Emerging mosquito-borne arboviral infection Zika - An epidemiological review

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Main Authors: Ashwini Malla, Balamurugan Shanmugaraj, Sathishkumar Ramalingam
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020
• Subjects: arboviruses; epidemiology; mosquito; zika; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Arctic; Pacific; Human health
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4103/2221-1691.281139; https://doaj.org/article/380c869ed3cf416e9ee7c33fe59b933c

The unprecedented resurgence and geographical expansion of arboviral infections such as dengue, Chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika have a significant impact on human health and pose a serious threat to public health globally in recent years. Zika virus is a Flavivirus and is transmitted to humans through an infected mosquito bite. The Zika virus has been identified in many countries in Africa, Asia, and Pacific islands and sporadic human cases have been reported since 1947. The non-specific clinical symptoms of Zika fever are often misdiagnosed with other arboviral infections, especially dengue and chikungunya. Till now, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for Zika infection. The recent emergence of Zika is alarming and highlights the need for arboviral research to develop an effective treatment. Here in this review, we discussed the epidemiology of Zika, which has re-emerged in the recent decade and caused international concern.