Potential for Zika virus transmission through blood transfusion demonstrated during an outbreak in French Polynesia, November 2013 to February 2014

Abstract

ZIKAV, an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) belonging to the family Flaviviridae and genus Flavivirus [5], was first isolated in 1947 from a monkey in the Zika forest, Uganda [6]. Sporadic human Zika fever cases have been reported since the 1960s [7]. The first documented outbreak outside Africa and Asia occurred in 2007 in the Yap State, Micronesia, in the North Pacific, where Zika fever was characterised by rash, conjunctivitis and arthralgia [8].

ZIKAV has been isolated from several Aedes mosquito species, notably including Ae. aegypti [9] and Ae. albopictus [10]. Ae. aegypti is widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world and Ae. albopictus is now established in many parts of Europe, especially Mediterranean countries [11]. Recent reports of imported cases of ZIKAV infection from south-east Asia or the Pacific to Europe [12] or Japan [13] highlight the risk of ZIKAV emergence in parts of the world where the vector is present.