Study protocol for the multicentre cohorts of Zika virus infection in pregnant women, infants, and acute clinical cases in Latin America and the Caribbean: the ZIKAlliance consortium

Specimen sharing for epidemic preparedness: Building a virtual biorepository system from local governance to global partnerships

We present a framework for a federated, virtual biorepository system (VBS) with locally collected and managed specimens, as a 'global public good' model based on principles of equitable access and benefit sharing. The VBS is intended to facilitate timely access to biological specimens and associated data for outbreak-prone infectious diseases to accelerate the development and evaluation of diagnostics, assess vaccine efficacy, and to support surveillance and research needs. The VBS is aimed to be aligned with the WHO BioHub and other specimen sharing efforts as a force multiplier to meet the needs of strengthening global tools for countering epidemics. The purpose of our initial research is to lay the basis of the collaboration, management and principles of equitable sharing focused on low- and middle-income country partners. Here we report on surveys and interviews undertaken with biorepository-interested parties to better understand needs and barriers for specimen access and share examples from the ZIKAlliance partnership on the governance and operations of locally organized biorepositories.

Heterogeneity of Zika virus exposure and outcome ascertainment across cohorts of pregnant women, their infants and their children: a metadata survey

OBJECTIVES

To support the Zika virus (ZIKV) Individual Participant Data (IPD) Consortium's efforts to harmonise and analyse IPD from ZIKV-related prospective cohort studies and surveillance-based studies of pregnant women and their infants and children; we developed and disseminated a metadata survey among ZIKV-IPD Meta-Analysis (MA) study participants to identify and provide a comprehensive overview of study-level heterogeneity in exposure, outcome and covariate ascertainment and definitions.

SETTING

Cohort and surveillance studies that measured ZIKV infection during pregnancy or at birth and measured fetal, infant, or child outcomes were identified through a systematic search and consultations with ZIKV researchers and Ministries of Health from 20 countries or territories.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifty-four cohort or active surveillance studies shared deidentified data for the IPD-MA and completed the metadata survey, representing 33 061 women (11 020 with ZIKV) and 18 281 children.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Study-level heterogeneity in exposure, outcome and covariate ascertainment and definitions.

RESULTS

Median study sample size was 268 (IQR=100, 698). Inclusion criteria, follow-up procedures and exposure and outcome ascertainment were highly heterogenous, differing meaningfully across regions and multisite studies. Enrolment duration and follow-up for children after birth varied before and after the declaration of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and according to the type of funding received.

CONCLUSION

This work highlights the logistic and statistical challenges that must be addressed to account for the multiple sources of within-study and between-study heterogeneity when conducting IPD-MAs of data collected in the research response to emergent pathogens like ZIKV.

Visualization of scientific collaboration and themes for arbovirus disease in the caribbean: A forty-year trend analysis with focus on dengue, Zika and Chikungunya

BACKGROUND

The (re-)emergence of arboviruses in the Caribbean, and worldwide, is a major public health issue of concern to all scientific research stakeholders. This study aimed to use bibliometric analysis to identify the contribution of Caribbean countries to scientific production regarding the three arboviruses with the greatest impact, namely zika, chikungunya and dengue.

METHOD

Bibliographic data related to arbovirus diseases were collected from three international databases (Web of Science, Pubmed, and Scopus), filtered by Caribbean islands of affiliation. VosViewer was used to identify scientific connections between countries or institutions and to identify research themes.

RESULTS

The dataset comprised 1332 indexed articles, with 50% of articles categorized in the top quartile of quality. Cuba was found to lead research on dengue, with a total of 300 articles, and 18 international connections. The USA-Puerto Rico duo was found to be the leader on emerging arboviruses (Zika and Chikungunya), followed by a predominantly French-language cluster (mainland France, Guadeloupe, Martinique). Key research topics were related to clinical presentations, epidemiology, and research on mosquito-borne viruses CONCLUSIONS: Co-authorship network analysis on emerging arboviruses revealed the dynamics of collaboration, and provides insights into Caribbean collaborations that deserve to be created and consolidated in case of resurgence of new arbovirus epidemics.

