A new global threat for the public safety: Zika virus

Zika virus, the etiological agent of Zika fever, is transmitted by mosquitoes and has been affecting the South American continent starting with 2015. It was reported in several European countries, carried by the people who returned from Latin America, as reported by the health authorities in those countries. Today, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus suspected to cause serious birth defects in the fetus has also been confirmed in 21 of the 55 countries of South America, but also in other states from Europe and North America. Zika virus is a single stranded positive sense RNA virus belonging to Flavivirus genus (family Flaviviridae) and was first identified in 1947 in Uganda rainforest Zika. The increased number of cases of microcephaly, in children from northern Brazil, suggested a connection with Zika virus, but it has not yet been proven. Also, the virus can be transmitted sexually and through blood or blood products. Diagnosis of the infection is made using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). So far, there is no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine against the infection with Zika virus. The best form of prevention is to avoid mosquito bites. WHO has estimated that the spread of Zika virus, transmitted through mosquito bite, is “a global public health emergency”. The priority is to protect pregnant women and to control the mosquitoes.