Challenges of Zika Virus Infection in Pregnant Women - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

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Challenges of Zika Virus Infection in Pregnant Women

Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2016;38(6):263-265

DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1584206

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The zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus belonging to the genus Flavivirus of the Flaviviridae family that is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. It has a transmission mechanism similar to dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya viruses.

The first description of ZIKV occurred in 1947 when it was isolated in Rhesus monkeys used as sentinels for yellow fever. This discovery occurred in the Zika forest in southern Uganda, hence the name of the virus. The description of the first infection in humans occurred in Nigeria in 1954, and its dispersion within the African continent can be considered slow. Until 2007, documented reports indicated that the number of people affected by this viral infection did not exceed 50 in sporadic occurrences in Africa and in some countries of Southeast Asia. After this apparent decrease in its dispersion, the first epidemic of ZIKV was observed in 2007 on the Pacific island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean. In 2013, there were other epidemic outbreaks in French Polynesia and Easter Island before it finally reached Brazil between 2013 and 2014.

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