Zika: Development of a type specific Zika virus antibody assay for use in Brazil

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

The emergence and rapid spread of Zika virus (ZIKV) in Latin America, with possible links to
Guillain Barré Syndrome (GBS) and clusters of microcephaly has led WHO to announce a
Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 1st February 2016 (1, 3, 7.). Currently,
diagnosis of acute disease is largely based on virus genome detection. There are no reliable
serological assays which can be used to assess exposure, and therefore contribute to risk
assessment for individual pregnant women or population susceptibility, highlighting the
urgent clinical and public health need to develop a highly specific serological assay for ZIKV.
Affordable and reliable serological tools that can be produced locally, at scale and used
outside reference laboratories, must be part of a rapid emergency response to a newly
emerging infection. Flavivirus serology is notoriously challenging because of antigenic cross
reactivity between different flaviviruses including Dengue 1 to 4 which have circulated widely
in South America in the last 20 years. We intend primarily to develop an enzyme
immunoassay (EIA) for the detection of anti-ZIKV IgG in a competitive format using native
viral antigens, a methodology optimal for distinguishing serological responses to very closelyrelated
viruses. Our direct links, exchange programmes and longstanding relationships with
public health and transfusion centres in Brazil enable us to directly implement local field
assessments and embed a local production capability in country, working through existing
collaborations at the heart of the Brazilian public health system.