Search

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is associated with various types of preceding infections including Campylobacter jejuni and cytomegalovirus, but there is also an association with arthropod borne viruses (arboviruses), such as Zika virus, that are endemic in tropical regions. Here we present the clinical characteristics of 12 GBS patients from Suriname that were hospitalized between the beginning of 2016 and half 2018. Extensive diagnostic testing was performed for pathogens that are commonly associated with GBS, but also for arboviruses, in order to identify the preceding infection that might have led to GBS. With this extensive testing algorithm, we could identify a recent infection in six patients of which four of them had evidence of a recent Zika virus or dengue virus infection. These results suggest that arboviruses, specifically Zika virus but possibly also dengue virus, might be important causative agents of GBS in Suriname. Furthermore, we found that more accessibility of intravenous immunoglobulins or plasma exchange could improve the treatment of GBS in Suriname. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2015–2016, a large Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak occurred in the Americas. Although the exact ZIKV antibody kinetics after infection are unknown, recent evidence indicates the rapid waning of ZIKV antibodies in humans. Therefore, we aimed to determine the levels of ZIKV antibodies more than three years after a ZIKV infection. Methods: We performed ZIKV virus neutralization tests (VNT) and a commercial ZIKV non-structural protein 1 (NS1) IgG ELISA in a cohort of 49 participants from Suriname who had a polymerase-chain-reaction-confirmed ZIKV infection more than three years ago. Furthermore, we determined the presence of antibodies against multiple dengue virus (DENV) antigens. Results: The ZIKV seroprevalence in this cohort, assessed with ZIKV VNT and ZIKV NS1 IgG ELISA, was 59.2% and 63.3%, respectively. There was, however, no correlation between these two tests. Furthermore, we did not find evidence of a potential negative influence of DENV immunity on ZIKV antibody titers. Conclusions: ZIKV seroprevalence, assessed with two commonly used serological tests, was lower than expected in this cohort of participants who had a confirmed previous ZIKV infection. This can have implications for future ZIKV seroprevalence studies and possibly for the duration of immunological protection after a ZIKV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]