Field validation of the performance of paper-based tests for the detection of the Zika and chikungunya viruses in serum samples

In low-resource settings, resilience to infectious disease outbreaks can be hindered by limited access to diagnostic tests. Here we report the results of double-blinded studies of the performance of paper-based diagnostic tests for the Zika and chikungunya viruses in a field setting in Latin America. The tests involved a cell-free expression system relying on isothermal amplification and toehold-switch reactions, a purpose-built portable reader and onboard software for computer vision-enabled image analysis. In patients suspected of infection, the accuracies and sensitivities of the tests for the Zika and chikungunya viruses were, respectively, 98.5% (95% confidence interval, 96.2–99.6%, 268 serum samples) and 98.5% (95% confidence interval, 91.7–100%, 65 serum samples) and approximately 2 aM and 5 fM (both concentrations are within clinically relevant ranges). The analytical specificities and sensitivities of the tests for cultured samples of the viruses were equivalent to those of the real-time quantitative PCR. Cell-free synthetic biology tools and companion hardware can provide de-centralized, high-capacity and low-cost diagnostics for use in low-resource settings.

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

4 EU-funded Zika consortia met in Marseille during the International Symposium to discuss a common strategy for vaccine development

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

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.

Call for support - Global Vector Control Response grant application

In response to the recent World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Vector Control Response document (http://www.who.int/malaria/global-vector-control-response/en/), ARCTEC at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is working with The Global Health Network, the WHO and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop an exciting new initiative called The Global Vector Hub. The project is being part-funded by an EU H2020 grant as part of the recently formed ZikaPLAN consortium.  We have been invited by the Wellcome Trust to submit an application for a Biomedical Resource and Technology Development Grant to help fund the website. We have successfully advanced through the first round of grant proposals. The full application is now being prepared and is due for submission on 3rd April, 2017. To demonstrate the need for the Global Vector Hub, we are collecting letters of support from potential stakeholders. It would be great if you could distribute this e-mail to your contacts and ask them to provide letters of support.

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.

Funding available for the SPSAS in Arbovirology in Brazil

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

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.

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.

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.