Evolution of Two Major Zika Virus Lineages: Implications for Pathology, Immune Response, and Vaccine Development.

ABSTRACT: Zika virus (ZIKV) became a public health emergency of global concern in 2015 due to its rapid expansion from French Polynesia to Brazil, spreading quickly throughout the Americas. Its unexpected correlation to neurological impairments and defects, now known as congenital Zika syndrome, brought on an urgency to characterize the pathology and develop safe, effective vaccines. ZIKV genetic analyses have identified two major lineages, Asian and African, which have undergone substantial changes during the past 50 years. Although ZIKV infections have been circulating throughout Africa and Asia for the later part of the 20th century, the symptoms were mild and not associated with serious pathology until now. ZIKV evolution also took the form of novel modes of transmission, including maternal-feta

SUBMITTER: Beaver JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6058022 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature