ZIKA VIRUS: AN UPDATE

Preeti Madan, Shiwangi Sharma, Shweta Sharma*, Nirmaljit Kaur, Shalini Malhotra and Nandini Duggal

ABSTRACT

Zika virus is a member of family Flaviviridae and the genus Flavivirus, transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. It causes mild symptoms, similar to a mild form of dengue fever. Since the 1950s, it has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia. However it spread across Pacific Ocean to French Polynesiain 2014 and to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America in 2015. The illness cannot yet be prevented by drugs or vaccines. There is evidence that Zika fever in pregnant women can cause abnormal brain development in their fetuses by mother-to-child transmission, which may result in miscarriage or microcephaly.

Keywords: Zika virus, microcephaly, flavivirus.