Zika Virus Outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Clinical Characterization, Epidemiological and Virological Aspects.
Patricia BrasilGuilherme Amaral CalvetAndré Machado SiqueiraMayumi WakimotoPatrícia Carvalho de SequeiraAline NobreMarcel de Souza Borges QuintanaMarco Cesar Lima de MendonçaOtilia LupiRogerio Valls de SouzaCarolina RomeroHeruza ZogbiClarisse da Silveira BressanSimone Sampaio AlvesRicardo Lourenço-de-OliveiraRita Maria Ribeiro NogueiraMarilia Sá CarvalhoAna Maria Bispo de FilippisThomas JaenischPublished in: PLoS neglected tropical diseases (2016)
This is the first report of a ZIKV outbreak in the state of Rio de Janeiro, based on a large number of suspected (n = 364) and laboratory confirmed cases (n = 119). We were able to demonstrate that ZIKV was circulating in Rio de Janeiro as early as January 2015. The peak of the outbreak was documented in May/June 2015. More than half of the patients reported headache, arthralgia, myalgia, non-purulent conjunctivitis, and lower back pain, consistent with the case definition of suspected ZIKV disease issued by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). However, fever, when present, was low-intensity and short-termed. In our opinion, pruritus, the second most common clinical sign presented by the confirmed cases, should be added to the PAHO case definition, while fever could be given less emphasis. The emergence of ZIKV as a new pathogen for Brazil in 2015 underscores the need for clinical vigilance and strong epidemiological and laboratory surveillance.