In:

Blood Transfusion

Authors:

Massimo Franchini, Claudio Velati

Zika virus is a flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae, which derives its name from the Zika forest in Uganda where it was initially identified in 1947 in the Rhesus macaque population1,2. Like other viruses transmitted by arthropod vectors (e.g., West Nile, Dengue and Chikungunya viruses), in the great majority of cases Zika virus infection causes an asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic flu-like disease3-5. There are essentially two reasons for the growing interest from health authorities and the scientific community towards this emerging viral infection. The first is that Zika virus infection is not confined only to limited areas of Africa6,7, since major outbreaks have recently been recorded in different areas of the world, including Asia, Oceania, and South America, thus shifting interest in this arbovirus from a local to a global level. Such epidemics have been made possible by the rapidly increasing, worldwide diffusion of Aedes mosquito species, the main vector of Zika virus7. The second reason, which is related to the first, is that the blood- borne transmission of this pathogen raises major concerns regarding the safety of blood donations and transfusions in those geographical areas characterised by a potential widespread circulation of the virus (and its vector)8. For these reasons, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)9 and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Controls (ECDC)10 have recently issued a bulletin to alert their national health and blood safety authorities about this still poorly recognised viral infection.

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