In:

The New England Journal of Medicine

Authors:

Lyle R. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., Denise J. Jamieson, M.D., M.P.H., Ann M. Powers, Ph.D., and Margaret A. Honein, Ph.D., M.P.H.

In 1947, a study of yellow fever yielded the first isolation of a new virus, from the blood of a sentinel rhesus macaque that had been placed in the Zika Forest of Uganda.1 Zika virus remained in relative obscurity for nearly 70 years; then, within the span of just 1 year, Zika virus was introduced into Brazil from the Pacific Islands and spread rapidly throughout the Americas.2 It became the first major infectious disease linked to human birth defects to be discovered in more than half a century and created such global alarm that the World Health Organization (WHO) would declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.3 This review describes the current understanding of the epidemiology, transmission, clinical characteristics, and diagnosis of Zika virus infection, as well as the future outlook with regard to this disease.

Download full publication: