scholarly journals Recent African strains of Zika virus display higher transmissibility and fetal pathogenicity than Asian strains

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabien Aubry ◽  
Sofie Jacobs ◽  
Maïlis Darmuzey ◽  
Sebastian Lequime ◽  
Leen Delang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Defects ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Public Health Surveillance ◽  
Fetal Loss ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Congenital Birth Defects ◽  
Fetal Mice ◽  
Puzzling Aspect ◽  
Low Passage

AbstractThe global emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) revealed the unprecedented ability for a mosquito-borne virus to cause congenital birth defects. A puzzling aspect of ZIKV emergence is that all human outbreaks and birth defects to date have been exclusively associated with the Asian ZIKV lineage, despite a growing body of laboratory evidence pointing towards higher transmissibility and pathogenicity of the African ZIKV lineage. Whether this apparent paradox reflects the use of relatively old African ZIKV strains in most laboratory studies is unclear. Here, we experimentally compare seven low-passage ZIKV strains representing the recently circulating viral genetic diversity. We find that recent African ZIKV strains display higher transmissibility in mosquitoes and higher lethality in both adult and fetal mice than their Asian counterparts. We emphasize the high epidemic potential of African ZIKV strains and suggest that they could more easily go unnoticed by public health surveillance systems than Asian strains due to their propensity to cause fetal loss rather than birth defects.

scholarly journals High transmissibility and fetal pathogenicity of recent Zika virus strains from the African lineage

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabien Aubry ◽  
Sofie Jacobs ◽  
Maïlis Darmuzey ◽  
Sebastian Lequime ◽  
Leen Delang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Defects ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Fetal Loss ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Congenital Birth Defects ◽  
Prenatal Infection ◽  
Puzzling Aspect ◽  
Low Passage

SummaryThe global emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the last decade revealed the unprecedented ability for a mosquito-borne virus to cause congenital birth defects such as microcephaly. A puzzling aspect of ZIKV emergence is that all human outbreaks and birth defects to date have been exclusively associated with the Asian ZIKV lineage, despite a growing body of laboratory evidence pointing towards higher transmissibility and pathogenicity of the African ZIKV lineage. Whether this apparent paradox reflects the use of relatively old African ZIKV strains in most laboratory studies is unclear. Here, we experimentally compared the transmissibility and pathogenicity of seven low-passage ZIKV strains representing the recently circulating viral genetic diversity. We found that recent African ZIKV strains largely outperformed their Asian counterparts in mosquito transmission kinetics experiments, which translated into a markedly higher epidemic potential in outbreak computer simulations. In addition, African ZIKV strains were significantly more lethal than Asian ZIKV strains in immunocompromised adult mice. Finally, prenatal infection of immunocompetent mouse embryos with an African ZIKV strain resulted in embryonic death whereas it caused microcephaly with Asian ZIKV strains. Together, our results demonstrate the high epidemic potential and pathogenicity of recent ZIKV strains from Africa. Importantly, they also imply that the African ZIKV lineage could more easily go unnoticed by public health surveillance systems than the Asian ZIKV lineage due to its propensity to cause fetal loss rather than birth defects.

Zika Virus Infection Associated With Congenital Birth Defects in a HIV-infected Pregnant Woman

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 500-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esaú Custódio João ◽  
Maria Isabel Fragoso da Silveira Gouvea ◽  
Maria de Lourdes Benamor Teixeira ◽  
Wallace Mendes-Silva ◽  
Juliana Silva Esteves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Woman ◽  
Virus Infection ◽  
Birth Defects ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Congenital Birth Defects ◽  
Zika Virus Infection ◽  
Infected Pregnant Woman

scholarly journals Contributions of Genetic Evolution to Zika Virus Emergence

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su-Jhen Hung ◽  
Sheng-Wen Huang
Keyword(s):  
Birth Defects ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Intrauterine Growth Restriction ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Amino Acid Substitutions ◽  
Virus Spread ◽  
Intrauterine Growth ◽  
Congenital Birth Defects ◽  
Virus Emergence

Mosquito-borne Zika virus (ZIKV) was considered an obscure virus causing only mild or self-limited symptoms until the explosive outbreaks in French Polynesia in 2013–2014 and in the Americas in 2015–2016, resulting in more than 700,000 cases of the disease, with occasional miscarriage and severe congenital birth defects, such as intrauterine growth restriction, fetal microcephaly, and other neurodevelopmental malformations. In this review, we summarized the evolution of ZIKV from a mundane virus to an epidemic virus. ZIKV has acquired a panel of amino acid substitutions during evolution when the virus spread from Africa, Asia, Pacific, through to the Americas. Robust occurrence of mutations in the evolution of ZIKV has increased its epidemic potential. Here we discussed the contributions of these evolutionary mutations to the enhancement of viral pathogenicity and host-mosquito transmission. We further explored the potential hypotheses for the increase in ZIKV activity in recent decades. Through this review, we also explored the hypotheses for the occurrence of the recent ZIKV epidemics and highlighted the potential roles of various factors including pathogen-, host-, vector-related, and environmental factors, which may have synergistically contributed to the ZIKV epidemics.

