNA sequence [18]. The primary variability when comparing strains appears to be related to differences in the availability of potential glycosylation sites. The complete coding sequence of the virus obtained from a patient from French Polynesia who was hospitalized after falling ill in metropolitan France revealed an Asian lineage, with 99.9% nucleotide and amino acid homology with isolates that circulated during the 2000s in Southern Asia and the Pacific Islands. It is believed that the Asian lineage was introduced to Asia from Africa as early as 1945 [14]. The Zika virus isolated from another two patients hospitalized in French Polynesia was also subject to phylogenetic analysis and found to be of Asian lineage [19].
Why is El Nino important?
In addition, some have speculated that El Nino has played an important role in the spread of Zika in Latin American countries as the phenomenon could help create the ideal conditions for the proliferation of mosquitoes. “El Nino”, characterized by a warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator, is known to change rainfall patterns around the world, including Latin America.
What is a zoonotic virus?
Zoonotic: A virus that is transmitted from a vertebrate animal to humans. Define the terms "vector" and "zoonotic.". When the substance is taken in the body, it will produce an immune response to the virus. So, when you come in contact with the virus, your body will know to fight the infection. What is one advantage of being vaccinated ...
Why is the immune system important?
Your immune system helps fight off infections, with a weak immune system, it needs more help to fight off the infection.
Which is more spherical, the rabies or the flu?
The influenza virus is more spherical than the rabies virus, which is more bullet shaped.
Is there any treatment for Zika?
Currently, there is no treatment for the Zika virus. This is concerning because this virus affects the children of pregnant women. The child's head is smaller than average babies' heads.
Do all viruses have an envelope?
Not all viruses have an envelope. If a virus has this outer layer, explain how it forms.
What allows a virus to replicate?
The host allows the virus to replicate.
What is a zoonotic virus?
Zoonotic- a virus transferred from a veritable animal to humans.
Does the influenza virus have a segmented genome?
Influenza Virus: Influenza virus has a segmented genome. Why is this an advantage for the virus?