News

17

Jun, 2021

The use of mobile technologies for early detection of arbovirus infections in pregnancy

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The great expansion of mobile technology across the globe has facilitated the use of smartphone applications to improve health systems and engage people in public health processes. This approach has been specially applied in low and middle income countries where capitalizing on the ubiquity of mobile technology infrastructure can help to overcome widespread health system barriers such as health personnel shortages, cost of health service, and transportation. Mobile health (mHealth) is a growing field with several applications in maternal and child health programmes dedicated to health monitoring, surveillance, and information […]

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2

Apr, 2021

Call for comments on the WHO Zika virus Research and Development Roadmap

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The WHO is calling on the public to share their comments on the newly drafted Zika virus Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap, a key component of the WHO’s R&D Blueprint which is a global strategy and preparedness plan that allows the activation of R&D activities in advance of and during pandemics. Comments can be submitted by completing this form. The Zika virus R&D roadmap aims to accelerate the development and implementation of effective medical countermeasures for the Zika virus so as to reduce morbidity, mortality and transmission of the virus. Zika is […]

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16

Mar, 2021

ZIKAHOST study shares findings on genetic predisposition to typical ZIKA effects at SEIP 2021

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The ZIKAHOST study aims to describe the Zika virus (ZIKV) infection taking into account the host, in this case humans, instead of the pathogen, which would be the zika virus, and we search for biomarkers of the increased likelihood of developing the disease, diagnosis and prognosis through a genomic approach. What this means is that we look at DNA to see if we could understand if patients can be genetically predisposed to develop typical ZIKV effects. The study analysed 80 DNA samples from 40 mother and child pairs. The mothers […]

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12

Jan, 2021

Zika virus infection in pregnancy: a protocol for the join analysis of the prospective cohort studies of the ZIKAlliance, ZikaPLAN and ZIKAction consortia

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Authors: A E Ades, Elizabeth B Brickley, Neal Alexander, David Brown, Thomas Jaenisch, Demócrito de Barros Miranda-Filho, Moritz Pohl, Kerstin D Rosenberger, Antoni Soriano-Arandes , Claire Thorne et al. Published in: BMJ Journals   Abstract:  Introduction    Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnancy has been associated with microcephaly and severe neurological damage to the fetus. Our aim is to document the risks of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes and the prevalence of laboratory markers of congenital infection in deliveries to women experiencing ZIKV infection during pregnancy, using data from European […]

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2

Nov, 2020

Vertical transmission of Zika virus and its outcomes: a Bayesian synthesis of prospective studies

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Authors: A E Ades, Antoni Soriano-Arandes, Ana Alarcon, Francesco Bonfante, Claire Thorne, Catherine S Peckham, Carlo Giaquinto Published in: The Lancet Abstract Background:  Prospective studies of Zika virus in pregnancy have reported rates of congenital Zika syndrome and other adverse outcomes by trimester. However, Zika virus can infect and damage the fetus early in utero, but clear before delivery. The true vertical transmission rate is therefore unknown. We aimed to provide the first estimates of underlying vertical transmission rates and adverse outcomes due to congenital infection with Zika virus by […]

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17

Apr, 2020

Genomic and epidemiological surveillance of Zika virus in the Amazon region

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Authors: Giovanetti M, Faria NR, Lourenco J, et al. Published in:  Cell Rep. 2020;30(7):2275-2283 Abstract Zika virus (ZIKV) has caused an explosive epidemic linked to severe clinical outcomes in the Americas. As of June 2018, 4,929 ZIKV suspected infections and 46 congenital syndrome cases had been reported in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Although Manaus is a key demographic hub in the Amazon region, little is known about the ZIKV epidemic there, in terms of both transmission and viral genetic diversity. Using portable virus genome sequencing, we generated 59 ZIKV genomes in […]

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13

Feb, 2020

ZIKAction at 3rd International Conference on Zika Virus and Aedes related infections

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ZIKAction Consortium will be presenting preliminary results of its vertical transmission study at the 3rd International Conference on Zika Virus and Aedes related infections that will be held in Washington DC, USA, from 13th to 16th February 2020. The conference aims to bring together physicians, public health practitioners and researchers to address challenges that Zika and Aedes related infections pose around the globe and try to fill knowledge gaps that still remain, despite many published papers. Details of the ZIKAction presentations taking place at the conference are shown below.   […]

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13

Feb, 2020

3rd International Conference on Zika virus and Aedes related infections

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The Third International Conference will include all Aedes related infections in addition to Zika. Aedes related infections have become a concern and continue to be a global threat: with epidemics significantly increasing in South America and western countries, including Europe being under threat. Recently Aedes related outbreak of Yellow Fever has been dominant in Brazil and several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, although the prevalence of Zika virus is in decline, it is still in circulation around the globe and continues to pose a scientific challenge with numerous unanswered aspects. The disease has an enormous […]

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14

Jul, 2019

Minor groove binder modification of widely used TaqMan hydrolysis probe for detection of dengue virus reduces risk of false-negative real-time PCR results for serotype 4

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Authors: Gray ER, Heaney J, Ferns RB, Sequeira PC, Nastouli E, Garson JA Published in: J Virol Methods. 2019;268:17-23 Abstract Dengue is a vector-transmitted viral infection that is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in humans worldwide, with over 50 million apparent cases and a fatality rate of 2.5 % of 0.5 million severe cases per annum in recent years. Four serotypes are currently co-circulating. Diagnosis of infection may be by polymerase chain reaction, serology or rapid antigen test for NS1. Both pan-serotype and serotype-specific genome detection assays have been described, however, achieving adequate sensitivity with […]

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