Asian Genotype Zika Virus Detected in Traveler Returning to Mexico from Colombia, October 2015

Abstract

Zika virus is an emerging arbovirus spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and belongs to the genus Flavivirus of the Spondweni serocomplex (1,2). Most often, signs and symptoms of infection are maculopapular rash, fever, arthralgia, myalgia, headache, and conjunctivitis; edema, sore throat, cough, and vomiting occur less frequently.

Zika virus is an RNA virus containing 10,794 nt, and diagnostic tests include PCRs on acute-phase serum samples to detect viral RNA (1). The genome contains 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions flanking a single open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a polyprotein that is cleaved into the structural proteins capsid (C), premembrane/membrane (prM), and envelope (E), and 8 non-structural proteins (NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, 2K, NS4B, and NS5) (3). Genetic studies in which I used nucleotide sequences derived from the NS5 gene indicated 3 Zika virus lineages: East African, West African, and Asian (4,5).