Zika virus outbreak, epidemiology, transmission and infection dynamics: a review article

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has recently attracted the attention of medical community. While clinical manifestations of the infection in adult cases are not severe and disease is not associated with high mortality rates, Zika virus infection can have an impact on fetal development and lead to severe neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Zika virus is a newly emergent relative of the Flaviviridae family and linked to dengue (DENV) and Chikungunya (CHIKV). ZIKV infection was characterized by mild disease with fever, headache, rash, arthralgia and conjunctivitis, with exceptional reports of an association with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and microcephaly. However, since the end of 2015, an increase in the number of GBS associated cases and an astonishing number of microcephaly in fetus and new-borns in Brazil have been related to ZIKV infection, raising serious worldwide public health concerns. ZIKV is transmitted by the bite of infected female mosquitoes of Aedes species. Here, we extensively described the current understanding of the effects of ZIKV on health, transmission, clinical manifestation, diagnosis and treatment options based on modern, alternative and complementary medicines regarding the disease.