An
epidemic
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...
of
Zika fever
Zika fever, also known as Zika virus disease or simply Zika, is an infectious disease caused by the Zika virus. Most cases have no symptoms, but when present they are usually mild and can resemble dengue fever. Symptoms may include fever, conju ...
, caused by
Zika virus
Zika virus (ZIKV; pronounced or ) is a member of the virus family ''Flaviviridae''. It is spread by daytime-active ''Aedes'' mosquitoes, such as '' A. aegypti'' and '' A. albopictus''. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, where ...
, began in
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
and affected other countries in the Americas from April 2015 to November 2016. The
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
(WHO) declared the end of the epidemic in November 2016, but noted that the virus still represents "a highly significant and long term problem".
It is estimated that 1.5 million people were infected by Zika virus in Brazil,
with over 3,500 cases of infant
microcephaly
Microcephaly (from Neo-Latin ''microcephalia'', from Ancient Greek μικρός ''mikrós'' "small" and κεφαλή ''kephalé'' "head") is a medical condition involving a smaller-than-normal head. Microcephaly may be present at birth or it m ...
reported between October 2015 and January 2016.
The epidemic also affected other parts of
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, as well as several islands in the Pacific.
Zika virus spread to Brazil from Oceania in 2013 or 2014. Brazil notified the WHO of an illness characterized by skin rash in March 2015, and Zika was identified as the cause in May 2015. In February 2016, the WHO declared the outbreak a
Public Health Emergency of International Concern as evidence grew that Zika can cause birth defects as well as neurological problems.
The virus can be
transmitted from a pregnant woman to her fetus, and can cause
microcephaly
Microcephaly (from Neo-Latin ''microcephalia'', from Ancient Greek μικρός ''mikrós'' "small" and κεφαλή ''kephalé'' "head") is a medical condition involving a smaller-than-normal head. Microcephaly may be present at birth or it m ...
and other severe brain anomalies in the infant.
Zika infections in adults can result in
Guillain–Barré syndrome
Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset Paralysis, muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation ...
.
In approximately one in five cases, Zika virus infections result in Zika fever, a minor illness that causes symptoms such as
fever
Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
and a
rash
A rash is a change of the skin that affects its color, appearance, or texture.
A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cracke ...
. Prior to the outbreak, Zika was considered a mild infection, as most infections are asymptomatic, making it difficult to determine precise estimates of the number of cases.
The virus is
spread mainly by the ''
Aedes aegypti
''Aedes aegypti'' ( or from Greek 'hateful' and from Latin, meaning 'of Egypt'), sometimes called the Egyptian mosquito, dengue mosquito or yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that spreads diseases like dengue fever, yellow fever, malar ...
''
mosquito
Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...
, which is commonly found throughout the tropical and subtropical Americas. It can also be spread by the ''
Aedes albopictus
''Aedes albopictus'' (synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stegomyia albopicta''), from the mosquito (Culicidae) family (biology), family, also known as the (Asian) tiger mosquito or forest mosquito, is a mosquito native to the tropical and Subtropics ...
'' ("Asian tiger") mosquito, which is distributed as far north as the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
region in North America.
People infected with Zika can
transmit the virus to their sexual partners.
A number of countries were issued
travel warnings, and the outbreak was expected to reduce
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
significantly.
Several countries took the unusual step of advising their citizens to delay pregnancy until more was known about the virus and its impact on fetal development.
Furthermore, the outbreak raised concerns regarding the safety of athletes and spectators at the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
and
Paralympics
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...
in Rio de Janeiro.
Epidemiology
As early as August 2014, physicians in
Natal, in
northeastern Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil ( ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises nine: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, R ...
began to investigate an outbreak of illness characterized by a flat pinkish rash, bloodshot eyes, fever, joint pain and headaches. While the symptoms resembled
dengue fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after i ...
, testing ruled out this and several other potential causes. By March 2015, the illness had spread to
Salvador,
Bahia
Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
and had appeared in three different states.
Then, in May 2015, researchers from the
Federal University of Bahia
The Federal University of Bahia (, UFBA) is a public university located mainly in the city of Salvador. It is the largest university in the state of Bahia.
