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Zika Virus Outbreak in Haiti in 2014: Molecular and Clinical Data.

Authors :
John Lednicky
Valery Madsen Beau De Rochars
Maha El Badry
Julia Loeb
Taina Telisma
Sonese Chavannes
Gina Anilis
Eleonora Cella
Massimo Ciccozzi
Mohammed Rashid
Bernard Okech
Marco Salemi
J Glenn Morris
Source :
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 10, Iss 4, p e0004687 (2016)
Publication Year :
2016
Publisher :
Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2016.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Zika virus (ZIKV), first isolated in Uganda in 1947, is currently spreading rapidly through South America and the Caribbean. In Brazil, infection has been linked with microcephaly and other serious complications, leading to declaration of a public health emergency of international concern; however, there currently are only limited data on the virus (and its possible sources and manifestations) in the Caribbean. METHODS:From May, 2014-February, 2015, in conjunction with studies of chikungunya (CHIKV) and dengue (DENV) virus infections, blood samples were collected from children in the Gressier/Leogane region of Haiti who presented to a school clinic with undifferentiated febrile illness. Samples were initially screened by RT-PCR for CHIKV and DENV, with samples negative in these assays further screened by viral culture. FINDINGS:Of 177 samples screened, three were positive for ZIKV, confirmed by viral sequencing; DENV-1 was also identified in culture from one of the three positive case patients. Patients were from two different schools and 3 different towns, with all three cases occurring within a single week, consistent with the occurrence of an outbreak in the region. Phylogenetic analysis of known full genome viral sequences demonstrated a close relationship with ZIKV from Brazil; additional analysis of the NS5 gene, for which more sequences are currently available, showed the Haitian strains clustering within a monophyletic clade distinct from Brazilian, Puerto Rican and Guatemalan sequences, with all part of a larger clade including isolates from Easter Island. Phylogeography also clarified that at least three major African sub-lineages exist, and confirmed that the South American epidemic is most likely to have originated from an initial ZIKV introduction from French Polynesia into Easter Island, and then to the remainder of the Americas. CONCLUSIONS:ZIKV epidemics in South America, as well as in Africa, show complex dissemination patterns. The virus appears to have been circulating in Haiti prior to the first reported cases in Brazil. Factors contributing to transmission and the possible linkage of this early Haitian outbreak with microcephaly remain to be determined.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19352727 and 19352735
Volume :
10
Issue :
4
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.f8bdf7f3e7a149a8b7f03e07e4d8a244
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004687