RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Diagnostic requests for both Zika virus (ZIKV) and dengue virus (DENV) infections in returning travelers have significantly increased during the recent ZIKV outbreak in the Americás. These flaviviruses have overlapping clinical syndromes and geographical distribution, but diagnostic differentiation is important because of different clinical consequences. As flaviviruses are known to have a short viremic period, diagnostics often rely on serological methods, which are challenging due to extensive cross-reactive antibodies. OBJECTIVE: To re-evaluate the performance of DENV serological assays in laboratory confirmed ZIKV-infected travelers. STUDY DESIGN: The extent of cross-reactivity of the DENV NS1 antigen, IgM and IgG ELISA was analyzed in 152 clinical blood samples collected from 69 qRT-PCR and 24 virus neutralization titer (VNT) confirmed ZIKV-infected travelers. RESULTS: The majority of travelers in the presented cohort returned to the Netherlands from Suriname and presented with symptoms of fever and rash. Twenty-three percent of the female travelers were pregnant. None of the 39 ZIKV RNA positive blood samples were cross-reactive in the DENV NS1 antigen ELISA. The rates of cross-reactivity of the DENV IgM and IgG ELISÁs were 31% and 54%, respectively, after excluding travelers with (potential) previous DENV exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Although the DENV NS1 antigen assay was highly specific in this cohort of laboratory confirmed ZIKV-infected travelers, we demonstrate high percentages of cross-reactivity of DENV IgM and IgG ELISÁs of which diagnostic laboratories should be aware. In addition, the high rate of DENV IgG background of >25% complicates a proper serological diagnosis in this group.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais/sangue , Vírus da Dengue/imunologia , Vírus da Dengue/isolamento & purificação , Dengue/diagnóstico , Doença Relacionada a Viagens , Infecção por Zika virus/diagnóstico , Zika virus/imunologia , Adulto , Estudos de Coortes , Reações Cruzadas , Dengue/virologia , Vírus da Dengue/genética , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática/métodos , Feminino , Humanos , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Imunoglobulina M/sangue , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Países Baixos , RNA Viral/sangue , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo Real , Testes Sorológicos , Suriname , Proteínas não Estruturais Virais/sangue , Proteínas não Estruturais Virais/imunologia , Zika virus/genética , Zika virus/isolamento & purificação , Infecção por Zika virus/virologiaRESUMO
PURPOSE: We report 18 cases of confirmed Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in travellers returning to the Netherlands from Surinam (South America, bordering northern Brazil) and the Dominican Republic. METHODS: In a multi-centre study, we collected epidemiological, virological and clinical characteristics, as well as data on travel history, underlying illness and laboratory results of the 18 imported ZIKV infection cases using a standardised form. RESULTS: Most cases had a self-limiting course of disease, two patients developed complications, one had Guillain-Barré and another had severe thrombocytopenia. Four patients had underlying illness. One of the reported cases was pregnant. Three of 13 patients tested had a weak-positive result for dengue IgM. The majority of patients were born in Suriname and/or visiting friends and relatives (VFR). CONCLUSIONS: Providing pre-travel advice among travellers, especially VFR travellers, is needed to enhance the use of preventive measures against ZIKV infection. Further evidence on health risks associated with ZIKV infection is urgently needed.