A snapshot on the impact of ZIKAlliance's scientific publications between December 2018 and April 2019

Second ZIKAlliance’s Annual Meeting in Rotterdam, 2-3 May 2019

A yellow fever–Zika chimeric virus vaccine candidate protects against Zika infection and congenital malformations in mice

The authors of this study report the engineering of a chimeric virus vaccine candidate (YF-ZIKprM/E) by replacing the antigenic surface glycoproteins and the capsid anchor of YFV-17D with those of a prototypic Asian lineage ZIKV isolate.

Within the Zika virus (ZIKV) research community, a new and remarkable kind of collaboration is taking place

ZIKAlliance travels to Peru and Ecuador

Projecting the end of the Zika virus epidemic in Latin America: a modelling analysis

The findings in this article suggest that the ZIKV epidemic is by and large over within LAC, with incidence projected to be low in most cities in 2018. Local low levels of transmission are probable, but the estimated rate of infection suggests that most cities have a population with high levels of herd immunity.

Re-visiting the evolution, dispersal and epidemiology of Zika virus in Asia. A commentary from the authors.

Pettersson et al provide a short commentary on their research article Re-visiting the evolution, dispersal and epidemiology of Zika virus in Asia published in Emerging Microbes & Infections in May 2018. This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under ZIKAlliance Grant Agreement no. 734548 and ZikaPLAN Grant Agreement no. 734584.

ZIKAlliance’s Annual Meeting in Guadeloupe 23-24 November, 2017

InFocus interview with Anna-Bella Failloux

New reverse genetics and transfection methods to rescue arboviruses in mosquito cells

In order to overcome potential technological issues related to the study of arboviruses, the authors of this study designed an improved DNA transfection protocol for insect cells and then demonstrated that the simple and flexible ISA (Infectious Subgenomic Amplicons) reverse-genetics method can be efficiently applied to both mammalian and mosquito cells to generate in days recombinant infectious positive-stranded RNA viruses belonging to genera Flavivirus (Japanese encephalitis, Yellow fever, West Nile and Zika viruses) and Alphavirus (Chikungunya virus). 

Lineage-Specific Real-Time RT-PCR for Yellow Fever Virus Outbreak Surveillance, Brazil

The authors of this study developed novel multiplex real-time reverse transcription PCRs. The new PCRs enable yellow fever (YFV) detection with diagnostic sensitivity. Although the dual-target assay is superior to the single-target assay in sensitivity and robustness to target competition, the single-target assay – as stated by the researchers – may be advantageous in resource-limited settings and may be more convenient for multiplex usage in combination with assays targeting co-circulating arboviruses, such as chikungunya, Zika, and dengue viruses.

Three EU-funded Zika Consortia Meetings at ECTMIH

During the European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health (ECTMIH) conference in Antwerp, the three EU-funded Zika Consortia, ZIKAlliance, ZIKAction and ZikaPLAN organized a joint symposium, with an afternoon of presentations packed with up-to-date science regarding ZIKV on October 17th.

InFocus interview with Vivian Avelino-Silva

First outbreak of Zika virus in the continental United States: a modelling analysis

In this work, the authors analysed the transmission dynamics of the Wynwood outbreak, recorded in Florida at the end of July 2016, using a mathematical model calibrated to outbreak data, and assessed the efficacy of the implemented vector control measures in containing viral transmission. Results from this analysis provide useful insights for prevention and control of possible future outbreaks in European areas.

Update on activities from Work Package 2: Clinical Biology & Immunology

Work Package 8: An update on ZIKAlliance communication activities

Zika genomics urgently need standardized and curated reference sequences

In this letter, the authors address the need for curation and standardized annotation of ZIKV reference genomes in order to guide researchers and clinicians in genomic analyses and the translation of research findings.

InFocus interview with Sarah Bethencourt

Re-evaluation of routine dengue virus serology in travelers in the era of Zika virus emergence

Researchers have demonstrated that the recent ZIKV outbreak in Latin America substantially affects the DENV serology in routine diagnostic laboratories.

Neotropical bats that co-habit with humans function as dead-end hosts for dengue virus

Results from this study indicate that bats do not sustain sufficient virus amplification in order to function as reservoirs and exclude them as players in the dengue virus transmission cycle.

ZIKAlliance’s Clinical Meeting in Cuba 12-14 August, 2017

InFocus interview with Dra Carmen Soria

Establishment and cryptic transmission of Zika virus in Brazil and the Americas

Results from this study further indicate that viruses from northeast Brazil were important for the continental spread of ZIKV. Within Brazil, the authors find instances of virus lineage movement from northeast to southeast Brazil; most of these events are dated to the second half of 2014 and led to onwards transmission in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states. The authors infer that ZIKV lineages disseminated from northeast Brazil to elsewhere in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.

Culex quinquefasciatus from areas with the highest incidence of microcephaly associated with Zika virus infections in the Northeast Region of Brazil are refractory to the virus

The study shows that Culex quinquefasciatus should not be considered a potential vector of ZIKV in Brazil.

Imipramine Inhibits Chikungunya Virus Replication in Human Skin Fibroblasts through Interference with Intracellular Cholesterol Trafficking

This study shows that imipramine strongly inhibits the replication of several Flaviviridae family members, including Zika, West Nile and Dengue virus. These data show that this compound is a potential drug candidate for anti-arboviral treatment.

