Continuing development of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies against Zika virus

Abstract

The Zika virus (ZIKV) was brought to global attention in 2016 when scientists discovered that ZIKV infections were linked to microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) 1 , 2 , 3 . ZIKV infection during pregnancy was later appreciated to cause a range of other congenital malformations 4 , 5 , 6 . ZIKV infection is also linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuropathy, and myelitis in both children and adults. When an epidemic of ZIKV disease emerged in Brazil and other countries in the Americas between April 2015 and November 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared ZIKV infection a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. By 2018, ZIKV had been listed as a priority disease in WHO’s R&D Blueprint regarding preparedness for infectious disease outbreaks. The 2016 ZIKV epidemic catalyzed a global effort to develop vaccines and therapeutic treatments 7 , 8 . Despite the unprecedented speed of countermeasure development for ZIKV, the epidemic waned before efficacy could be evaluated in human clinical trials and there is currently no approved treatment or vaccine against ZIKV. Countermeasures that can prevent ZIKV infection and disease remain a public health priority, particularly for persons who can become pregnant and who live or travel in ZIKV-endemic regions.