Students can study there without paying tuition fees, as it is a public university. To j ...
and the
Evandro Chagas Institute determined, using the
RT-PCR technique, that the illness was an outbreak of Zika virus.
Although, the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil were diagnosed in a returning traveller in March 2015.

The
Zika virus
Zika virus (ZIKV; pronounced or ) is a member of the virus family ''Flaviviridae''. It is spread by daytime-active ''Aedes'' mosquitoes, such as '' A. aegypti'' and '' A. albopictus''. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, where ...
was first isolated in 1947, in a
rhesus monkey
The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally brown or g ...
in a forest near
Entebbe
Entebbe is a city in Central Region, Uganda, Central Uganda which is located on Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda pri ...
,
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
.
Although serologic evidence indicated additional human exposure during subsequent decades in parts of Africa and Asia,
before the
2007 Yap Islands Zika virus outbreak
The 2007 Yap Islands Zika virus outbreak represented the first time Zika virus had been detected outside Africa and Asia. It occurred in the Yap Islands, an island chain in the Federated States of Micronesia. Zika virus (ZIKV) is a vector-borne ...
, only 14 cases of human Zika virus disease had been documented.
Researchers generally believe the virus was brought to Brazil by an infected traveler who had been exposed to the virus in
French Polynesia
French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...
, who was then bitten by a mosquito that then infected others.
Phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...
analysis of the first Brazilian infections have strongly indicated that the circulating virus is the Asian, rather than African, strain of the virus, and was genetically similar to the virus found in the
outbreak in French Polynesia.
It appears Zika's route – from Africa and Asia to Oceania and then the Americas – may mirror that of
chikungunya
Chikungunya is an infection caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The disease was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania and named based on the Kimakonde words for "to become contorted". Chikungunya has become a global health concern due to ...
and
dengue
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after ...
, both of which are now
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
in a large portion of the Americas.
The specific event that brought the virus to Brazil was uncertain until March 2016. Brazilian researchers had suggested that the Zika virus arrived during the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
tournament.
French researchers speculated the virus arrived shortly afterwards, in August 2014, when canoeing teams from French Polynesia,
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
,
Easter Island
Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...
, and the
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...
, which
had been or were experiencing Zika outbreaks, attended the
Va'a
Vaʻa is a word in Samoan language, Samoan, Hawaiian language, Hawaiian and Tahitian language, Tahitian which means 'boat', 'canoe' or 'ship'. It is cognate with other Polynesian words such as ''vaka (sailing), vaka'' or the Māori language, Māo ...
World Sprint Championships in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
.
However, the outbreak in French Polynesia is known to have peaked and declined precipitously by February 2014, lending doubt to the suggestion the virus arrived later that year in Brazil with spectators and competitors.
[ In March 2016, a study published in '']Science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
'', which developed a "molecular clock
The molecular clock is a figurative term for a technique that uses the mutation rate of biomolecules to deduce the time in prehistory when two or more life forms diverged. The biomolecular data used for such calculations are usually nucleot ...
" based on the count of virus mutations in a relatively small sample, suggested Zika virus arrived in the Americas (most likely in Brazil) from French Polynesia between May and December 2013, well before the World Cup and Va'a Championships. In the ''Science'' article, Faria and colleagues managed to trace the origins of the virus strain that is circulating in Brazil and found that this strain has little genetic variability when compared to the strain of French Polynesia; after relating the number of travellers arriving in Brazil from French Polynesia with the cases reported and the events happening in that year, the team was able to deduce that the virus arrived in Brazil in 2013 during the Confederation Cup, when Tahiti's team played against other teams in a few Brazilian cities, which attracted many tourists from both places. Zika virus usually has very mild, or no symptoms, so it took almost a year for Brazil to confirm the first case of the disease. By then the outbreak was already widespread.
Factors associated with the rapid spread of Zika virus in Brazil include the non-immune population, high population density, tropical climate and inadequate control of ''Aedes'' mosquitoes in the country. The Zika virus epidemic also revealed structural problems of the health system, in particular in public health services and basic sanitation in Brazil.