Low seroprevalence of Zika virus in Cameroonian blood donors

The findings from this study indicate that the immunity of the Cameroonian population against ZIKV is low and that circulation in urban populations is uncommon. Hence, the risk of epidemic spread of ZIKV does exist. The virus is likely to be imported by infected travelers coming from epidemic areas and has the potential to be transmitted by local peri-domestic mosquitoes. This study provides biological evidence that such introduction would occur in populations that are globally immunologically naïve against ZIKV infection and live in areas where potential epidemic vectors exist.

Suramin inhibits Zika virus replication by interfering with virus attachment and release of infectious particles

The authors of this article describe inhibition of ZIKV replication by suramin, originally an anti-parasitic drug. They suggest that the inhibitory effect of suramin on ZIKV attachment and virion biogenesis and its broadspectrum activity warrant further evaluation of this compound as a potential therapeutic.

Successful technology transfer of a Zika vaccine developed by Institut Pasteur Shanghai-Chinese Academy of Sciences (IPS-CAS) to Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co., Ltd.

Institut Pasteur Shanghai-Chinese Academy of Sciences (IPS-CAS), a partner of the ZIKAlliance consortium, announced that it has entered into a collaborative research agreement with Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Stock Co., Ltd. (Zhifei) for the clinical studies and commercialization of a recombinant Zika virus subunit vaccine developed by IPS-CAS.

Risk of microcephaly after Zika virus infection in Brazil, 2015 to 2016

The key message from this study is that the large uncertainty around the risk estimate needs to be further investigated because of a) the possible existence of co-factors that are yet to be validated, b) the assumptions that the authors needed to make in the absence of good data for the proportion of women who were infected during pregnancy.

Risk of microcephaly after Zika virus infection in Brazil, 2015 to 2016

The key message from this study is that the large uncertainty around the risk estimate needs to be further investigated because of a) the possible existence of co-factors that are yet to be validated, b) the assumptions that the authors needed to make in the absence of good data for the proportion of women who were infected during pregnancy.

15th International Dengue Course and ZIKAlliance WP1 meeting to be held in Cuba next August

Substrate selectivity of Dengue and Zika virus NS5 polymerase towards 2'-modified nucleotide analogues

In addition to representing the first ZIKV full-length NS5 activity report at the molecular level, this study should help the design of pan-flavivirus drugs aiming at the control of many Flavivirus members of this large family of emerging arboviruses, as well as understand the basis of re-purposing drugs against emerging viral diseases.

Zika Virus Methyltransferase: Structure and Functions for Drug Design Perspectives

The results outlined in the article contribute to a better understanding of the ZIKVMTase, a central player in viral replication and host innate immune response, and lay the basis for the development of potential antiviral drugs.

Study of volunteer blood donors in Martinique provides new information about Zika virus infection

This pioneering study provides a precise follow-up of incident cases and seroprevalence in blood donors, and it also provides important insights into the management of blood donations during ZIKV outbreaks and into the natural history of ZIKV infection in adults. It suggests that the study of blood donors during outbreaks of emerging pathogens has become a key element of epidemiological surveillance.

Zika virus causes supernumerary foci with centriolar proteins and impaired spindle positioning

The article concludes that infection with Flaviviridae can increase centrosome numbers and impair spindle positioning, thus potentially contributing to microcephaly in the case of Zika.

Axl Mediates ZIKA Virus Entry in Human Glial Cells and Modulates Innate Immune Responses

A study performed by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) team of Dr Ali Amara (U944, Paris, France) and published in Cell Reports sheds new light on the mechanisms allowing ZIKV to infect cells within the human nervous system. Amara et al. showed that the protein Axl is expressed in a number of brain glial cells and that the entry of ZIKV into these cells requires another protein, Gas6, to act as a bridge between the ZIKV particles and the glial cells.

African and Asian Zika virus strains differentially induce early antiviral responses in primary human astrocytes

This study describes for the first time the specific antiviral gene expression in infected primary human astrocytes, the major glial cells within the central nervous system.

Zika virus in asymptomatic blood donors in Martinique

This pioneering study suggests that the study of blood donors during outbreaks of emerging pathogens has become a key element of epidemiological surveillance.

Axl Mediates ZIKA Virus Entry in Human Glial Cells and Modulates Innate Immune Responses

A study performed by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) team of Dr Ali Amara (U944, Paris, France) and published in Cell Reports sheds new light on the mechanisms allowing ZIKV to infect cells within the human nervous system. Amara et al. showed that the protein Axl is expressed in a number of brain glial cells and that the entry of ZIKV into these cells requires another protein, Gas6, to act as a bridge between the ZIKV particles and the glial cells.

Simple reverse genetics systems for Asian and African Zika viruses

By using the bacterium-free ‘Infectious Subgenomic Amplicons’ (ISA) method, this study provides the scientific community with two simple and performing reverse genetics systems for ZIKV.

ZIKAlliance Kick-off Meeting in Brazil

Hosted by University Sao Paulo Medical School at the Centro de Convenções Rebouças ZIKAlliance, the multinational and multidisciplinary consortium coordinated by Inserm, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, and  created in response to a Horizon 2020 funding call by the European Commission’s Directorate-General Research and Innovation, has officially started its activities with the kick-off meeting held in Brazil over the 4^th and 5^th December 2016.

Zika and Other Emerging Viruses: Aiming at the Right Target

The article argues that the off-label use of drugs that may protect against Zika virus-induced brain damage has to be balanced with their risk during pregnancy.