Zika virus: Current concerns in India

With confirmation of Zika virus (ZIKV) presence in India, screening of a large number of febrile illness samples yielded only four positive cases. In this review, we address the current concern with context to India. The possible reasons for low level of Zika prevalence in India have been discussed,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Indian journal of medical research (New Delhi, India : 1994) India : 1994), 2017-11, Vol.146 (5), p.572-575
Main Authors: Bhardwaj, Sumit, Gokhale, Mangesh, Mourya, Devendra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Distribution
Epidemics
Epidemiology
Forecasts and trends
Health aspects
Health surveillance
Infections
Laboratories
Microcephaly
Mosquitoes
Mutation
Population
Public health
Review
Vectors (Biology)
Virology
Womens health
Zika virus
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Summary:With confirmation of Zika virus (ZIKV) presence in India, screening of a large number of febrile illness samples yielded only four positive cases. In this review, we address the current concern with context to India. The possible reasons for low level of Zika prevalence in India have been discussed, by extracting some probable explanations from previous experience of chikungunya virus-vector model/studies. In the current context, it is hypothesized that Indian mosquito strains have lower susceptibility gradient/threshold for ZIKV. The very low positivity in the humans also indicates low levels of mosquito-human-mosquito transmission cycle. There is also a need to look for the existence of any such animal cycle/sylvatic involvement in India. The recently detected four cases in India show local transmission of ZIKV suggesting that ZIKV might have been present in India since long time. The earlier vector-virus relationship studies with chikungunya suggested that in due course of time, ZIKV might become a major public health concern in the future.
ISSN:0971-5916
DOI:10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1160_17