Een wereldwijde alliantie voor het beheersen en voorkomen van Zika-virus. (ZIKAlliance)

ZIKAlliance is a multidisciplinary project with a global "One Health" approach, built: on a multi-centric network of clinical cohorts in the Caribbean, Central & South America; research sites in countries where the virus has been or is currently circulating (Africa, Asia, Polynesia) or at risk for emergence (Reunion Island); a strong network of European and Brazilian clinical & basic research institutions; and multiple interfaces with other scientific and public health programmes.

ZIKAlliance will addrees three key objectives relating to:

1. impact of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy and short & medium term effects on newborns
2. associated natural history of ZIKV infection in humans and their environment in the context of other circulating arboviruses
3. building the overall capacity for preparedness research for future epidemic threats in Latin America & the Caribbean

The project will take advantage of large standardised clinical cohorts of pregnant women and febrile patients in regions of Latin America and the Caribbean were the virus is circulating, expanding a preexisting network established by the IDAMS EU project. It will also benefit of a very strong expertise in basic and environmental sciences, with access to both field work and sophisticated technological infrastructures to characterise virus replication and physiopathology mechanisms.