title: Zika virus infections imported from Brazil to Portugal, 2015.
abstract: Zika virus is an emerging arbovirus transmitted by Aedes sp. mosquitoes like the Dengue and Chikungunya viruses. Zika virus was until recently considered a mild pathogenic mosquito-borne flavivirus with very few reported benign human infections. In 2007, an epidemic in Micronesia initiated the turnover in the epidemiological history of Zika virus and more recently, the potential association with congenital microcephaly cases in Brazil 2015, still under investigation, led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on February 1, 2016. Here, we present the clinical and laboratory aspects related to the first four imported human cases of Zika virus in Portugal from Brazil, and alert, regarding the high level of traveling between Portugal and Brazil, and the ongoing expansion of this virus in the Americas, for the threat for Zika virus introduction in Europe and the possible introduction to Madeira Island where Aedes aegypti is present.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Estudos de Vectores e Doenças Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Águas de Moura, Portugal; Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute, University of Lisbon, Faculty of Sciences, Campo Grande, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zé-Zé
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Doenças Infecciosas, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Prata
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Doenças Infecciosas/Serviço de Medicina Interna, Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Doenças Infecciosas, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Doenças Infecciosas/Serviço de Medicina Interna, Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mondragão
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Doenças Infecciosas/Serviço de Medicina Interna, Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Doenças Infecciosas, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saraiva da Cunha
authors.affiliation: Centro de Estudos de Vectores e Doenças Infecciosas, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Águas de Moura, Portugal.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Alves
keywords: Arbovirus; Imported cases; Zika virus