The above average warm temperatures of 2015–2016 caused by a strong El Nino created an environment conducive to the spread of the Zika Virus in Brazil010 010 may refer to:
* 10 (number)
* 8 (number) in octal numeral notation
* Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982
* 010, the telephone area code of Beijing
* 010, the Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest ...
The 2015 -16 El Nino increased ocean and ground surface temperatures to above average 010 010 may refer to:
* 10 (number)
* 8 (number) in octal numeral notation
* Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982
* 010, the telephone area code of Beijing
* 010, the Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest ...
January 2016 brought about nine consecutive months with temperatures 1.04 °C above the global average.[Global Climate Report - January 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2018, from https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201601 ] It is important to note, however, that while South America had areas experiencing 2.0 °C above average temperatures (for 1981–2010), areas including Argentina, Southern Brazil and Uruguay experienced temperatures 0.5 °C below average.[
Precipitation is another crucial factor to consider as Eastern Brazil and other areas in southern South America experienced high amounts of precipitation in early 2016.][ The environmental conditions of increased rainfall and higher average temperatures in the South American region, lead to both a longer mosquito season and a higher mosquito density] which created an environment in which the Zika carrying Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes can thrive. Looking forward, climate models suggest that regions favorable to the Aedes mosquitoes will grow, widening the range of Zika and other mosquito-carried diseases. The potential for epidemics will spread inland and into other regions of the world, not just in tropical environments.
Confirmed cases have been reported in 40 countries or territories in South America, North America, and the Caribbean, as well as 16 in the western Pacific and one in Africa since the beginning of 2015 ('' see table'').
Many countries with no cases of mosquito transmission have reported travel-related Zika cases: people who moved or came home from a Zika-affected region before they showed symptoms ('' see table'').
Transmission
Zika is a mosquito-borne disease
Mosquito-borne diseases or mosquito-borne illnesses are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. Nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses each year, resulting in more than a million death ...
. The resurgence of ''Aedes aegypti
''Aedes aegypti'' ( or from Greek 'hateful' and from Latin, meaning 'of Egypt'), sometimes called the Egyptian mosquito, dengue mosquito or yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that spreads diseases like dengue fever, yellow fever, malar ...
''s worldwide distribution over the past 2–3 decades makes it one of the most widely distributed mosquito species. In 2015, ''Aedes albopictus
''Aedes albopictus'' (synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stegomyia albopicta''), from the mosquito (Culicidae) family (biology), family, also known as the (Asian) tiger mosquito or forest mosquito, is a mosquito native to the tropical and Subtropics ...
'' was present in tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
, subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
, and temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...
regions of the Americas, reaching as far north as the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
of North America and, internationally, living alongside ''Aedes aegypti'' in some tropical and subtropical regions.
The ''Aedes aegypti'' mosquito usually bites in the morning and afternoon hours, and can be identified by the white stripes on its legs. The mosquito species (''Aedes aegypti'', mainly, and ''Aedes albopictus'') that can spread Zika virus can also spread dengue, chikungunya
Chikungunya is an infection caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The disease was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania and named based on the Kimakonde words for "to become contorted". Chikungunya has become a global health concern due to ...
, and yellow fever.
Zika can also be sexually transmitted
A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, oral ...
between partners of both genders. Sexual transmission of Zika has been documented in nine countries—Argentina, Canada, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, and the United States—during this outbreak.
Zika is transmitted from pregnant women to the fetus ("vertical transmission
Vertical transmission of symbionts is the transfer of a microbial symbiont from the parent directly to the offspring. Many metazoan species carry symbiotic bacteria which play a mutualistic, commensal, or parasitic role. A symbiont is acq ...
"), and causes microcephaly and other severe brain anomalies in infants born of women infected with the virus.
Zika infections in adults can cause Guillain–Barré syndrome
Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset Paralysis, muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation ...
.
