Phylogenomics and phylodynamics of Zika Virus from Asia

Abstract

AbstractThe current study analyzes the Zika virus from Asia from a phylogenomic and phylodynamic perspective. To perform this study, 68 genomes from Asia were analyzed. A similar dataset was used to perform phylogenomics using Median Joining Network (MJN). MJN reconfirms African origin of Zika virus along with few notable instances of common origin of infection in some Asian countries. We investigated population dynamics using SkyGrid, Exponential Growth, and Constant Coalescence models. According to our phylodynamic analysis, effective population sizes throughout Asia reached higher peaks during the outbreak of 2016-2017. Zika virus population size increased exponentially during 2016-2017. From 1966 to 2021, there was a high and low peak in effective population size except for the outbreak of 2016-2017. To counter the outbreak of Zika Virus in Asian Countries in future, we recommend continuous genomic surveillance.