Study protocol for the multicentre cohorts of Zika virus infection in pregnant women, infants, and acute clinical cases in Latin America and the Caribbean: The ZIKAlliance consortium

Background: The European Commission (EC) Horizon 2020 (H2020)-funded ZIKAlliance Consortium designed a multicentre study including pregnant women (PW), children (CH) and natural history (NH) cohorts. Clinical sites were selected over a wide geographic range within Latin America and the Caribbean, taking into account the dynamic course of the ZIKV epidemic. Methods: Recruitment to the PW cohort will take place in antenatal care clinics. PW will be enrolled regardless of symptoms and followed over the course of pregnancy, approximately every 4 weeks. PW will be revisited at delivery (or after miscarriage/abortion) to assess birth outcomes, including microcephaly and other congenital abnormalities according to the evolving definition of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). After birth, children will be followed for 2 years in the CH cohort. Follow-up visits are scheduled at ages 1-3, 4-6, 12, and 24 months to assess neurocognitive and developmental milestones. In addition, a NH cohort for the characterization of symptomatic rash/fever illness was designed, including follow-up to capture persisting health problems. Blood, urine, and other biological materials will be collected, and tested for ZIKV and other relevant arboviral diseases (dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever) using RT-PCR or serological methods. A virtual, decentralized biobank will be created. Reciprocal clinical monitoring has been established between partner sites. Substudies of ZIKV seroprevalence, transmissio

Zika Virus Infection-Associated Acute Transient Polyneuritis

On behalf of the RIO-GBS-ZIKV Research GroupSubmitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-05-16T10:46:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 anamaria_bispo_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 161845 bytes, checksum: e12dd91309ae6c57809c98d33d77ce2f (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-05-16T11:03:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 anamaria_bispo_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 161845 bytes, checksum: e12dd91309ae6c57809c98d33d77ce2f (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-16T11:03:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 anamaria_bispo_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 161845 bytes, checksum: e12dd91309ae6c57809c98d33d77ce2f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Universidade Federal Fluminense. Niterói, RJ, Brasil.Cleveland Clinic. Cardiovascular Center of Neurological Institute. Ohio, U|SA.Universidade Federal Fluminense. Niterói, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Flavivírus. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Rush University Medical Center. Chicago, IL, USA.This article describes a case series of 3 patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 outbreak of Zika virus infection in Brazil

Zika virus intrauterine infection causes fetal brain abnormality and microcephaly: tip of the iceberg?

ISEA, Inst Pesquisa Prof Joaquim Amorim Neto IPESQ, Campina Grande, BrazilTel Aviv Univ, Sackler Fac Med, Tel Aviv Sourasky Med Ctr, Div Ultrasound Obstet & Gynecol,Lis Matern Hosp, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, IsraelCentrus Fetal Med, Fetal Med Fdn Latinamer FMFLA, Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Diagnost Imagem DDI UNIFESP, FIDI Fundacao Inst Ensino & Pesquisa Diagnost Ima, Sao Paulo, BrazilInst Oswaldo Cruz FIOCRUZ, Lab Flavivirus, Rio De Janeiro, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Diagnost Imagem DDI UNIFESP, FIDI Fundacao Inst Ensino & Pesquisa Diagnost Ima, Sao Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

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

The current yellow fever outbreak in Brazil prompted widespread yellow fever virus (YFV) vaccination campaigns, imposing a responsibility to distinguish between vaccine- and wild-type YFV-associated disease. We developed novel multiplex real-time reverse transcription PCRs that differentiate between vaccine and American wild-type YFV. We validated these highly specific and sensitive assays in an outbreak setting

Diagnostic performance of anti-Zika virus IgM, IgAM and IgG ELISAs during co-circulation of Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses in Brazil and Venezuela

Background Serological diagnosis of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is challenging because of the antibody cross-reactivity among flaviviruses. At the same time, the role of Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) is limited by the low proportion of symptomatic infections and the low average viral load. Here, we compared the diagnostic performance of commercially available IgM, IgAM, and IgG ELISAs in sequential samples during the ZIKV and chikungunya (CHIKV) epidemics and co-circulation of dengue virus (DENV) in Brazil and Venezuela. Methodology/Principal findings Acute (day of illness 1–5) and follow-up (day of illness ≥ 6) blood samples were collected from nine hundred and seven symptomatic patients enrolled in a prospective multicenter study between June 2012 and August 2016. Acute samples were tested by RT-PCR for ZIKV, DENV, and CHIKV. Acute and follow-up samples were tested for IgM, IgAM, and IgG antibodies to ZIKV using commercially available ELISAs. Among follow-up samples with a RT-PCR confirmed ZIKV infection, anti-ZIKV IgAM sensitivity was 93.5% (43/46), while IgM and IgG exhibited sensitivities of 30.3% (10/33) and 72% (18/25), respectively. An additional 24% (26/109) of ZIKV infections were detected via IgAM seroconversion in ZIKV/DENV/CHIKV RT-PCR negative patients. The specificity of anti-ZIKV IgM was estimated at 93% and that of IgAM at 85%. Conclusions/Significance Our findings exemplify the challenges of the assessment of test performance for ZIKV serological tests in the real-world setting, during co-circulation of DENV, ZIKV, and CHIKV. However, we can also demonstrate that the IgAM immunoassay exhibits superior sensitivity to detect ZIKV RT-PCR confirmed infections compared to IgG and IgM immunoassays. The IgAM assay also proves to be promising for detection of anti-ZIKV seroconversions in sequential samples, both in ZIKV PCR-positive as well as PCR-negative patients, making this a candidate assay for serological monitoring of pregnant women in future ZIKV outbreaks

Emergence of the East-Central-South-African genotype of Chikungunya virus in Brazil and the city of Rio de Janeiro may have occurred years before surveillance detection

