Zikavirus(ZIKV)infectioniscurrentlyanepidemicinthewesternhemisphere.ItisaWHO-declared ?PublicHealthEmergencyofInternationalConcern?sinceFebruary2016duetotheassociationofZIKV infection with microcephaly and other neurologic abnormalities in babies infected in utero and with Guillain-Barresyndromeininfectedadults.AnestimatedfourmillionZIKVinfectionshaveoccurredin the Americas in 2016 and over two billion people live in areas conducive to mosquito-borne transmissionofZIKVworldwide.Todate,autochthonousZIKVinfectionhasbeenreportedinover40 countriesinthewesternhemisphereincludingtheUSprotectorate,PuertoRico,andstateofFlorida. ThereisaclearneedforaccurateandpracticalmethodsofdetectingZIKVinfectionaswellasforthe developmentoftherapeuticagentsandvaccinestocombattheassociateddisease.DetectionofZIKV infectionishampered,however,bythecross-reactivityofanti-ZIKVantibodieswithotherarboviruses present in the same areas including DENV and CHIKV and visa-versa. Specifically, neutralization- based serodiagnostic tests (notably plaque-reduction neutralization tests, PRNT) cannot cleanly distinguish between seropositivity to different members of this set of arboviruses, perhaps because antibodiesdirectedatneutralizingepitopestendtobecross-reactive.Inthisapplicationwepropose an innovative and comprehensive method for discovering targets of non-cross-reactive antibodiestoemergingandestablishedarbovirusesandproposetobeginwithZIKVduetothe internationalpublichealthemergencycreatedbythisvirus.
Specific Detection of Antibodies to Emerging and Established Arboviruses Including Zika Virus Narrative Zika virus infection is currently an epidemic in the western hemisphere. The World Health Organization has declared it a ?Public Health Emergency of International Concern? due to the association of Zika virus infection with microcephaly in babies and with Guillain-Barre syndrome in adults. An estimated four million Zika virus infections have occurred in the Americas in 2016 and over two billion people live in areas conducive to mosquito-borne transmission of Zika virus worldwide. Indigenous Zika virus infection has been reported in over 40 countries in the western hemisphere including the US protectorate of Puerto Rico and state of Florida. There is a clear need for accurate and practical methods of detecting Zika virus infection as well as for the development of therapeutic agents and vaccines to combat the associated disease. Detection of Zika virus infection is hampered, however, by the cross-reactivity of anti-Zika virus antibodies with other viruses present in the same areas including dengue virus and chikungunya virus. In this application we propose an innovative and comprehensive method for specifically detecting Zika virus infection, an important step in combatting this international health emergency.
