A new threat to human reproduction system posed by Zika virus (ZIKV): From clinical investigations to experimental studies

Zika virus (ZIKV) was first isolated in 1947 from a rhesus monkey in the Zika forest of Uganda. ZIKV has since been silently circulating in a number of equatorial countries for over 50 years. The largest outbreak in humans occurred in Brazil in 2015-2016. Unlike its flavivirus relatives, sexual and post-transfusion transmissions of ZIKV have been reported. In addition, fetal infection can result in microcephaly and congenital Zikv syndrome has been reported in neonates. Moreover, ZIKV RNA can persist for at least 6 months in semen and 11 weeks in vaginal secretions after the infection, suggesting potential tropism for the male and female genital tracts. Accordingly, it is important to determine whether genital ZIKV infection could have deleterious effects on the male and female reproductive systems.