Zika virus: advancing a priority research agenda for preparedness and response

Eve M Lackritz; Lee-Ching Ng; Ernesto T A Marques; Ingrid B Rabe; Nigel Bourne; J Erin Staples; Jairo A Méndez-Rico; Eva Harris; Aaron C Brault; Albert I Ko; David W C Beasley; Tabitha Leighton; Annelies Wilder-Smith; Julia T Ostrowsky; Angela J Mehr; Angela K Ulrich; Raman Velayudhan; Josephine P Golding; Petra C Fay; Ana Cehovin; Nicolina M Moua; Kristine A Moore; Michael T Osterholm; Alan D T Barrett; Zika Expert Workgroup

doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00794-1

Zika virus: advancing a priority research agenda for preparedness and response

Lancet Infect Dis. 2025 Feb 27:S1473-3099(24)00794-1. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00794-1. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Eve M Lackritz¹, Lee-Ching Ng², Ernesto T A Marques³, Ingrid B Rabe⁴, Nigel Bourne⁵, J Erin Staples⁶, Jairo A Méndez-Rico⁷, Eva Harris⁸, Aaron C Brault⁶, Albert I Ko⁹, David W C Beasley¹⁰, Tabitha Leighton¹¹, Annelies Wilder-Smith⁴, Julia T Ostrowsky¹¹, Angela J Mehr¹¹, Angela K Ulrich¹¹, Raman Velayudhan⁴, Josephine P Golding¹², Petra C Fay¹², Ana Cehovin¹², Nicolina M Moua¹¹, Kristine A Moore¹¹, Michael T Osterholm¹¹, Alan D T Barrett¹³; Zika Expert Workgroup

Collaborators

Zika Expert Workgroup:
Kristina M Adams Waldorf¹⁴, Alan D T Barrett¹⁴, David W C Beasley¹⁴, Joseph Y B Bennie¹⁵, Nigel Bourne¹⁴, Aaron C Brault¹⁴, Ana Cehovin¹⁶, Christiane Coelho¹⁷, Michael S Diamond¹⁴, Devy Emperador¹⁸, Nuno R Faria¹⁶, Petra C Fay¹⁶, Josephine P Golding¹⁶, Eva Harris¹⁴, Nagwa Hasanin¹⁹, Thomas Jaenisch¹⁴, Albert I Ko¹⁴, Eve M Lackritz¹⁴, Tabitha Leighton¹⁴, Yee-Sin Leo²⁰, Angela J Mehr¹⁴, Ziad A Memish²¹, Jairo A Méndez-Rico¹⁴, Kristine A Moore¹⁴, Manuela Mura²², Lee-Ching Ng²⁰, Michael T Osterholm¹⁴, Julia T Ostrowsky¹⁴, Rosanna W Peeling¹⁶, Ingrid B Rabe¹⁸, Henrik Salje¹⁶, J Erin Staples¹⁴, Stephen J Thomas¹⁴, Angela K Ulrich¹⁴, Jessica Vanhomwegen²³, Jurai Wongsawat²⁴

Affiliations

¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Electronic address: lackritz@umn.edu.
² National Environment Agency, Environmental Health Institute, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
³ Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Virology and Experimental Therapeutics, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife, Brazil.
⁴ World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁶ Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
⁷ Pan American Health Organization, WHO Region of the Americas, Washington, DC, USA.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁹ Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife, Brazil; Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA; Ministry of Health, Salvador, Brazil.
¹⁰ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
¹¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
¹² Infectious Disease Strategic Programme, Wellcome Trust, London, UK.
¹³ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
¹⁴ USA.
¹⁵ Ghana.
¹⁶ UK.
¹⁷ Brazil.
¹⁸ Switzerland.
¹⁹ Denmark.
²⁰ Singapore.
²¹ Saudi Arabia.
²² The Netherlands.
²³ France.
²⁴ Thailand.

PMID: 40024263
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00794-1

Abstract

The 2015-16 Zika virus epidemic emerged in the Americas and rapidly spread throughout the region and beyond, showing the epidemic potential of this mosquito-borne Orthoflavivirus and its capacity to cause severe congenital malformations and neurological sequelae. WHO declared the Zika virus epidemic a public health emergency of international concern in 2016. Despite this declaration, there are no licensed Zika virus vaccines, therapeutics, or diagnostic tests appropriate for routine antenatal screening. To address this absence of essential tools to detect and mitigate the threat of future Zika virus outbreaks, a group of global experts developed a priority agenda for Zika virus research and development. This Series paper summarises crucial challenges and knowledge gaps and outlines a comprehensive strategy to advance research, surveillance, global capacity, policy, and investment for Zika virus preparedness and response.

Publication types

Review