Prospective Zika virus disease cohort: systematic screening

Abstract

In December, 2015, the fi rst imported case of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection was diagnosed in French Guiana in a group of 136 travellers returning from Suriname. No autochthonous cases had been detected in French Guiana at that time. To prevent secondary cases, we systematically screened co travellers 1, 10, and 30 days after their return (clinical examination, urine samples, and blood samples). One case of ZIKV infection was confi rmed when viral RNA was detected by real-time PCR (rtPCR) in blood or urine or when ZIKV IgM antibodies and neutralising antibodies were found in serum. Malaria was excluded by thin and thick blood smears; dengue and chikungunya were excluded by blood rtPCR. Ten patients were positive for ZIKV in urine, and only two were also positive in serum (appendix). The median time between onset of symptoms and the earliest ZIKV RNA