Xavier de Lamballerie, Thomas Jaenisch, Paola Mariela Saba Villarroel, Stéphane Priet, Laetitia Ninove, Boris Pastorino, Pierre Gallian, Elif Nurtop, Isabelle Leparc-Goffart, Jan Felix Drexler, Yelin Roca, Unité des Virus Emergents (UVE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Centro Nacional de Enfermedades Tropicales [Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia] (CENETROP), Institute of Virology [Berlin, Germany] (Charité), Charité - UniversitätsMedizin = Charité - University Hospital [Berlin], German Centre for Infection Research [Berlin, Germany] (DZIF - Charité), Etablissement Français du Sang - Alpes-Méditerranée (EFS - Alpes-Méditerranée), Etablissement Français du Sang, Section Clinical Tropical Medicine [Heidelberg], Department of Infectious Diseases [Heidelberg, Germany], Heidelberg University Hospital [Heidelberg]-Heidelberg University Hospital [Heidelberg], Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées [Antenne Marseille] (IRBA), European Project: 734548,ZIKAlliance(2016), European Project: 653316,H2020,H2020-INFRAIA-2014-2015,EVAg(2015), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Etablissement Français du Sang [La Plaine Saint-Denis] (EFS), European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programmes ZIKAlliance and EVAg under grant agreements No 734548 and 653316, Dubois Frid, Caroline, A global alliance for Zika virus control and prevention - ZIKAlliance - 2016-10-01 - 2019-09-30 - 734548 - VALID, and European Virus Archive goes global - EVAg - - H20202015-04-01 - 2019-03-31 - 653316 - VALID
Background Zika virus (ZIKV), was widely reported in Latin America and has been associated with neuropathologies, as microcephaly, but only few seroprevalence studies have been published to date. Our objective was to determine the seroprevalence amongst Bolivian blood donors and estimate the future potential circulation of the virus. Methodology A ZIKV seroprevalence study was conducted between December 2016 and April 2017 in 814 asymptomatic Bolivian volunteer blood donors residing in various eco-environments corresponding to contrasting entomological activities. It was based on detection of IgG to ZIKV using NS1 ELISA screening, followed by a seroneutralisation test in case of positive or equivocal ELISA result. Conclusions/Significance Analysis revealed that ZIKV circulation occurred in tropical areas (Beni: 39%; Santa Cruz de la Sierra: 21.5%) but not in highlands (~0% in Cochabamba, La Paz, Tarija). It was modulated by Aedes aegypti activity and the virus spread was not limited by previous immunity to dengue. Cases were geo-localised in a wide range of urban areas in Santa Cruz and Trinidad. No differences in seroprevalence related to gender or age-groups could be identified. It is concluded that ZIKV has been intensely circulating in the Beni region and has still a significant potential for propagating in the area of Santa Cruz., Author summary Zika virus (ZIKV) is a virus of African origin, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, and related to dengue and yellow fever virus. It was originally believed to be responsible for a mild febrile illness in Africa and South-east Asia. However, in recent years, ZIKV has been responsible for outbreaks in the Pacific Islands before massively spreading in Latin America and the Caribbean. On this occasion, ZIKV has unexpectedly been associated with non-vector transmission (i.e., sexual and mother-to-foetus transmission) and with severe complications such as foetal abnormalities (e.g. microcephaly) and Guillain-Barré syndromes. Little is known about the actual proportion of the populations infected by ZIKV in Latin America. Here, we report a seroprevalence data in this region, after studying 814 asymptomatic Bolivian volunteer blood donors residing in various eco-environments corresponding to contrasting entomological activities. We conclude that ZIKV has been circulating in Bolivian tropical areas but not in highlands, and that the epidemic has not been limited by previous immunity against dengue. Specific attention should be paid to the region of Santa Cruz, where the seroprevalence is still limited, but the density of Aedes aegypti populations makes plausible further spreading of the disease.