The Asian Lineage of Zika Virus: Transmission and Evolution in Asia and the Americas

Since first isolation in 1947 from the Zika forest in Uganda, Zika virus (ZIKV) has been principally known as a benign agent associated with sporadic human infections in a restricted number of African countries. However, during 2015–2016, an Asian lineage of ZIKV caused an unprecedentedly large outbreak in the Americas and sizeable numbers of exported cases across the globe. In this review, we critically appraise the recent advances in molecular epidemiological studies of ZIKV performed to date, and we highlight the pivotal role played by genomic surveillance in elucidating the origins, dissemination and evolution of the Asian lineage of ZIKV in Asia and in the Americas.