Prospective Zika virus disease cohort: systematic screening
Abstract
In December, 2015, the fi rst imported
case of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection
was diagnosed in French Guiana in a
group of 136 travellers returning from
Suriname. No autochthonous cases
had been detected in French Guiana
at that time. To prevent secondary
cases, we systematically screened co travellers 1, 10, and 30 days after their
return (clinical examination, urine
samples, and blood samples). One case
of ZIKV infection was confi rmed when
viral RNA was detected by real-time
PCR (rtPCR) in blood or urine or when
ZIKV IgM antibodies and neutralising
antibodies were found in serum.
Malaria was excluded by thin and thick
blood smears; dengue and chikungunya
were excluded by blood rtPCR.
Ten patients were positive for
ZIKV in urine, and only two were
also positive in serum (appendix).
The median time between onset of
symptoms and the earliest ZIKV RNA