Field validation of the performance of paper-based tests for the detection of the Zika and chikungunya viruses in serum samples
by Margot Karlikow et al.In low-resource settings, resilience to infectious disease outbreaks can be hindered by limited access to diagnostic tests. Here we report the results of double-blinded studies of the performance of paper-based diagnostic tests for the Zika and chikungunya viruses in a field setting in Latin America. The tests involved a cell-free expression system relying on isothermal amplification and toehold-switch reactions, a purpose-built portable reader and onboard software for computer vision-enabled image analysis. In patients suspected of infection, the accuracies and sensitivities of the tests for the Zika and chikungunya viruses were, respectively, 98.5% (95% confidence interval, 96.2–99.6%, 268 serum samples) and 98.5% (95% confidence interval, 91.7–100%, 65 serum samples) and approximately 2 aM and 5 fM (both concentrations are within clinically relevant ranges). The analytical specificities and sensitivities of the tests for cultured samples of the viruses were equivalent to those of the real-time quantitative PCR. Cell-free synthetic biology tools and companion hardware can provide de-centralized, high-capacity and low-cost diagnostics for use in low-resource settings.
A yellow fever–Zika chimeric virus vaccine candidate protects against Zika infection and congenital malformations in mice
by Kum et al.The authors of this study report the engineering of a chimeric virus vaccine candidate (YF-ZIKprM/E) by replacing the antigenic surface glycoproteins and the capsid anchor of YFV-17D with those of a prototypic Asian lineage ZIKV isolate.
ZIKAlliance’s Clinical Meeting in Cuba 12-14 August, 2017
by ZIKAllianceClinical Trials of Therapeutics for the Prevention of Congenital Zika Virus Disease: Challenges and Potential Solutions
by Alex Salam, Amanda Rojek, Jake Dunning, Peter HorbyThis article evaluates the major challenges in choosing therapeutics to prevent congenital ZIKV disease and conducting clinical trials of these treatments, with a focus on preventing congenital central nervous system malformations. This article was first published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Study of volunteer blood donors in Martinique provides new information about Zika virus infection
by ISARICThis pioneering study provides a precise follow-up of incident cases and seroprevalence in blood donors, and it also provides important insights into the management of blood donations during ZIKV outbreaks and into the natural history of ZIKV infection in adults. It suggests that the study of blood donors during outbreaks of emerging pathogens has become a key element of epidemiological surveillance.
A study performed by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) team of Dr Ali Amara (U944, Paris, France) and published in Cell Reports sheds new light on the mechanisms allowing ZIKV to infect cells within the human nervous system. Amara et al. showed that the protein Axl is expressed in a number of brain glial cells and that the entry of ZIKV into these cells requires another protein, Gas6, to act as a bridge between the ZIKV particles and the glial cells.
Zika virus in asymptomatic blood donors in Martinique
by Gallian et al.This pioneering study suggests that the study of blood donors during outbreaks of emerging pathogens has become a key element of epidemiological surveillance.
A study performed by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) team of Dr Ali Amara (U944, Paris, France) and published in Cell Reports sheds new light on the mechanisms allowing ZIKV to infect cells within the human nervous system. Amara et al. showed that the protein Axl is expressed in a number of brain glial cells and that the entry of ZIKV into these cells requires another protein, Gas6, to act as a bridge between the ZIKV particles and the glial cells.
By using the bacterium-free ‘Infectious Subgenomic Amplicons’ (ISA) method, this study provides the scientific community with two simple and performing reverse genetics systems for ZIKV.
ZIKAlliance Kick-off Meeting in Brazil
by ISARICHosted by University Sao Paulo Medical School at the Centro de Convenções Rebouças ZIKAlliance, the multinational and multidisciplinary consortium coordinated by Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, and created in response to a Horizon 2020 funding call by the European Commission’s Directorate-General Research and Innovation, has officially started its activities with the kick-off meeting held in Brazil over the 4th and 5th December 2016.
Zika Workshop Summary Now Available
by ISARICGloPID-R members hosted the “GloPID-R Zika Virus Research Workshop” in Sao Paulo, Brazil on November 30 – December 2, 2016 to facilitate collaboration between members on Zika funded research projects. The workshop’s aim was to identify and establish collaboration and synergies between the research and capacity development projects in support of the Zika virus response in Latin America and the Caribbean funded by GloPID-R members worldwide.
The Zika virus appears to have emerged from nowhere, causing widespread health concerns throughout the world after decades of relative silence.
The Zika virus is another wild card dealt to us by nature. It was first discovered in 1947.
Trudie Lang, Professor of Global Health at Oxford University and Head of The Global Health Network, and virologist Professor Jonathan Ball from Nottingham University discuss what we know so far.
This Week in Global Health or TWiGH presents Global Health Out Loud with Sulzhan Bali & Jessica Taaffe. This week they discuss Zika virus.