Zika seroprevalence declines and neutralizing antibodies wane in adults following outbreaks in French Polynesia and Fiji

Alasdair Henderson (1) , Maïté Aubry (2) , Mike Kama (3, 4) , Jessica Vanhomwegen (5) , Anita Teissier (2) , Teheipuaura Mariteragi-Helle (2) , Tuterarii Paoaafaite (2) , Yoann Teissier (2) , Jean-Claude Manuguerra (5) , John Edmunds (1) , Jimmy Whitworth (1) , Conall Watson (1) , Colleen Lau (6) , Van-Mai Cao-Lormeau (2) , Adam Kucharski (1)

1 LSHTM - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
2 ILM - Institut Louis Malardé [Papeete]
3 Fiji Centre for Communicable Disease Control [Suva, Fidji]
4 USP - University of the South Pacific
5 IP - Institut Pasteur [Paris]
6 ANU - Australian National University

It has been commonly assumed that Zika virus (ZIKV) infection confers long-term protection against reinfection, preventing ZIKV from re-emerging in previously affected areas for several years. However, the long-term immune response to ZIKV following an outbreak remains poorly documented. We compared results from eight serological surveys before and after known ZIKV outbreaks in French Polynesia and Fiji, including cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. We found evidence of a decline in seroprevalence in both countries over a two-year period following first reported ZIKV transmission. This decline was concentrated in adults, while high seroprevalence persisted in children. In the Fiji cohort, there was also a significant decline in neutralizing antibody titres against ZIKV, but not against dengue viruses that circulated during the same period.

Keywords: infectious disease; microbiology; seroprevalence; ika; antibody response; dengue; epidemiology; global health; human

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Human health and pathology; Emerging diseases; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Human health and pathology; Infectious diseases; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Virology; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Biochemistry, Molecular Biology; Molecular biology

Alasdair Henderson, Maïté Aubry, Mike Kama, Jessica Vanhomwegen, Anita Teissier, et al.. Zika seroprevalence declines and neutralizing antibodies wane in adults following outbreaks in French Polynesia and Fiji. eLife, 2020, 9, ⟨10.7554/eLife.48460⟩. ⟨pasteur-02875145⟩