AUTHOR=Yadav Pragya D. , Kaur Harmanmeet , Gupta Nivedita , Sahay Rima R. , Sapkal Gajanan N. , Shete Anita M. , Deshpande Gururaj R. , Mohandas Sreelekshmy , Majumdar Triparna , Patil Savita , Pandit Priyanka , Kumar Abhinendra , Nyayanit Dimpal A. , Sreelatha K. H. , Manjusree S. , Sami Hiba , Khan Haris Mazoor , Malhotra Anuradha , Dhingra Kanwardeep , Gadepalli Ravisekhar , Sudha Rani V. , Singh Manoj Kumar , Joshi Yash , Dudhmal Manisha , Duggal Nandini , Chabbra Mala , Dar Lalit , Gawande Pranita , Yemul Jyoti , Kalele Kaumudi , Arjun Rajalakshmi , Nagamani K. , Borkakoty Biswa , Sahoo Ganesh , Praharaj Ira , Dutta Shanta , Barde Pradip , Jaryal S. C. , Rawat Vinita 

TITLE=Zika a Vector Borne Disease Detected in Newer States of India Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.888195

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.888195

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>During the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, outbreaks of Zika were reported from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, India in 2021. The Dengue and Chikungunya negative samples were retrospectively screened to determine the presence of the Zika virus from different geographical regions of India.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>During May to October 2021, the clinical samples of 1475 patients, across 13 states and a union territory of India were screened and re-tested for Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika by CDC Trioplex Real time RT-PCR. The Zika rRTPCR positive samples were further screened with anti-Zika IgM and Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test. Next generation sequencing was used for further molecular characterization.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The positivity was observed for Zika (67), Dengue (121), and Chikungunya (10) amongst screened cases. The co-infections of Dengue/Chikungunya, Dengue/Zika, and Dengue/Chikungunya/Zika were also observed. All Zika cases were symptomatic with fever (84%) and rash (78%) as major presenting symptoms. Of them, four patients had respiratory distress, one presented with seizures, and one with suspected microcephaly at birth. The Asian Lineage of Zika and all four serotypes of Dengue were found in circulation.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Our study indicates the spread of the Zika virus to several states of India and an urgent need to strengthen its surveillance.</p></sec>