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18 Dec 2015
Europe
No autochthonous cases of Zika virus infection have been reported in EU Member States so far in 2015. In the past month, one imported case was reported in the Netherlands in a traveller who returned from Suriname on 29 November 2015 after a 3-week holiday in that country.
Americas
Brazil
Autochthonous transmission of Zika virus infection has been reported in Brazil since April 2015. As of week 47/2015, 18 states in Brazil have reported locally-acquired cases [1].
Figure 1. States with laboratory-confirmed cases Zika virus disease, Brazil, 2015, as of 23 November 2015
Source: [1]
Other countries in the region
As of 17 December 2015, nine countries in the Americas, in addition to Brazil, report confirmed locally-acquired cases in 2015: Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Honduras and Venezuela [2,3].
Pacific region
Since the beginning of 2015, sporadic autochthonous cases have been reported in Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu [4]. New Zealand reported two imported cases from Samoa.
Africa
On 3 November 2015, the Cape Verdean Ministry of Health reported an outbreak with around 1 000 suspected cases [5]. Seventeen out of 64 blood samples that were sent for confirmation to the Pasteur Institute in Dakar were positive for Zika virus [6].
Figure 2. Countries with reported confirmed autochthonous cases of Zika virus infection in 2015, as of 17 December
Complications potentially linked to Zika virus infection
Microcephaly and central nervous system malformations Brazil
Possible links between Zika virus infection in pregnancy and microcephaly of the foetus have been under investigation in Brazil since October 2015 when the Brazilian Ministry of Health reported an unusual increase in cases of microcephaly following the Zika outbreak in the north-eastern states.
As of 12 December 2015, 2 401 suspected cases of microcephaly, including 29 deaths, have been notified in Brazil in 549 municipalities in 20 states. Of these 2 401 cases, 134 were confirmed as being related to Zika virus infection according to the applied case definition, 102 were discarded and 2 165 are still under investigation [7,8]. In week 49/2015, six new states reported suspected cases: Esp?rito Santo, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Par?, S?o Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul [8].
Table 1. Distribution of the number of suspected cases of microcephaly notified in Brazil in 2015, as of 17 December 2015 (n = 2 401)
*According to case definition reported in [7].
Guillain–Barr? syndrome
Investigations of an association with Zika virus infection and Guillain–Barr? syndrome (GBS) are ongoing in Brazil and French Polynesia following reports of co-occurrence of GBS cases during Zika outbreaks.
ECDC published its latest rapid risk assessment on 10 December, which includes information for travellers to areas with circulation of Zika virus: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publication...assessment.pdf
References
1. Minist?rio da Sa?de (Brazil). Monitoramento dos casos de dengue, febre de chikungunya e febre pelo v?rus Zika at? a Semana Epidemiol?gica 47, 2015. Vol. 46, N? 42, 2015. [Internet]. 2015. Available from: http://portalsaude.saude.gov.br/imag...se47-final.pdf.
2. Secretar?a de Estado en el Despacho de Salud. Communicado [Internet]. Tegucigalpa: Secretaria de Salud en Honduras; 2015 [cited 2015 Dec 17]. Available from: http://www.salud.gob.hn/.
3. World Health Organization. Disease Outbreak News: Zika virus infection – Suriname [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO); 2015 [updated 2015 Nov 13; cited 2015 Nov 13]. Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/don/13-november-2015-zika/en/.
4. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Zika virus epidemic in the Americas: potential association with microcephaly and Guillain-Barr? syndrome [Internet]. Stockholm: ECDC; 2015 [cited 2015 Dec 10]. Available from: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publication...assessment.pdf.
5. ProMED-mail. Zika virus - Suriname, Cape Verde [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2015 Nov 06]. Available from: http://www.promedmail.org/direct.php...151106.3770696.
6. Minist?rio da Sa?de (Capo Verde). Minist?rio da Sa?de confirma infec??o por V?rus Zika no concelho da Praia [Internet]. Santiago Island2015 [updated 2015 Nov 2; cited 2015 Nov 2]. Available from: http://www.minsaude.gov.cv/index.php...celho-da-praia.
7. Minist?rio da Sa?de (Brazil). Monitoramento dos casos de Microcefalias no Brasil, at? a semana epidemiol?gica 48, 2015. Boletim Epidemiol?gico da Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Vol. 46, N? 41, 2015. [Internet]. 2015. Available from: http://portalsaude.saude.gov.br/imag...e48-final2.pdf.
8. Centro de opera??es de emerg?ncias em sa?de p?blica sobre microcefalias. Monitoramento dos casos de microcefalias no brasil informe epidemiol?gico N? 04/2015 – semana epidemiol?gica 49 (06/12 a 12/12/2015) [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2015 Dec 5]. Available from: http://portalsaude.saude.gov.br/imag...2015---10h.pdf.
Europe
No autochthonous cases of Zika virus infection have been reported in EU Member States so far in 2015. In the past month, one imported case was reported in the Netherlands in a traveller who returned from Suriname on 29 November 2015 after a 3-week holiday in that country.
Americas
Brazil
Autochthonous transmission of Zika virus infection has been reported in Brazil since April 2015. As of week 47/2015, 18 states in Brazil have reported locally-acquired cases [1].
