Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that represents a public health emergency at the ongoing epidemic. This obscure virus was limited to sporadic cases in Africa and Asia, until the emergence of Zika virus in Brazil in 2015, when it rapidly spread throughout the Americas. Most Zika virus infections are subclinical or characterized by mild febrile illness. However, neurological complications, including Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults, and congenital anomalies, including microcephaly in babies born to infected mothers, raised a grave concern. Currently, there is no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine available for Zika virus infection. Thus, international public health response is primarily focused on preventing infection, particularly in pregnant women, and on providing up-to-date recommendations to reduce the risk of non-vector transmission of Zika virus.
Zika je virus iz rodu flavivirusov, ki se prenaša s komarjevim pikom, in predstavlja javnozdravstveno grožnjo v trenutni epidemiji. Ta nepoznan virus je bil omejen na sporadične primere v Afriki in Aziji vse do pojava v Braziliji leta 2015, ko se je bliskovito razširil v obeh Amerikah. Večina okužb z virusom Zika je subkliničnih in se kažejo kot blaga bolezen z vročinskim stanjem. Najbolj zaskrbljujoči pa so nevrološki zapleti, vključno s sindromom Guillain-Barré pri odraslih ter prirojene nepravilnosti, kot je mikrocefalija pri novorojenčkih, ki se rodijo okuženim materam. Trenutno ne obstaja specifično protivirusno zdravljenje ali cepivo proti okužbi z virusom Zika. Odziv mednarodnega javnega zdravja se osredotoča na preprečevanje infekcije, predvsem pri nosečih ženskah in podajanju posodobljenih priporočil za zmanjšanje tveganja za nevektorsko prenašanje virusa Zika.
Keywords: Zika virus; emerging infection; microcephaly; neurological complication; sexual transmission.