On behalf of Eli Schwartz, we want to alert you to an imported case of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection from Thailand, that was confirmed by RT-PCR on Monday May 2nd, 2022. The patient is a 29-year-old Israeli woman who acquired the infection while traveling recently in the Chang Mai region. While previous studies support evidence of endemic transmission of ZIKV (Asian lineage) across Thailand prior to the 2016 pandemic 1, and several authors reported on RT-PCR confirmed ZIKV in travelers returning from Thailand from 2016 up to January 2020 2,3. There was also a study from 2019 in Thailand have provided evidence of endemicity of Zika in Thailand.4 The woman reported by Eli is the first case of ZIKV in a returning traveler from Thailand since the COVID-related travel restrictions were lifted.
Watcharapong Piyaphanee, the Site Director for BKK, provided us with additional information today. They continue to see scattered cases of Zika throughout Thailand, so it appears to be an endemic disease like dengue. However, based on the national surveillance system (Zika is a notifiable disease), the number of cases has been decreasing in the last few years. Here is a brief summary of data from the last 3 years:
2020 Total number of cases = 239 / Total cases in northern Thailand = 18
2021 Total number of cases = 62 / Total cases in northern Thailand = 15
2022 (up to this month) Total number of cases = 8 / Total cases in northern Thailand = 1
If you have seen any returning travelers from Thailand with confirmed ZIKV infection, please let us know (by email to David Hamer and copy geosentinel@geosentinel.org).
Best wishes,
David, Ralph, and Michael
GeoSentinel Office of the PI
Buathong R, Hermann L, Thaisomboonsuk B, et al. Detection of zika virus infection in Thailand, 2012-2014. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2015; 93: 380–3.
Leshem E, Lustig Y, Brosh-Nissimov T, Paran Y, Schwartz E. Incidence of laboratory-confirmed Zika in Israeli travelers to Thailand: 2016-2019. Journal of Travel Medicine. 2019; 26. DOI:10.1093/jtm/taz057.
Romaní N, Frick MA, Sulleiro E, et al. Zika virus infection in tourists travelling to Thailand: Case series report. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 2021; 6. DOI:10.3390/tropicalmed6010003.
Ruchusatsawat K et al. Long-term circulation of Zika virus in Thailand: an observational study. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2019 19: 439–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
Details are available in a ProMed posting: https://promedmail.org/promed-post/?id=8704233
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On behalf of Eli Schwartz, we want to alert you to an imported case of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection from Thailand, that was confirmed by RT-PCR on Monday May 2nd, 2022. The patient is a 29-year-old Israeli woman who acquired the infection while traveling recently in the Chang Mai region. While previous studies support evidence of endemic transmission of ZIKV (Asian lineage) across Thailand prior to the 2016 pandemic 1, and several authors reported on RT-PCR confirmed ZIKV in travelers returning from Thailand from 2016 up to January 2020 2,3. There was also a study from 2019 in Thailand have provided evidence of endemicity of Zika in Thailand.4 The woman reported by Eli is the first case of ZIKV in a returning traveler from Thailand since the COVID-related travel restrictions were lifted.
Watcharapong Piyaphanee, the Site Director for BKK, provided us with additional information today. They continue to see scattered cases of Zika throughout Thailand, so it appears to be an endemic disease like dengue. However, based on the national surveillance system (Zika is a notifiable disease), the number of cases has been decreasing in the last few years. Here is a brief summary of data from the last 3 years:
2020 Total number of cases = 239 / Total cases in northern Thailand = 18
2021 Total number of cases = 62 / Total cases in northern Thailand = 15
2022 (up to this month) Total number of cases = 8 / Total cases in northern Thailand = 1
If you have seen any returning travelers from Thailand with confirmed ZIKV infection, please let us know (by email to David Hamer and copy geosentinel@geosentinel.org).
Best wishes,
David, Ralph, and Michael
GeoSentinel Office of the PI
Buathong R, Hermann L, Thaisomboonsuk B, et al. Detection of zika virus infection in Thailand, 2012-2014. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2015; 93: 380–3.
Leshem E, Lustig Y, Brosh-Nissimov T, Paran Y, Schwartz E. Incidence of laboratory-confirmed Zika in Israeli travelers to Thailand: 2016-2019. Journal of Travel Medicine. 2019; 26. DOI:10.1093/jtm/taz057.
Romaní N, Frick MA, Sulleiro E, et al. Zika virus infection in tourists travelling to Thailand: Case series report. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 2021; 6. DOI:10.3390/tropicalmed6010003.
Ruchusatsawat K et al. Long-term circulation of Zika virus in Thailand: an observational study. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2019 19: 439–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
Details are available in a ProMed posting: https://promedmail.org/promed-post/?id=8704233