Prevalence of asymptomatic Zika virus infection: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a systematic review to estimate the prevalence of asymptomatic Zika virus infection in the general population and in specific population groups. Methods: We searched PubMed®, Embase® and LILACS online databases from inception to 26 January 2018. We included observational epidemiological studies where laboratory testing was used to confirm positive exposure of participants to Zika virus and in which Zika virus symptom status was also recorded. We excluded studies in which having symptoms of Zika virus was a criterion for inclusion. The main outcome assessed was percentage of all Zika virus-positive participants who were asymptomatic. We used a quality-effects approach an..