Diagnosis
Symptoms are similar to other flavivirus
''Flavivirus'', renamed ''Orthoflavivirus'' in 2023, is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Flaviviridae''. The genus includes the West Nile virus, dengue virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, Zika viru ...
es such as dengue fever or the alphavirus that causes chikungunya, but are milder in form and usually last two to seven days. It is estimated that 80% of cases are asymptomatic
Asymptomatic (or clinically silent) is an adjective categorising the medical conditions (i.e., injuries or diseases) that patients carry but without experiencing their symptoms, despite an explicit diagnosis (e.g., a positive medical test).
P ...
. The main clinical symptoms in symptomatic patients are low-grade fever, conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye or Madras eye, is inflammation of the conjunctiva, the thin, clear layer that covers the white surface of the eye and the inner eyelid. It makes the eye appear pink or reddish. Pain, burning, scratchiness ...
, transient joint pain (mainly in the smaller joints of the hands and feet) and maculopapular rash
A maculopapular rash is a type of rash characterized by a flat, red area on the skin that is covered with small confluent bumps. It may only appear red in lighter-skinned people. The term "maculopapular" is a compound: '' macules'' are small, fla ...
that often starts on the face and then spreads throughout the body.
It is difficult to diagnose Zika virus infection based on clinical signs and symptoms alone due to overlaps with other arbovirus
Arbovirus is an informal name for any virus that is Transmission (medicine), transmitted by arthropod Vector (epidemiology), vectors. The term ''arbovirus'' is a portmanteau word (''ar''thropod-''bo''rne ''virus''). ''Tibovirus'' (''ti''ck-''bo ...
es that are endemic to similar areas. The methods currently available to test for Zika antibodies cross-react with dengue antibodies. An IgM
Immunoglobulin M (IgM) is the largest of several isotypes of antibodies (also known as immunoglobulin) that are produced by vertebrates. IgM is the first antibody to appear in the response to initial exposure to an antigen;
causing it to also ...
-positive result in a dengue or Zika ELISA
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...
test can only be considered indicative of a recent flavivirus infection. Plaque-reduction neutralization tests (PRINT) can be performed and may be specific. The Zika virus can be identified by RT-PCR
Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a laboratory technique combining reverse transcription of RNA into DNA (in this context called complementary DNA or cDNA) and amplification of specific DNA targets using polymerase chain ...
in acutely ill patients.
RT-PCR testing of serum and tissue samples can be used to detect the presence of the Zika virus. However, the RT-PCR test with serum is only helpful while the virus is still in the blood which is generally within the first week of the illness. After this period other methods should be used to determine if the virus is still present in the body. A test for IgM antibodies has seen to be effective over longer periods of time, as these antibodies can be present starting 4 days after the beginning of the illness and up to 12 weeks after that. However, it is suggested that a PRINT test be performed following a test for IgM antibodies to help eliminate false positives resulting from other flaviviruses. The PRINT test looks for viral-specific neutralizing antibodies. However, this test can still produce false positive results, for Zika, in individuals who have received immunization for or had previously been exposed to other flaviviruses.
Containment and control
The Americas
Several countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
, and Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, advised women to postpone getting pregnant until more was known about the risks. Plans were announced by the authorities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to try to prevent the spread of the Zika virus during the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
in Rio. The health ministry of Peru installed more than 20,000 ovitraps during the 2015 dengue outbreak. The same ovitraps will be used to monitor a potential Zika outbreak in tropical regions of Peru.
On January 15, 2016, because of the "growing evidence of a link between Zika and microcephaly" the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) issued a travel warning advising pregnant women to consider postponing travel to Brazil as well as the following countries and territories where Zika fever had been reported: Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
, Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
, Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
, Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, Martinique
Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
, Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
, Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
, Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. On January 20, the Ministry of Health of Chile published a health notice. On January 22, eight more countries and territories were added to the list of those affected: Barbados
Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
, Saint Martin, Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
, Cape Verde
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
, and Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
.
On February 1, Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
and Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
were added to the list, bringing the number of countries and territories affected to 28. The agency issued additional guidelines and suggested that women thinking about becoming pregnant consult with their physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
s before traveling. Canada issued a similar travel advisory. Questions have been raised about the readability and effectiveness of the press releases issued by the WHO/PAHO, CDC, and the ministries of health of affected countries with the average readability of a press release by the WHO measured at 17.1 on the Flesch Kincaid grade level readability test.
