Althopugh known in Africa since the 1940s, seems 'epidemics' are relatively recent. seems also that there have developed African and Asian strains and the Asian one spread to Latin America. was interesting to find a 1977 article by a colleague at University of Ibadan documenting Zika's presence at the time I worked there. know I had Dengue (breakbone fever as the missionaries used to say), but who knows if I ever had Zika :) see article below about the more recent surging of Zika
review Current Zika virus epidemiology and recent epidemics Infections par le virus Zika et épidémies récentes S. Ioosa,∗, H.-P. Malletb, I. Leparc Goffartc, V. Gauthiera, T. Cardosoa, M. Herida. Médecine et maladies infectieuses 44 (2014) 302–307.
2014AbstractThe Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus (Aedes), similar to other arboviruses, first identified in Uganda in 1947. Few human caseswere reported until 2007, when a Zika outbreak occurred in Yap, Micronesia, even though ZIKV activity had been reported in Africa and in Asiathrough virological surveillance and entomological studies. French Polynesia has recorded a large outbreak since October 2013. A great number ofcases and some with neurological and autoimmune complications have been reported in a context of concurrent circulation of dengue viruses. Theclinical presentation is a “dengue-like syndrome”. Until the epidemic in French Polynesia, no severe ZIKV disease had been described so far. Thediagnosis is confirmed by viral genome detection by genomic amplification (RT- PCR) and viral isolation. These two large outbreaks occurred in apreviously unaffected area in less than a decade. They should raise awareness as to the potential for ZIKV to spread especially since this emergentdisease is not well known and that some questions remain on potential reservoirs and transmission modes as well as on clinical presentations andcomplications. ZIKV has the potential to spread to new areas where the Aedes mosquito vector is present and could be a risk for Southern Europe.Strategies for the prevention and control of ZIKV disease should include the use of insect repellent and mosquito vector eradication.
Dear Hay,
Could you sent an e-mail message to Dr A. SALL the scientific Director of IPD who is a world expert in ZIKA and did recently a trip to Basil. He e-mail is: as [email protected]
Best regards, Ogo
There are number of older references on Zika , but this one from 1982 is relevant because it relates to outbreaks in primates. Has anybody looked into local primate populations as reservoirs of the virus in the Americas? That might give a clue as to how long it was lurking in the background prior to the current time.
Yellow fever and Zika virus epizootics and enzootics in Uganda. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg (1982) 76 (4): 552-562. "Evidence of an epizootic of Zika virus at the Zika Forest near Entebbe is described which occurred in two episodes, the first (in 1969) apparently following the build-up of non-immune monkey populations since a previous epizootic of 1962–1963 and the second (in 1970) when Aedes africanus biting densities rose. This was followed only 18 months later by an intensive epizootic of YF virus, contradictory to the hypothesis that Zika virus alone would suppress subsequent epizootics of YF virus in nature, at least when redtail monkeys are involved."
http://trstmh.oxfordjournals.org/content/76/4/552.short
It may have been around in places with dengue for a long time as dengue rapid tests can be false positive for Zika, so cases can be misdiagnosed by clinical symptoms as well as by testing.
Going back -
Possible Zika outbreak in Nigeria in 1954
In Malaysia as early as 1969 '"Isolation of Zika Virus from Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes in Malaysia"
In Java/Indonesia in 1977 and 1978, when human illness was clustered toward the end of the rainy season making it hard to distinguish from other mosquito borne diseases.
Yap Islands outbreak 2007(?) suspected many subclinical cases in the community
Imported Zika confirmed in Australia, via Indonesia in 2013, and via Cook Islands in 2014. Person that imported it from Cook Islands lived in northern Queensland where there are Aedes mosquitoes that could circulate the disease.
No reports I could find about fetal demise, pregnancy complications, or birth defects related to Zika in humans or animals.
Were birth defects occurring in the background but never linked to Zika, is this due to a variant strain, or are the birth defects due to something else entirely?
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/18/3/411.extract
http://trstmh.oxfordjournals.org/content/75/3/389.short
http://trstmh.oxfordjournals.org/content/48/2/139.short
Hi Simon , Hope this help
From a current report and manuscript on course I documented
Cumulative cases= > 1 million
Cumulative deaths= > 49 confirmed cases, 59 unconfirmed cases, no hospitalizations, and no deaths excluding the ongoing Zika outbreak in western hemisphere
Presently in Brazil the Ministry of Health has estimated a total of cases between 500 thousands and 1.5 million Zika infections. This large number is due the concomitant epidemic circulation of dengue and chikungunya viruses.
Thanks Pedro, You are right.
But I'm wondering this is just estimated and could even be more, since poor diagnostic or mis-diagnostics with other symptoms-related diseases in local community could be misleading. ZKV human reservoirs due to acquired immunity exposure to other tropical infectious might also complex the actual Zika cases. How can human reservoirs be interrupted in its various routes of ZKV transmission or is DEET /permethrin clothing repellents enough in Zika prevention and control?
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