Flaviviruses including Zika virus

Flaviviruses have dramatically impacted global health during the past several decades. Indeed, Flaviviruses epidemic potential has been attributed in part to the fast and poorly planned urbanization. The Flavivirus genera include more than 70 arthropod-borne viruses that are transmitted to humans mainly by tick or mosquito vector. Infections by these viruses can result in a spectrum of clinical presentations that range from asymptomatic and self-limiting disease to severe disease that includes encephalitis, paralysis, hepatic failure, hemorrhagic fever, or shock syndrome. Together Flaviviruses are responsible each year for more than 50 million human infections worldwide. In this chapter, we will give an overview of Flaviviruses with a focus on some of the common Flaviviruses that can cause human infections. These include yellow fever virus, West Nile fever virus, Saint Louis encephalitis virus, dengue virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, Usutu virus, and Zika virus.