An initiative of cooperation in Zika virus research: the experience of the ZIKABRA study in Brazil

BACKGROUND

The Zika virus outbreak has triggered a set of local and global actions for a rapid, effective, and timely public health response. A World Health Organization (WHO) initiative, supported by the Department of Chronic Condition Diseases and Sexually Transmitted Infections (DCCI) of the Health Surveillance Secretariat (SVS), Brazil Ministry of Health (MoH) and other public health funders, resulted in the start of the "Study on the persistence of Zika virus in body fluids of patients with ZIKV infection in Brazil - ZIKABRA study". The ZIKABRA study was designed to increase understanding of how long ZIKV persists in bodily fluids and informing best measures to prevent its transmission. Data collection began in July 2017 and the last follow up visit occurred in 06/26/2020.

METHODS

A framework for the ZIKABRA Cooperation initiative is provided through a description and analysis of the mechanisms, strategies and the ethos that have guided the models of international governance and technical cooperation in health for scientific exchange in the context of a public health emergency. Among the methodological strategies, we included a review of the legal documents that supported the ZIKABRA Cooperation; weekly documents produced in the meetings and working sessions; technical reports; memorandum of understanding and the research protocol.

CONCLUSION

We highlight the importance of working in cooperation between different institutional actors to achieve more significant results than that obtained by each group working in isolation. In addition, we point out the advantages of training activities, ongoing supervision, the construction of local installed research capacity, training academic and non-academic human resources, improvement of laboratory equipment, knowledge transfer and the availability of the ZIKABRA study protocol for development of similar studies, favoring the collective construction of knowledge to provide public health emergency responses. Strategy harmonization; human resources and health services; timing and recruiting particularities and processing institutional clearance in the different sites can be mentioned as challenges in this type of initiative.

Pregnant Women Infected with Zika Virus Show Higher Viral Load and Immunoregulatory Cytokines Profile with CXCL10 Increase

BACKGROUND

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy usually shows only mild symptoms and is frequently subclinical. However, it can be vertically transmitted to the fetus, causing microcephaly and other congenital defects. During pregnancy, the immune environment modifications can alter the response to viruses in general and ZIKV in particular.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the role of pregnancy in the systemic pro- and anti-inflammatory response during symptomatic ZIKV infection.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A multiplex assay was used to measure 25 cytokines, chemokines, and receptors in 110 serum samples from pregnant and nonpregnant women with and without ZIKV infection with and without symptoms. Samples were collected through an epidemiological surveillance system.

RESULTS

Samples from pregnant women with ZIKV infection showed a higher viral load but had similar profiles of inflammatory markers as compared with nonpregnant infected women, except for CXCL10 that was higher in infected pregnant women. Notably, the presence of ZIKV in pregnancy favored a regulatory profile by significantly increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-10, receptors IL-1RA, and IL-2R, but only those pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ and IL-17 that are essential for the antiviral response. Interestingly, there were no differences between symptomatic and weakly symptomatic ZIKV-infected groups.

CONCLUSION

Our results revealed a systemic anti-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine profile that could participate in the control of the virus. The anti-inflammatory response in pregnant women infected with ZIKA was characterized by high CXCL10, a cytokine that has been correlated with congenital malformations.

Zika virus infection in pregnancy: a protocol for the joint analysis of the prospective cohort studies of the ZIKAlliance, ZikaPLAN and ZIKAction consortia

INTRODUCTION

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnancy has been associated with microcephaly and severe neurological damage to the fetus. Our aim is to document the risks of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes and the prevalence of laboratory markers of congenital infection in deliveries to women experiencing ZIKV infection during pregnancy, using data from European Commission-funded prospective cohort studies in 20 centres in 11 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will carry out a centre-by-centre analysis of the risks of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, comparing women with confirmed and suspected ZIKV infection in pregnancy to those with no evidence of infection in pregnancy. We will document the proportion of deliveries in which laboratory markers of congenital infection were present. Finally, we will investigate the associations of trimester of maternal infection in pregnancy, presence or absence of maternal symptoms of acute ZIKV infection and previous flavivirus infections with adverse outcomes and with markers of congenital infection. Centre-specific estimates will be pooled using a two-stage approach.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval was obtained at each centre. Findings will be presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed open access journals and discussed with local public health officials and representatives of the national Ministries of Health, Pan American Health Organization and WHO involved with ZIKV prevention and control activities.

