WHO Zika virus research agenda
Overview
The goal of the WHO Zika Virus Research Agenda is to support the generation of evidence needed to strengthen essential public health guidance and actions to prevent and limit the impact of Zika virus and its complications.
The Research Agenda identifies critical areas of research where WHO is uniquely placed to implement or coordinate global activities. Research and evidence are the foundation for sound health policies.
Support and harmonization of research in countries: Standardized research protocols
A document summarizes the ongoing efforts of the World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization, Institut Pasteur and the networks of Fiocruz, CONSISE and ISARIC to generate standardized clinical and epidemiological research protocols and questionnaires to address key public health questions. Specifically, data collected using the standardized protocols will be used to refine and update recommendations for prevention of Zika virus spread, surveillance and case definitions for microcephaly, to help understand the spread, severity, spectrum and impact on the community of ZIKV and to guide public health measures, particularly for pregnant women and couples planning a pregnancy.
Standardized research protocols
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These protocols have been designed to maximize the likelihood that data and biological samples are systematically collected and shared rapidly in a format that can be easily aggregated, tabulated and analysed across many different settings globally. The protocols are listed below and can be adapted and used by research partners, Member States and the diverse institutions that comprise the global community. We encourage any and all study centres to contribute to these research efforts to better understand ZIKV.
- Case-control study to assess potential risk factors related to microcephaly including Zika virus infection during pregnancy (pdf, 1.80Mb)
- Prospective longitudinal cohort study of newborns and infants born to mothers exposed to Zika virus during pregnancy (pdf, 2.05Mb)
- Prospective longitudinal cohort study of women and newborns exposed to Zika virus during the course of pregnancy (pdf, 1.87Mb)
- Prospective longitudinal cohort study of Zika-infected patients to measure the persistence of Zika virus in body fluids (pdf, 502kb)
- Case-control study to assess potential risk factors related to Guillain-Barré Syndrome including Zika virus infection (pdf, 1.23Mb)
- Cross-sectional seroprevalence study of Zika virus infection in the general population (pdf, 783kb)
- Natural History Protocol for Zika Virus Infection (pdf, 1.02Mb)