Differences in the growth properties of Zika virus foetal brain isolate and related epidemic strains in vitro

Zika virus (ZIKV) has recently emerged into new areas in the Americas and Asia, causing an epidemic characterized by severe congenital infections. While ZIKV infection is usually asymptomatic or causes mild symptoms, it has now caused a high rate of foetal brain and ocular abnormalities. The underlying reasons for the varying severity of disease outcomes is poorly understood. In this study, we compared the infectivity and replication of three disease-associated Zika viruses of Asian lineage, as well as the prototypic ZIKV strain from Africa. The recent foetal brain isolate FB-GWUH-2016 demonstrated enhanced infectivity and replication over the serum-origin isolates from French Polynesia and Martinique, suggesting differences in the pathogenic properties.