title: Molecular detection of Zika virus in blood and RNA load determination during the French Polynesian outbreak.
abstract: Zika virus (ZIKV) viremia is reported as low and transient; however, these estimates rely on limited data. We report RNA loads in sera collected from symptomatic patients during the 2013-2014 French Polynesian ZIKV outbreak. We performed molecular detection of ZIKV RNA in sera from 747 patients presenting with suspected acute phase ZIKV infection. Among patients with confirmed infection, we analyzed the duration of viremia, assessed viral RNA loads and recorded the main clinical symptoms. A total of 210/747 (28.1%) sera tested positive using a ZIKV-specific RT-PCR. Viral RNA loads in symptomatic patients that ranged from 5 to 3.7 × 106copies/mL (mean 9.9 × 104copies/mL) were not related to a particular clinical presentation, and were significantly lower than those previously obtained from asymptomatic ZIKV infected blood donors. The rate of detection of ZIKV RNA in sera from suspected cases of acute phase ZIKV infection was low. ZIKV RNA loads were lower in symptomatic patients compared to asymptomatic blood donors and were lower than RNA loads usually reported in dengue infections. As there is no abrupt onset of symptoms in ZIKV infections, we suggest that infected patients sought for medical attention when viremia was already decreasing or had resolved.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Médicale, Institut Louis Malardé, Tahiti, Polynésie Française.|Unit of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institut Louis Malardé, Tahiti, Polynésie Française.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Musso
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Médicale, Institut Louis Malardé, Tahiti, Polynésie Française.
authors.forename: Eline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rouault
authors.affiliation: Unit of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institut Louis Malardé, Tahiti, Polynésie Française.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teissier
authors.affiliation: Blood System Research Institute, San Francisco, California.|Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Marion C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lanteri
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Médicale, Institut Louis Malardé, Tahiti, Polynésie Française.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zisou
authors.affiliation: Centre de Transfusion Sanguine, Tahiti, Polynésie Française.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Broult
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Médicale, Institut Louis Malardé, Tahiti, Polynésie Française.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grange
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Médicale, Institut Louis Malardé, Tahiti, Polynésie Française.
authors.forename: Tu-Xuan
authors.initials: TX
authors.lastname: Nhan
authors.affiliation: Unit of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institut Louis Malardé, Tahiti, Polynésie Française.
authors.forename: Maite
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aubry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011114:Polynesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D013997:Time Factors; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult; D000071244:Zika Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000071243:Zika Virus Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: French Polynesia; RNA load; RT-PCR; Zika virus; arbovirus