title: Zika virus and the current outbreak: an overview.
abstract: Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus closely related to yellow fever virus and dengue virus, is currently causing a large outbreak in the Americas. Historically, ZIKV infection was considered a sporadic, relatively mild disease characterised by fever, maculopapular rash, conjunctivitis and often arthralgia. However, current observational studies suggest that ZIKV may cause more severe neurological sequelae such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, and birth defects, mainly microcephaly, in babies of whom the mother was infected with ZIKV during pregnancy. This article provides a clinically focussed overview of ZIKV, with emphasis on the current outbreak, clinical manifestations, diagnostic tools and caveats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goeijenbier
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Slobbe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van der Eijk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Mendonça Melo
authors.forename: M P G
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Koopmans
authors.forename: C B E M
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Reusken
mesh_terms: D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D000071244:Zika Virus / Q000235:genetics*; D000071243:Zika Virus Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral