Zika virus: what do we know about the viral structure, mechanisms of transmission, and neurological outcomes?

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Lucia Regina Cangussu da Silva, Adriano Miranda de Souza
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2016
• Subjects: Zika virus; Transmission modes; Microcephaly; Guillain-Barre syndrome; Neurological disorders; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0150-2016; https://doaj.org/article/2e44a0c195c34de19eff0f612931e93b

Abstract: The Zika virus epidemic that started in Brazil in 2014 has spread to >30 countries and territories in Latin America, leading to a rapid rise in the incidence of microcephalic newborns and adults with neurological complications. At the beginning of the outbreak, little was known about Zika virus morphology, genome structure, modes of transmission, and its potential to cause neurological malformations and disorders. With the advancement of basic science, discoveries of the mechanisms of strain variability, viral transfer to the fetus, and neurovirulence were published. These will certainly lead to the development of strategies to block vertical viral transmission, neuronal invasion, and pathogenesis in the near future. This paper reviews the current literature on Zika virus infections, with the aim of gaining a holistic insight into their etiology and pathogenesis. We discuss Zika virus history and epidemiology in Brazil, viral structure and taxonomy, old and newly identified transmission modes, and neurological consequences of infection.