Unexpected and Rapid Spread of Zika Virus in The Americas - Implications for Public Health Preparedness for Mass Gatherings at the 2016 Brazil Olympic Games

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Int J Infect Dis. 2016 Feb 4. pii: S1201-9712(16)00021-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2016.02.001. [Epub ahead of print]

Unexpected and Rapid Spread of Zika Virus in The Americas - Implications for Public Health Preparedness for Mass Gatherings at the 2016 Brazil Olympic Games

Petersen E¹, Wilson ME², Touch S³, McCloskey B⁴, Mwaba P⁵, Bates M⁵, Dar O⁴, Mattes F⁶, Kidd M⁶, Ippolito G⁷, Azhar EI⁸, Zumla A⁹.

Author information

¹The Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman, and Insititute of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. Electronic address: eskildp@dadlnet.dk.
²School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
³Communicable Disease Control Department, Ministry of Health, Cambodia.
⁴Global Health Department, Public Health England, London, United Kingdom.
⁵UNZA-UCLMS Project, University Teaching Hospital, and Ministry of Health, Lusaka, Zambia.
⁶Dept of Virology, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
⁷National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani, Rome, Italy.
⁸Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Centre, and Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
⁹Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Centre, and Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract below; full text is at http://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(16)00021-7/fulltext

Mass gatherings at major international sporting events put millions of international travelers and local host-country residents at risk of acquiring infectious diseases, including locally endemic infectious diseases. The mosquito-borne Zika virus (ZIKV) has recently aroused global attention due to its rapid spread since its first detection in May 2015 in Brazil to 22 other countries and other territories in the Americas. The ZIKV outbreak in Brazil, has also been associated with a significant rise in the number of babies born with microcephaly and neurological disorders, and has been declared a ´Global Emergency by the World Health Organization. This explosive spread of ZIKV in Brazil poses challenges for public health preparedness and surveillance for the Olympics and Paralympics which are due to be held in Rio De Janeiro in August, 2016. We review the epidemiology and clinical features of the current ZIKV outbreak in Brazil, highlight knowledge gaps, and review the public health implications of the current ZIKV outbreak in the Americas. We highlight the urgent need for a coordinated collaborative response for prevention and spread of infectious diseases with epidemic potential at mass gatherings events.