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Volume 20, Number 11—November 2014
Letter

Zika Virus, French Polynesia, South Pacific, 2013

Cite This Article

To the Editor: We wish to clarify an inaccuracy in a letter in Emerging Infectious Diseases by Cao-Lormeau et al. (1). The authors state “In 2007, the first ZIKV outbreak reported outside Africa and Asia was retrospectively documented from biological samples from patients on Yap Island, Federated States of Micronesia, North Pacific, who had received an incorrect diagnosis of dengue virus (DENV).” Although the first outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection reported outside Africa or Asia was in Yap, it was not retrospectively identified from serum samples incorrectly diagnosed as positive for dengue virus. The outbreak was first identified by the Yap State Department of Health Services, and an investigation to determine the etiologic agent was initiated.

Although dengue was initially part of the differential diagnosis, and a few patients had evidence of IgM against dengue virus by a rapid diagnostic test, clinicians in Yap believed that the clinical syndrome was not consistent with dengue. Thus, assistance was requested from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to strengthen the epidemiologic investigation and provide confirmatory laboratory testing.

Serum samples collected during the active investigation were sent to the Arboviral Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where testing determined that the cause of the infections was ZIKV (2). This discovery of ZIKV as the etiologic agent was not achieved through retrospective testing of serum from patients incorrectly diagnosed as having dengue, but rather the result of an active, coordinated investigation by the Yap State Department of Health Services with instrumental assistance from international partners.

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W. Thane HancockComments to Author , Maria Marfel, and Martin Bel
Author affiliations: Yap State Department of Health Services, Colonia, Yap, Federated States of Micronesia

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References

  1. Cao-Lormeau  VM, Roche  C, Teissier  A, Robin  E, Berry  AL, Mallet  HP, Zika virus, French Polynesia, South Pacific, 2013. Emerg Infect Dis. 2014;20:10856. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Duffy  MR, Chen  TH, Hancock  WT, Powers  AM, Kool  JL, Lanciotti  RS. Zika outbreak on Yap Island, Federated States of Micronesia. N Engl J Med. 2009;360:253643. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar

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Cite This Article

DOI: 10.3201/eid2011.141253

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Table of Contents – Volume 20, Number 11—November 2014

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Comments

Please use the form below to submit correspondence to the authors or contact them at the following address:

W. Thane Hancock, Yap State Department of Health Services, EpiNet, PO Box 148, Colonia, Yap 96943, Federated States of Micronesia

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Page created: October 20, 2014
Page updated: October 20, 2014
Page reviewed: October 20, 2014
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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