Zika virus: Difference between revisions

From MicrobeWiki, the student-edited microbiology resource
Line 26: Line 26:
==Viral Pathology==
==Viral Pathology==
===Transmission===
===Transmission===
====Zoonotic====
====Mosquito-borne====
 
====Human to Human====
====Human to Human====



Revision as of 15:39, 22 July 2015


Baltimore Classification

Group IV: (+) sense single-stranded RNA virus

Higher order categories

Family: Flaviviridae
Genus: Flavivirus

Description and Significance


Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that is closely related to dengue, yellow fever, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis viruses. (ref)

Genome Structure


Virion Structure of a Zika virus


Reproductive Cycle of a Zika virus in a Host Cell


Viral Ecology


Viral Pathology

Transmission

Mosquito-borne

Human to Human

After returning from a research mission to Senegal, Dr. Brian Foy of the University of Colorado appeared to have passed ZIKV to his wife after sexual intercourse in 2008. Both Dr. Foy and his Ph.D. student Kevin Kobylinski were bitten by numerous mosquitoes while abroad and became ill about 5 days after returning to the U.S. Both showed signs of Zika fever and Dr. Foy's wife saw what she believed to be blood in his semen. Approximately 10 days later, Foy's wife showed signs of Zika fever while their four children remained healthy. At first it was believed that Foy had contracted dengue fever, but after Kobylinski had an encounter with medical entomologist Andrew Haddow who had experience with ZIKV, tests were run that confirmed all three patients possessed antibody for ZIKV. Circumstantial evidence suggests that sexual contact was the mode of transmission due to the high unlikeliness that Foy's wife was bitten by the tropical Aedes mosquito in Colorado. Additionally, the virus requires a 2-week life cycle in mosquito hosts before infecting humans and Foy's wife showed symptoms merely 10 days upon his return. [1]

Zika Fever

Diagnosis

Treatment and Prevention

References

1 Enserink, M. (2011) Sex After A Field Trip Yields Scientific First. Science Magazine