Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, November 2019
Sonja E Leonhard, Alexander G Munts, Annemiek A van der Eijk, Bart C Jacobs
Discussion
The ZIKV epidemic in 2015–2016 was followed by a drastic rise in reported Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) cases in 23 countries, including Curaçao. Evidence of an association between ZIKV and GBS has been substantiated by numerous case series and case–control studies. A specific clinical phenotype of ZIKV-related GBS has not emerged from these reports, but based on the NCS most patients have been classified as the demyelinating variant (acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP)).
Many other complications of the central and peripheral nervous system have been reported as well, including myelitis, encephalitis and acute transient polyneuritis. The pathogenesis of these ZIKV associated disorders is unknown, but direct infection and immune-mediated injury of nerves may both play a role.