Zika virus, a novel mosquito-borne congenital virus infection

Excerpt

Throughout human history of infectious diseases, we have encountered a myriad of novel infectious diseases that have challenged our scientific and health-care responses. Early success with vaccine preventable diseases like small pox, measles, and polio virus support our ability to prevent and sometimes eradicate human-dependent transmission of important viral infectious diseases. Subsequent emergence of non-vaccine preventable virus infections that depend on human sexual transmission such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have challenged our ability to develop a response to control an epidemic using therapeutic approaches instead of vaccines. The advent and development of antiretroviral therapies (ART) for HIV have dramatically changed our approach to treating viral infections. Currently, we treat HIV-infected patients as a chronic disease for the lifetime of a patient. While the outcomes for HIV have dramatically improved with ART, a cure or vaccine for HIV remains important priorities. …