Zika virus, vectors, reservoirs, amplifying hosts, and their potential to spread worldwide: what we know and what we should investigate urgently

Vorou, Rengina

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2016.05.014

Cited by 140 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…2 Characteristics of the Flaviviridae family include mammalian and human hosts with infections spread by arthropod vectors, as in the case of Zika Aedes mosquitoes. 2 Flavivirus particles are enveloped, possess icosahedral-like symmetry, and have a diameter of ∼40 nm. 3 More importantly, flaviviruses have positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genomes of ∼11 kb in length.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Zika Virus Genomic RNA Possesses Conserved G-Quadruplexes Characteristic of the Flaviviridae Family

et al. 2016

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Zika virus has emerged as a global concern because neither a vaccine nor antiviral compounds targeting it exist. A structure for the positive-sense RNA genome has not been established, leading us to look for potential G-quadruplex sequences (PQS) in the genome. The analysis identified >60 PQSs in the Zika genome. To minimize the PQS population, conserved sequences in the Flaviviridae family were found by sequence alignment, identifying seven PQSs in the prM, E, NS1, NS3, and NS5 genes. Next, alignment of 78 Zika strain genomes identified a unique PQS near the end of the 3′-UTR. Structural studies on the G-quadruplex sequences found four of the conserved Zika virus sequences to adopt stable, parallel-stranded folds that bind a G-quadruplex-specific compound, and one that was studied caused polymerase stalling when folded to a G-quadruplex. Targeting these PQSs with G-quadruplex binding molecules validated in previous clinical trials may represent a new approach for inhibiting viral replication.

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confidence: 99%

Zika Virus Genomic RNA Possesses Conserved G-Quadruplexes Characteristic of the Flaviviridae Family

et al. 2016

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“…More than 95% of symptomatic infections, as described in Uganda, Yap Island and Brazil, show a mild illness characterized by maculopapular rash, which usually begins on the trunk and spreads to the arms and legs (90%), low-grade fever (65%), arthritis or arthralgia (65%), non-purulent conjunctivitis (55%), myalgia (48%), headache (45%) and retro-orbital pain (39%). Less common symptoms are anorexia, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness, leg pain, lymphadenopathy and hypotension (80,139).…”

Section: Symptomatologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Global epidemiology of Zika and Chikungunya virus human infections

et al. 2017

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Zika virus was discovered in 1947. The first reported case of Zika fever was in a sentinel rhesus monkey in Uganda in 1947, while the first human cases were reported in Nigeria in 1954. Since the first evidence of human infection, Zika was active in several countries in Africa and Asia, as sporadic cases and serological evidence of Zika human infections have been demonstrated in several reports. The outbreak of Zika in Yap Island in 2007 is considered the first emergency of this infection. Since then Zika has spread worldwide with a large ongoing epidemic in South and Central America. A huge concern nowadays is about the relationship between Zika infection and microcephaly and about the sexual transmission of the virus. The first identified outbreak of Chikungunya human infection, with an incidence estimated at 23%, was reported from July 1952 to March 1953 in the Southern Province of the current Tanzania. Since then Chikungunya circulated mainly in continental Africa with limited outbreaks. The virus started to spread east bound involving most of the areas surroundings the Indian Ocean. In 2004/2005 a large outbreak developed in La Reunion a French territory in the Indian Ocean: from this point Chikungunya spread to India and from there, due a viraemic traveller returning from Kerala, to Italy where in the summer of 2007 the first outbreak with local viral transmission in a temperate climate zone occurred. In the following years Chikungunya moved to the Caribbean and South America. Recently also the USA experienced the spread of this virus and a limited outbreak based again on local spreading occurred in the French Department of Var, in August 2017.

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“…Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne from genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae and cluster with Spondweni serocomplex [16]. Flaviviruses have a positive single-strand RNA genome of approximately 11,000 nucleotides in length.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, in regions where one or more arbovirus are detected, ZIKV could circulated causing misleading and being sub-notified. [16,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibition of Zika Virus by Marine Algae

Cirne-Santos

Barros

Nogueira

et al. 2017

Preprint

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For many years marine algae has been subject of numerous researches and as a source of natural products with antiviral activity, such as terpenes, alkaloids and sulphated polysaccharides. However, the anti-Zika virus (ZIKV) potential of algae has not been studied. In this study we evaluated extracts seven species of the three major classes of seaweeds (Phaeophyceae, Chlorophyceae and Rhodophyceae) against ZIKV. All seaweeds tested are native of the Brazilian coast, except for Kappaphycus alvarezii that can be cultivated. ZIKV a mosquito-borne flavivirus, has become a public health problem. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of cases and a strong association between ZIKV outbreak and the spread of cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome and microcephaly. All seaweed extracts tested in this work inhibits ZIKV replication in a dose-dependent manner. Caulerpa racemosa, Kappaphycus alvarezii and Osmundaria obtusiloba extracts were able to inhibit viral replication at low concentrations with EC50 values ranging from 1.38 to 1.98 µg/mL. We observed that O. obtusiloba presented a significant virucidal effect. Our results suggest that extracts of C. racemosa, K. alvarezii and O. obtusiloba presented very promising results, being excellent candidates for further studies, demonstrating that marine algae are an interesting source for the development of novel anti-ZIKV agents.

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Zika virus, vectors, reservoirs, amplifying hosts, and their potential to spread worldwide: what we know and what we should investigate urgently

Cited by 140 publications

References 61 publications

Zika Virus Genomic RNA Possesses Conserved G-Quadruplexes Characteristic of the Flaviviridae Family

Zika Virus Genomic RNA Possesses Conserved G-Quadruplexes Characteristic of the Flaviviridae Family

Global epidemiology of Zika and Chikungunya virus human infections

Inhibition of Zika Virus by Marine Algae

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