Zika Virus: A Brief Overview

Zika Virus (ZIKV) belongs to Flaviviridae family and transmitted through mosquitoes (Aedes genus). The virus is enveloped, positive sense, nonsegmented RNA genome. The genome consists of seven non-structural and three structural proteins. The symptoms of ZIKV infection are muscle pain, joint pain, headache, pain behind the eyes and conjunctivitis. Infection during pregnancy might cause microcephaly in new born. Recently there were ZIKV outbreaks in several parts across the globe. Diagnosis of ZIKV is mainly conducted by RT-PCR and MAC-ELISA. The review is focused in highlighting few important aspects about its outbreak, pathogenesis, diagnosis and control.