Brazil, which is hyperendemic for dengue virus (DENV), has had recent Zika (ZIKV) and (CHIKV) Chikungunya virus outbreaks. Since March 2016, CHIKV is the arbovirus infection most frequently diagnosed in Rio de Janeiro. In the analysis of 1835 syndromic patients, screened by real time RT-PCR, 56.4% of the cases were attributed to CHIKV, 29.6% to ZIKV, and 14.1% to DENV-4. Sequence analyses of CHIKV from sixteen samples revealed that the East-Central-South-African (ECSA) genotype of CHIKV has been circulating in Brazil since 2013 [95% bayesian credible interval (BCI): 03/2012-10/2013], almost a year before it was detected by arbovirus surveillance program. Brazilian cases are related to Central African Republic sequences from 1980’s. To the best of our knowledge, given the available sequence published here and elsewhere, the ECSA genotype was likely introduced to Rio de Janeiro early on 2014 (02/2014; BCI: 07/2013-08/2014) through a single event, after primary circulation in the Bahia state at the Northestern Brazil in the previous year. The observation that the ECSA genotype of CHIKV was circulating undetected underscores the need for improvements in molecular methods for viral surveillance.Peer Reviewe

Zika virus infection in pregnant women in Rio de Janeiro: preliminary report

Artigo liberado em acesso aberto como parte do acordo para tornar público todos os dados produzidos sobre o vírus zika - Compartilhamento de dados em emergências de saúde pública - http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/Media-office/Press-releases/2016/WTP060169.htmVersão final do artigo - handle https://www.arca.fiocruz.br/handle/icict/17780Submitted by Claudete Queiroz ([email protected]) on 2016-03-08T19:16:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Zika Virus Infection in Pregnant Women - preliminary report.pdf: 646105 bytes, checksum: 76b9427d455f2a5cbb1aa17b53e4cfc6 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Claudete Queiroz ([email protected]) on 2016-03-09T11:54:02Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Zika Virus Infection in Pregnant Women - preliminary report.pdf: 646105 bytes, checksum: 76b9427d455f2a5cbb1aa17b53e4cfc6 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-09T11:54:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Zika Virus Infection in Pregnant Women - preliminary report.pdf: 646105 bytes, checksum: 76b9427d455f2a5cbb1aa17b53e4cfc6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Biomedical Research Institute of Southern California. Oceanside, California, EUA.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Saúde da Mulher, da Criança e do Adolescente Fernandes Figueira. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Saúde da Mulher, da Criança e do Adolescente Fernandes Figueira. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, EUA.David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, EUA.David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, EUA.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, EUA.BACKGROUND Zika virus (ZIKV) has been linked to neonatal microcephaly. To characterize the spectrum of ZIKV disease in pregnancy, we followed patients in Rio de Janeiro to describe clinical manifestations in mothers and repercussions of acute ZIKV infection in fetuses. METHODS We enrolled pregnant women in whom a rash had developed within the previous 5 days and tested blood and urine specimens for ZIKV by reverse-transcriptase–polymerasechain-reaction assays. We followed the women prospectively and collected clinical and ultrasonographic data. RESULTS A total of 88 women were enrolled from September 2015 through February 2016; of these 88 women, 72 (82%) tested positive for ZIKV in blood, urine, or both. The timing of acute ZIKV infection ranged from 5 to 38 weeks of gestation. Predominant clinical features included pruritic descending macular or maculopapular rash, arthralgias, conjunctival injection, and headache; 28% had fever (short-term and low-grade).Women who were positive for ZIKV were more likely than those who were negative for the virus to have maculopapular rash (44% vs. 12%, P=0.02), conjunctival involvement (58% vs. 13%, P=0.002), and lymphadenopathy (40% vs. 7%, P=0.02). Fetal ultrasonography was performed in 42 ZIKV-positive women (58%) and in all ZIKV-negative women. Fetal abnormalities were detected by Doppler ultrasonography in 12 of the 42 ZIKV-positive women (29%) and in none of the 16 ZIKV-negative women. Adverse findings included fetal deaths at 36 and 38 weeks of gestation (2 fetuses), in utero growth restriction with or without microcephaly (5 fetuses), ventricular calcifications or other central nervous system (CNS) lesions (7 fetuses), and abnormal amniotic fluid volume or cerebral or umbilical artery flow (7 fetuses). To date, 8 of the 42 women in whom fetal ultrasonography was performed have delivered their babies, and the ultrasonographic findings have been confirmed. CONCLUSIONS Despite mild clinical symptoms, ZIKV infection during pregnancy appears to be associated with grave outcomes, including fetal death, placental insufficiency, fetal growth restriction, and CNS injury

The ongoing COVID-19 epidemic in Minas Gerais, Brazil: insights from epidemiological data and SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing

The recent emergence of a coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has had major public health and economic consequences. Although 61,888 confirmed cases were reported in Brazil by 28 April 2020, little is known about the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in this country. To better understand the recent epidemic in the second most populous state in southeast Brazil - Minas Gerais (MG) - we sequenced 40 complete SARS-CoV-2 genomes from MG cases and examined epidemiological data from three Brazilian states. Both the genome analyses and the geographical distribution of reported cases indicate for multiple independent introductions into MG. Epidemiological estimates of the reproductive number (R) using different data sources and theoretical assumptions suggest the potential for sustained virus transmission despite a reduction in R from the first reported case to the end of April 2020. The estimated date of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Brazil was consistent with epidemiological data from the first case of a returned traveller from Lombardy, Italy. These findings highlight the nature of the COVID-19 epidemic in MG and reinforce the need for real-time and continued genomic surveillance strategies to better understand and prepare for the epidemic spread of emerging viral pathogens