Zika virus belongs to the family Flaviviridae as do other viruses like Dengue, West Nile and Yellow Fever. They are arboviruses transmitted by the Aedes species of mosquito. Zika virus was first isolated in rhesus monkeys in Uganda in 1947. Human infections of the virus were found between the 1960s and 1980s in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. The similarity in clinical presentation in Zika-infected patients compared with Dengue caused infections to be previously misdiagnosed as Dengue infection. The Zika virus pandemic in 2015 created a lot of concern globally because of little information about available techniques, samples as well as no available antiviral and vaccines for treatment and vaccination against infection. In addition, the vectors identified for transmission, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, were of great concern due to their ability to survive both temperate and tropical climatic conditions, hence indicating the possible global spread of Zika virus infection. Almost two years after the report of infection in pregnant women in Brazil resulting in microcephalic babies, Zika virus was identified as a public health problem. Thus, a lot of research into early detection and prevention has been conducted to control the spread of the virus. This review paper highlights available information on techniques currently available for diagnosis of infection caused by Zika virus.
