Zika virus: advancing a priority research agenda for preparedness and response

Eve M Lackritz¹, Lee-Ching Ng², Ernesto T A Marques³, Ingrid B Rabe⁴, Nigel Bourne⁵, J Erin Staples⁶, Jairo A Méndez-Rico⁷, Eva Harris⁸, Aaron C Brault⁶, Albert I Ko⁹, David W C Beasley¹⁰, Tabitha Leighton¹¹, Annelies Wilder-Smith⁴, Julia T Ostrowsky¹¹, Angela J Mehr¹¹, Angela K Ulrich¹¹, Raman Velayudhan⁴, Josephine P Golding¹², Petra C Fay¹², Ana Cehovin¹², Nicolina M Moua¹¹, Kristine A Moore¹¹, Michael T Osterholm¹¹, Alan D T Barrett¹³; Zika Expert Workgroup

Collaborators, Affiliations

Collaborators

Zika Expert Workgroup:
Kristina M Adams Waldorf¹⁴, Alan D T Barrett¹⁴, David W C Beasley¹⁴, Joseph Y B Bennie¹⁵, Nigel Bourne¹⁴, Aaron C Brault¹⁴, Ana Cehovin¹⁶, Christiane Coelho¹⁷, Michael S Diamond¹⁴, Devy Emperador¹⁸, Nuno R Faria¹⁶, Petra C Fay¹⁶, Josephine P Golding¹⁶, Eva Harris¹⁴, Nagwa Hasanin¹⁹, Thomas Jaenisch¹⁴, Albert I Ko¹⁴, Eve M Lackritz¹⁴, Tabitha Leighton¹⁴, Yee-Sin Leo²⁰, Angela J Mehr¹⁴, Ziad A Memish²¹, Jairo A Méndez-Rico¹⁴, Kristine A Moore¹⁴, Manuela Mura²², Lee-Ching Ng²⁰, Michael T Osterholm¹⁴, Julia T Ostrowsky¹⁴, Rosanna W Peeling¹⁶, Ingrid B Rabe¹⁸, Henrik Salje¹⁶, J Erin Staples¹⁴, Stephen J Thomas¹⁴, Angela K Ulrich¹⁴, Jessica Vanhomwegen²³, Jurai Wongsawat²⁴

Affiliations

¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Electronic address: lackritz@umn.edu.
² National Environment Agency, Environmental Health Institute, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
³ Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Virology and Experimental Therapeutics, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife, Brazil.
⁴ World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁶ Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
⁷ Pan American Health Organization, WHO Region of the Americas, Washington, DC, USA.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁹ Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife, Brazil; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA; Ministry of Health, Salvador, Brazil.
¹⁰ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
¹¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
¹² Infectious Disease Strategic Programme, Wellcome Trust, London, UK.
¹³ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
¹⁴ USA.
¹⁵ Ghana.
¹⁶ UK.
¹⁷ Brazil.
¹⁸ Switzerland.
¹⁹ Denmark.
²⁰ Singapore.
²¹ Saudi Arabia.
²² The Netherlands.
²³ France.
²⁴ Thailand.

PMID: 40024263
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00794-1

Review

Zika virus: advancing a priority research agenda for preparedness and response

Eve M Lackritz et al. Lancet Infect Dis. 2025 Jul.

. 2025 Jul;25(7):e390-e401.

doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00794-1. Epub 2025 Feb 27.

Authors

Collaborators

Zika Expert Workgroup:
Kristina M Adams Waldorf¹⁴, Alan D T Barrett¹⁴, David W C Beasley¹⁴, Joseph Y B Bennie¹⁵, Nigel Bourne¹⁴, Aaron C Brault¹⁴, Ana Cehovin¹⁶, Christiane Coelho¹⁷, Michael S Diamond¹⁴, Devy Emperador¹⁸, Nuno R Faria¹⁶, Petra C Fay¹⁶, Josephine P Golding¹⁶, Eva Harris¹⁴, Nagwa Hasanin¹⁹, Thomas Jaenisch¹⁴, Albert I Ko¹⁴, Eve M Lackritz¹⁴, Tabitha Leighton¹⁴, Yee-Sin Leo²⁰, Angela J Mehr¹⁴, Ziad A Memish²¹, Jairo A Méndez-Rico¹⁴, Kristine A Moore¹⁴, Manuela Mura²², Lee-Ching Ng²⁰, Michael T Osterholm¹⁴, Julia T Ostrowsky¹⁴, Rosanna W Peeling¹⁶, Ingrid B Rabe¹⁸, Henrik Salje¹⁶, J Erin Staples¹⁴, Stephen J Thomas¹⁴, Angela K Ulrich¹⁴, Jessica Vanhomwegen²³, Jurai Wongsawat²⁴

Affiliations

¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Electronic address: lackritz@umn.edu.
² National Environment Agency, Environmental Health Institute, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
³ Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Virology and Experimental Therapeutics, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife, Brazil.
⁴ World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁶ Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
⁷ Pan American Health Organization, WHO Region of the Americas, Washington, DC, USA.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁹ Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife, Brazil; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA; Ministry of Health, Salvador, Brazil.
¹⁰ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
¹¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
¹² Infectious Disease Strategic Programme, Wellcome Trust, London, UK.
¹³ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
¹⁴ USA.
¹⁵ Ghana.
¹⁶ UK.
¹⁷ Brazil.
¹⁸ Switzerland.
¹⁹ Denmark.
²⁰ Singapore.
²¹ Saudi Arabia.
²² The Netherlands.
²³ France.
²⁴ Thailand.

PMID: 40024263
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00794-1

Abstract

The 2015-16 Zika virus epidemic emerged in the Americas and rapidly spread throughout the region and beyond, showing the epidemic potential of this mosquito-borne Orthoflavivirus and its capacity to cause severe congenital malformations and neurological sequelae. WHO declared the Zika virus epidemic a public health emergency of international concern in 2016. Despite this declaration, there are no licensed Zika virus vaccines, therapeutics, or diagnostic tests appropriate for routine antenatal screening. To address this absence of essential tools to detect and mitigate the threat of future Zika virus outbreaks, a group of global experts developed a priority agenda for Zika virus research and development. This Series paper summarises crucial challenges and knowledge gaps and outlines a comprehensive strategy to advance research, surveillance, global capacity, policy, and investment for Zika virus preparedness and response.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests This project was supported by the Wellcome Trust, grant #226438/Z/22/Z, awarded to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. ADTB and DWCB declare a subcontract from Hawaii Biotech related to testing of West Nile virus vaccine candidates in small animal models. EH declares grant U01 AI153416 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). L-CN was the Chair of the Global Arbovirus Initiative Technical Advisory Group Meetings with WHO (2022–23). AIK declares a research grant from Takeda on Zika vaccine evaluation for which he is the principal investigator. IBR is a consultant to WHO (from June, 2018, to present). Wellcome programme staff served as members of the Zika Steering Group and participated in the project design, meetings, and reviews of manuscripts for publication. Wellcome Trust provided travel support to the December, 2023, meeting on Zika and arboviruses for EML, ADTB, DWCB, NB, EH, L-CN, TL, JES, JAM-R, ACB, AIK, JTO, AJM, AKU, and MTO. All other authors declare no competing interests. No authors were paid by a pharmaceutical company to write this Series paper. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this Series paper and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions, or policies of the institutions with which they are affiliated. Mention of trade names is for information only and does not imply endorsement.

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Zika virus: advancing a priority research agenda for preparedness and response

Collaborators

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Zika virus: advancing a priority research agenda for preparedness and response

Authors

Collaborators

Affiliations

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Conflict of interest statement

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