Zika Virus Infection in Tourists Travelling to Thailand: Case Series Report
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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

Zika Virus Infectious Cell Culture System and the In Vitro Prophylactic Effect of Interferons
Published on: August 23, 2016
Natàlia Romaní1, Marie Antoinette Frick1, Elena Sulleiro2
1Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiencies Unit, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract:
Thailand is a popular tourist destination where Zika virus (ZIKV) transmission is currently active. To our knowledge, there are no reports of ZIKV infection imported from Thailand and affecting children. Here, we describe the clinical and microbiological findings in three cases of vector-borne ZIKV infection: An 11-year-old boy, a 2-year-old girl, and her pregnant mother, this last case leading to the prenatal exposure of her second baby to ZIKV in the second trimester of pregnancy. All patients were diagnosed after traveling to Thailand between September 2019 and January 2020. No complications were detected in any patient at follow-up, and the prenatally exposed fetus showed no abnormalities during intensive antenatal health care monitoring. On postnatal study, there were no clinical signs or microbiological findings of mother-to-child ZIKV transmission. ZIKV IgG was initially positive, but seroreversion occurred at 4 months of life. This report describes the clinical and serological evolution of vector-borne ZIKV infection occurring in dengue-naïve tourists returning from Thailand. The World Health Organization currently recommends that pre-travel advice to prevent arbovirus infection should be maintained in travelers to Southeast Asia.

