PURIFIED ZIKA VIRUS LYSATE

Purified Zika virus lysate has been manufactured to provide a consistent source of Zika virus antigens, in fully native format, containing the three structural Zika virus proteins, Capsid, Membrane and Envelope protein.

This material has been produced by culturing Zika virus in Vero cells. Following removal of cellular debris, Zika virus is concentrated from the cell supernatant, purified via sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation, lysed in 1% Triton X-100 and heat inactivated.

ELISA analysis using human sera have shown that this lysate is only recognised by anti-Zika IgG and not anti-dengue-IgG antibodies in human serum.

PRODUCT DETAILS – PURIFIED ZIKA VIRUS LYSATE

• Purified source of Zika lysate containing the Capsid, Membrane and Envelope proteins (strain Uganda MP1751).
• Heat inactivated.
• Presented in PBS, pH7.4 liquid format.

BACKGROUND

Zika virus is an emerging disease that is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. The virus was first isolated in Central Africa, and has since been spread to South Asia and recently to South America. Outbreaks were reported in Micronesia in 2007 and in Brazil in 2015, confirming at least 13 autochthonous infections.The Zika virus outbreak in Brazil in 2016 has gained world-wide attention, and has been linked to an increasing number of microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome cases. In April 2016 the Centers for Disease Control, in the USA, confirmed the link between Zika virus infection of the fetus with microcephaly.

Zika virus can cause mild fever, rash, myalgia, arthralgia and headaches, with one in four infected individuals being asymptomatic. Due to similar symptoms Zika virus infected individuals can easily be mis-diagnosed as an infection with other arboviruses, including Dengue, Chikungunya and Oropouche. In addition, Zika virus has been implicated in causing microcephaly through transmission in utero. There is no vaccine or specific treatment available for Zika virus.

There is currently a major worldwide effort underway to develop effective diagnostic assays that can both detect Zika virus infection, and distinguish infection from other flaviviruses, especially Dengue virus infection. This purified Zika virus lysate has been prepared to offer a source of a broad range of Zika virus antigens that may be relevant for the detection of Zika virus specific antibodies.

Note: This product was originally described as being derived from strain MR766. Further analysis has indicated that it is in fact strain MP1751, originally isolated in the Zika forest of Uganda in 1962.