[Zika virus infection: A review]

Abstract

Zika Virus (ZIKV), originally identified in 1947, is a re-emerging Flavivirus transmitted mainly through bites by Aedes mosquitos. Until the recent outbreaks in the Pacific islands and Central and South America, it was known to cause benign disease, in most cases asymptomatic or with mild and nonspecific symptoms (fever, rash, conjunctivitis, arthralgia, etc.). The unprecedented current epidemic has highlighted new modes of transmission (through blood, perinatally and sexually) as well as serious neurological complications such as congenital defects in the fetuses of infected mothers and Guillain-Barre syndrome in adults. This situation, coupled with the threat of worldwide spread, prompted the WHO to declare the ZIKV a public health emergency of international concern in February 2016.

Keywords: Aedes; Exanthème maculopapuleux; Guillain-Barre syndrome; Maculopapular exanthema; Malformations neurologiques congénitales; Neurologic congenital defects; Syndrome de Guillain-Barré; Zika virus.