Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil

ABSTRACT Zika virus (ZIKV) is now considered an emerging flavivirosis, with a first large outbreak registered in the Yap Islands in 2007. In 2013, a new outbreak was reported in the French Polynesia, with associated cases of neurological complications including Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). The inc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lucas Masiêro Araujo, Maria Lucia Brito Ferreira, Osvaldo JM Nascimento
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO) 2016-03-01
Series:Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
Subjects:
SGB
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2016000300013&lng=en&tlng=en
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT Zika virus (ZIKV) is now considered an emerging flavivirosis, with a first large outbreak registered in the Yap Islands in 2007. In 2013, a new outbreak was reported in the French Polynesia, with associated cases of neurological complications including Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). The incidence of GBS has increased in Brazil since 2015, what is speculated to be secondary to the ZIKV infection outbreak. The gold-standard test for detection of acute ZIKV infection is the polymerase-chain reaction technique, an essay largely unavailable in Brazil. The diagnosis of GBS is feasible even in resource-limited areas using the criteria proposed by the GBS Classification Group, which is based solely on clinical grounds. Further understanding on the relationship of ZIKV with neurological complications is a research urgency.
ISSN:1678-4227