Figure 1. States with laboratory-confirmed cases Zika virus disease, Brazil, 2015, as of 23 November 2015
Source: [1]Other countries in the region
As of 17 December 2015, nine countries in the Americas, in addition to Brazil, report confirmed locally-acquired cases in 2015: Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Honduras and Venezuela [2,3].
Pacific region
Since the beginning of 2015, sporadic autochthonous cases have been reported in Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu [4]. New Zealand reported two imported cases from Samoa.
Africa
On 3 November 2015, the Cape Verdean Ministry of Health reported an outbreak with around 1 000 suspected cases [5]. Seventeen out of 64 blood samples that were sent for confirmation to the Pasteur Institute in Dakar were positive for Zika virus [6].
Figure 2. Countries with reported confirmed autochthonous cases of Zika virus infection in 2015, as of 17 December
Complications potentially linked to Zika virus infection
Microcephaly and central nervous system malformations Brazil
Possible links between Zika virus infection in pregnancy and microcephaly of the foetus have been under investigation in Brazil since October 2015 when the Brazilian Ministry of Health reported an unusual increase in cases of microcephaly following the Zika outbreak in the north-eastern states.
As of 12 December 2015, 2 401 suspected cases of microcephaly, including 29 deaths, have been notified in Brazil in 549 municipalities in 20 states. Of these 2 401 cases, 134 were confirmed as being related to Zika virus infection according to the applied case definition, 102 were discarded and 2 165 are still under investigation [7,8]. In week 49/2015, six new states reported suspected cases: Esp?rito Santo, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Par?, S?o Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul [8].
Table 1. Distribution of the number of suspected cases of microcephaly notified in Brazil in 2015, as of 17 December 2015 (n = 2 401)
| Pernambuco | 874 | 29 | 17 |
| Para?ba | 322 | 19 | 30 |
| Bahia | 316 | 0 | 0 |
| Alagoas | 107 | 0 | 0 |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 101 | 35 | 4 |
| Cear? | 79 | 0 | 0 |
| Mato Grosso | 72 | 0 | 0 |
| Rio de Janeiro | 57 | 0 | 0 |
| Maranh?o | 56 | 0 | 7 |
| Tocantins | 43 | 0 | 7 |
| Piau? | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| Minas Gerais | 33 | 0 | 2 |
| Sergipe | 33 | 51 | 34 |
| Esp?rito Santo | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| S?o Paulo | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Goi?s | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Par? | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Distrito Federal | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 165 | 134 | 102 |
Guillain–Barr? syndrome
Investigations of an association with Zika virus infection and Guillain–Barr? syndrome (GBS) are ongoing in Brazil and French Polynesia following reports of co-occurrence of GBS cases during Zika outbreaks.
ECDC published its latest rapid risk assessment on 10 December, which includes information for travellers to areas with circulation of Zika virus: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publication...assessment.pdf
References
1. Minist?rio da Sa?de (Brazil). Monitoramento dos casos de dengue, febre de chikungunya e febre pelo v?rus Zika at? a Semana Epidemiol?gica 47, 2015. Vol. 46, N? 42, 2015. [Internet]. 2015. Available from: http://portalsaude.saude.gov.br/imag...se47-final.pdf.
2. Secretar?a de Estado en el Despacho de Salud. Communicado [Internet]. Tegucigalpa: Secretaria de Salud en Honduras; 2015 [cited 2015 Dec 17]. Available from: http://www.salud.gob.hn/.
3. World Health Organization. Disease Outbreak News: Zika virus infection – Suriname [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO); 2015 [updated 2015 Nov 13; cited 2015 Nov 13]. Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/don/13-november-2015-zika/en/.
4. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Zika virus epidemic in the Americas: potential association with microcephaly and Guillain-Barr? syndrome [Internet]. Stockholm: ECDC; 2015 [cited 2015 Dec 10]. Available from: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publication...assessment.pdf.
5. ProMED-mail. Zika virus - Suriname, Cape Verde [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2015 Nov 06]. Available from: http://www.promedmail.org/direct.php...151106.3770696.
6. Minist?rio da Sa?de (Capo Verde). Minist?rio da Sa?de confirma infec??o por V?rus Zika no concelho da Praia [Internet]. Santiago Island2015 [updated 2015 Nov 2; cited 2015 Nov 2]. Available from: http://www.minsaude.gov.cv/index.php...celho-da-praia.
7. Minist?rio da Sa?de (Brazil). Monitoramento dos casos de Microcefalias no Brasil, at? a semana epidemiol?gica 48, 2015. Boletim Epidemiol?gico da Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Vol. 46, N? 41, 2015. [Internet]. 2015. Available from: http://portalsaude.saude.gov.br/imag...e48-final2.pdf.
8. Centro de opera??es de emerg?ncias em sa?de p?blica sobre microcefalias. Monitoramento dos casos de microcefalias no brasil informe epidemiol?gico N? 04/2015 – semana epidemiol?gica 49 (06/12 a 12/12/2015) [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2015 Dec 5]. Available from: http://portalsaude.saude.gov.br/imag...2015---10h.pdf.