Molecular Evolution of Zika Virus during Its Emergence in the 20th Century

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus first isolated in Uganda in 1947. Although entomological and virologic surveillance have reported ZIKV enzootic activity in diverse countries of Africa and Asia, few human cases were reported until 2007, when a Zika fever epidemic took place in Micronesia. In the context of West Africa, the WHO Collaborating Centre for Arboviruses and Hemorrhagic Fever at Institut Pasteur of Dakar (http://www.pasteur.fr/recherche/banques/CRORA/) reports the periodic circulation of ZIKV since 1968. Despite several reports on ZIKV, the genetic relationships among viral strains from West Africa remain poorly understood. To evaluate the viral spread and its molecular epidemiology,…

• CM
  CancerCare Manitoba Foundation
• FD
  Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

  Awards: 10/19341-4, 00/04205-6
• CD
  Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
• CN
  Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
• NI
  National Institutes of Health