Zika virus infection differential diagnosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: ; Ilan Dock, B.S.; Luke Rusowicz-Orazem, B.S.

Differentiating Zika Virus infection from Other Diseases

• Zika virus infection manifests through a broad range of clinical symptoms shared with multiple different diseases from the Flaviviridae Virus family, causing misdiagnosis withe following diseases:
  • Dengue fever
  • Malaria
  • Leptospirosis
  • Parvovirus
  • Enterovirus
  • Adenovirus
  • Alphavirus
  • Rickettsia
  • Astreptococcus
  • Rubella
  • Measles

The Zika virus is commonly misdiagnosed as many other diseases. These diseases include dengue, leptospirosis, malaria, rickettsia, group Astreptococcus, rubella, measles, parvovirus, enterovirus, adenovirus, and alphavirus infection. Diagnosis is initially based on patients recent history, including places traveled. Blood serum and plasma testing is conducted to detect viral nucleic acids or virus specific IgM. Laboratory testing is the primary source when differentiating between Zika and other commonly misdiagnosed viruses.