Zika virus RNA and IgM persistence in blood compartments and body fluids: a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND

Characterisation of the dynamics of Zika virus persistence following acute infection is needed to inform blood donor and diagnostic testing policies and understand the natural history of Zika virus infection. We aimed to characterise the natural history, persistence, and clinical outcomes of Zika virus infection through a prospective study in initially asymptomatic Zika virus RNA-positive blood donors.

METHODS

Zika virus-infected blood donors identified through Zika virus nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) screening at three blood collection organisations in the USA were enrolled into a 1-year follow-up study, with blood and body fluid samples and detailed symptom data collected at up to seven visits. All samples were tested for Zika virus RNA by real-time PCR (rtPCR); follow-up plasma, whole blood, and urine were also tested by replicate NAAT. Plasma was tested for flavivirus-specific IgM and IgG by ELISA. Zika virus RNA persistence for each assay or sample type and plasma antibody persistence from estimated date of plasma NAAT-detectable infection were calculated from follow-up data using survival statistical methods.

FINDINGS

Between July 6, 2016 and March 7, 2017, we enrolled 53 participants. From the estimated date of plasma NAAT-detectable infection, Zika virus RNA was detectable in plasma for 9·9 days (95% CI 8·1-12·0), in red blood cells for 95·4 days (62·8-129·1), and in whole blood for 73·5 days (39·8-107·5). Replicate NAATs (one or more of eight replicates positive) extended detection of Zika virus RNA in plasma to 34·8 days (19·9-56·2) and in whole blood (at least one of two tests positive) to 104·8 days (76·7-129·9). Urine was rtPCR reactive up to 14·5 days (10·5-20·3) and saliva up to 26·4 days (19·7-38·7). Zika virus IgM persisted for 237·7 days (128·7-459·5) from estimated time since plasma NAAT-detectable infection. Zika virus RNA fell below detectable limits more rapidly in the saliva of participants with pre-existing dengue virus IgG than in those without. Of 25 donors identified pre-seroconversion with symptom data at the first or second study visit, 16 (64%) developed multiple Zika virus-related symptoms after asymptomatic index donations, compared with nine (36%) of 25 donors detected after seroconversion.

INTERPRETATION

Determination of viral marker persistence is enhanced by follow-up of blood donors who are pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic, Zika virus RNA-positive, and antibody negative. Zika virus RNA persists in red blood cells for several months following clearance from plasma and body fluids, and replicate, highly sensitive NAATs extend RNA detection in all compartments. Whole blood testing can extend detection of acute infection for diagnostics and monitoring of pregnant women, sexual partners, and travellers.

FUNDING

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

Cohort profile: congenital Zika virus infection and child neurodevelopmental outcomes in the ZEN cohort study in Colombia

Zika en Embarazadas y Niños (ZEN) is a prospective cohort study designed to identify risk factors and modifiers for Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnant women, partners, and infants, as well as to assess the risk for adverse maternal, fetal, infant, and childhood outcomes of ZIKV and other congenital infections. ZIKV infection during pregnancy may be associated with long-term sequelae. In the ZEN cohort, 1,519 pregnant women and 287 partners were enrolled from 3 departments within Colombia between February 2017 and January 2018, as well as 1,108 infants born to the pregnant women who were followed to 6 months. The data include baseline questionnaires at enrollment; repeated symptoms and study follow-up questionnaires; the results of lab tests to detect ZIKV and other congenital infections; medical record abstractions; infant physical, eye, and hearing exams; and developmental screening tests. Follow-up of 850 mother-child dyads occurred at 9 months, 12 months, and 18 months with developmental screenings, physical exams, and parent questionnaires. The data will be pooled with those from other prospective cohort studies for an individual participant data meta-analysis of ZIKV infection during pregnancy to characterize pregnancy outcomes and sequelae in children.