Guillain-Barre syndrome and Zika infection: identifying leading producers, countries relative specialization and...

Zika virus (Zikv) infection implies a significant public health issue due to the different syndromes associated. It is related to several central nervous system problems, such as microcephaly and Guillain-Barre Syndrome. In this way, the first document about the relation of Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Zika indexed in Web of Science was published in 2014. Therefore, the primary goal of the present study is to analyze the leading scientific producers, the relative specialization of the countries and the collaboration network in the research area. A total of 384 manuscripts were identified. Two manuscripts were published in 2014 and 2015; the remaining documents are distributed during 2016 (136), 2017 (186) and 2018 (59) (until April). In conclusion, Zikv and Guillain-Barre Syndrome research has experienced a significant increase in the last years. This may be related to the topic is an important issue of public health concern in the countries affected by Zikv outbreaks. In that sense, Brazil, India and Colombia make a great effort, considering their economic and social resources, in research. However, this study implies a preliminary overview of the research on this topic, a more extended period is needed to define the lines of research and collaboration between countries and authors.