ZIKA VIRUS ANOTHER EMERGING ARBOVIRUS – A REVIEW

Palani S.*, Nisha Mary Joseph, Walid Ali Abdulaziz, Anish Zacharia

ABSTRACT

The aim of this review article is to focus on the risk factors of Zika virus and threat to public health.Zika virus is mosquito borne Flavivirus related to Yellow fever virus, Dengue virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, Chikungunya, West nile virus. Zika virus is the genus of Flavivirus in the family Flaviviridae and the group is- Group IV ((+)ssRNA. It is considered an emerging arbovirus transmitted by Ades mosquitoes which usually bite during the morning and late afternoon or evening hours. The principle vectors that spreads Zika virus are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus which are the native to Africa and Asia. The symptoms of illness are Acute fever, Maculopapular rash, Arthralgia, Headache, Conjunctivitis, Severe neurological complications like Guillain-Barre syndrome an autoimmune syndrome frequently culminating in limb paralysis and Zika virus in pregnant women might cause congenital abnormalities like microcephaly.

Keywords: Arbovirus, ZIKV, Flavivirus, Aedes, Microcephaly, Flaviviridae.