Raised Frequency of Microcephaly Related to Zika Virus Infection in Two Birth Defects Surveillance Systems in Bogotá and Cali, Colombia

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 1017-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Hurtado-Villa ◽  
Angie K. Puerto ◽  
Salomé Victoria ◽  
Gloria Gracia ◽  
Lesly Guasmayán ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virus Infection ◽  
Birth Defects ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Zika Virus Infection

scholarly journals The Skull’s Girder: A Brief Review of the Cranial Base

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Shankar Rengasamy Venugopalan ◽  
Eric Van Otterloo
Keyword(s):  
Birth Defects ◽  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Endochondral Ossification ◽  
Cranial Base ◽  
Facial Skeleton ◽  
The Core ◽  
Skull Vault ◽  
Congenital Birth Defects ◽  
Intimate Association ◽  
The Brain

The cranial base is a multifunctional bony platform within the core of the cranium, spanning rostral to caudal ends. This structure provides support for the brain and skull vault above, serves as a link between the head and the vertebral column below, and seamlessly integrates with the facial skeleton at its rostral end. Unique from the majority of the cranial skeleton, the cranial base develops from a cartilage intermediate—the chondrocranium—through the process of endochondral ossification. Owing to the intimate association of the cranial base with nearly all aspects of the head, congenital birth defects impacting these structures often coincide with anomalies of the cranial base. Despite this critical importance, studies investigating the genetic control of cranial base development and associated disorders lags in comparison to other craniofacial structures. Here, we highlight and review developmental and genetic aspects of the cranial base, including its transition from cartilage to bone, dual embryological origins, and vignettes of transcription factors controlling its formation.

Spontaneous loss of a co-twin and the risk of birth defects after assisted conception

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 678-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Davies ◽  
A. R. Rumbold ◽  
M. J. Whitrow ◽  
K. J. Willson ◽  
W. K. Scheil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Defects ◽  
Pregnancy Loss ◽  
Multiple Pregnancy ◽  
Fetal Loss ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Infertility Patients ◽  
Twin Pregnancies ◽  
Singleton Pregnancies

The study of very early pregnancy loss is impractical in the general population, but possible amongst infertility patients receiving carefully monitored treatments. We examined the association between fetal loss and the risk of birth defects in the surviving co-twin in a retrospective cohort study of infertility patients within an infertility clinic in South Australia from January 1986 to December 2002, linked to population registries for births, terminations and birth defects. The study population consisted of a total of 5683 births. Births from singleton pregnancies without loss were compared with survivors from (1) pregnancies with an empty fetal sac at 6–8 weeks after embryo transfer, (2) fetal loss subsequent to 8-week ultrasound and (3) multiple pregnancy continuing to birth. Odds ratios (OR) for birth defects were calculated with adjustment for confounders. Amongst infertility patients, the prevalence of birth defects was 7.9% for all twin pregnancies without fetal loss compared with 14.6% in pregnancies in which there had been an empty sac at ultrasound, and 11.6% for pregnancies with fetal loss after 6–8 weeks. Compared with singleton pregnancies without loss, the presence of an empty sac was associated with an increased risk of any defect (OR=1.90, 95% confidence intervals (CI)=1.09–3.30) and with multiple defects (OR=2.87, 95% CI=1.31–6.28). Twin pregnancies continuing to birth without loss were not associated with an overall increased prevalence of defects. We conclude that the observed loss of a co-twin by 6–8 weeks of pregnancy is related to the risk of major birth defects in the survivor.

scholarly journals Embryonic Stage of Congenital Zika Virus Infection Determines Fetal and Postnatal Outcomes in Mice

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1807
Author(s):  
Eri Nakayama ◽  
Yasuhiro Kawai ◽  
Satoshi Taniguchi ◽  
Jessamine E. Hazlewood ◽  
Ken-ichi Shibasaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zika Virus ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Neonatal Death ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Fetal Loss ◽  
Congenital Infection ◽  
Sensory Function ◽  
Zikv Infection ◽  
Wide Range

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy causes a wide spectrum of congenital abnormalities and postnatal developmental sequelae such as fetal loss, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), microcephaly, or motor and neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we investigated whether a mouse pregnancy model recapitulated a wide range of symptoms after congenital ZIKV infection, and whether the embryonic age of congenital infection changed the fetal or postnatal outcomes. Infection with ZIKV strain PRVABC59 from embryonic day 6.5 (E6.5) to E8.5, corresponding to the mid-first trimester in humans, caused fetal death, fetal resorption, or severe IUGR, whereas infection from E9.5 to E14.5, corresponding to the late-first to second trimester in humans, caused stillbirth, neonatal death, microcephaly, and postnatal growth deficiency. Furthermore, 4-week-old offspring born to dams infected at E12.5 showed abnormalities in neuropsychiatric state, motor behavior, autonomic function, or reflex and sensory function. Thus, our model recapitulated the multiple symptoms seen in human cases, and the embryonic age of congenital infection was one of the determinant factors of offspring outcomes in mice. Furthermore, maternal neutralizing antibodies protected the offspring from neonatal death after congenital infection at E9.5, suggesting that neonatal death in our model could serve as criteria for screening of vaccine candidates.

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