On February 5, after the laboratory confirmation of a Zika virus infection in the U.S. in a non-traveler, which was linked to sexual contact with an infected partner, the CDC issued interim guidelines for prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus for the United States. These guidelines recommend that men who reside in or have traveled to an area of active Zika virus transmission who have a pregnant partner should abstain from sexual activity or consistently and correctly use condoms during sex for the duration of the pregnancy. The guidelines recommend that pregnant women discuss any possible Zika exposure with their male partners. The guidelines recommend that non-pregnant women and their partners consider taking similar measures.
On February 8, CDC elevated its response efforts to a Level 1 activation, the highest response level at the agency. The CDC then issued a statement on February 23 further encouraging adherence to this guidance after 14 reports of possible sexual transmission of the virus were under investigation. A bill, Zika Authorization Plan Act of 2016 (H.R. 4562), was introduced in the second session of the United States 114th Congress
The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from Ja ...
by Representative Curt Clawson (R-FL) on February 12, 2016, aimed at reducing the spread of the virus.
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
reported its first case of Zika in a pregnant woman on March 11. On March 18, CDC cautioned men who have been infected with Zika from attempting to conceive children due to probability of virus transfer from man to woman during sexual activity which in turn can affect the fetus, under this caution, men are advised not to try conception until six months after the infection.
Colombia reported its first cases of microcephaly associated to the Zika virus on April 14, 2016. The CDC authorized emergency use of a Zika Virus RNA Qualitative test on April 28 to detect Zika virus in the blood of patients who have symptoms of Zika virus infection and live in or have traveled to an area with ongoing Zika virus transmission. This is the first commercial test to detect Zika virus authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...
for emergency use.
On May 6, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
announced that a series of games between the Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...
and Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
scheduled to be played at the end of the month in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...
would be relocated to Marlins Park
LoanDepot Park (officially stylized as loanDepot park, and named Marlins Park until 2021) is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on ...
in Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
after a number of players on each team voiced concerns regarding the threat of Zika exposure. By mid-August at least 37 people had contracted the virus in neighborhoods near the city of Miami, Florida, though officials estimated that the actual number of infections was much higher due to under-reporting of mild illness. It was determined in June that travelers to Dominican Republic lead New York City in positive Zika tests.
The first-affected area in the continental United States, the Wynwood
Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Wynwood is known for being an entertainment district, with artwork, restaurants, breweries, clothing stores, and dance venues, among other retail options. Formerly an industrial district, the area i ...
neighborhood of Miami, was declared Zika-free in September, 2016. After the virus stopped circulating in South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a Neighborhoods of Miami Beach, Florida, neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south ...
, all of Florida was declared Zika-free in December, 2016. One case of local transmission was reported in Texas up until September, 2017. As of 2018, Zika remains endemic in Puerto Rico, but the number of cases was reduced from about 8,000 reported per month at the peak in August 2016 to about 10 reported per month in April 2017.
Asia
Following the spread of Zika infection into Southeast Asia in June 2016, Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
become the most heavily affected. Singapore has planned to release an army of mosquitoes that contain the ''Wolbachia
''Wolbachia'' is a genus of gram-negative bacteria infecting many species of arthropods and filarial nematodes. The symbiotic relationship ranges from parasitism to obligate mutualism. It is one of the most common parasitic microbes of arthrop ...
'' bacteria to fight the Aedes aegypti mosquito population. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 Sovereign state, states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its ...
(ASEAN) members have increased information sharing and joint research on the virus. On September 30, Thailand confirmed that two babies have been born with microcephaly. Prior to the case, Thailand has allowed abortion for pregnant women that have been affected by birth defects. Malaysia is still undecided on the issue, with doctors there letting the mother make the decision whether or not to abort. Rentokil, a Malaysian pest company, has designed an Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM) program to curb the spread of Aedes mosquito. On October 17, Zika was declared as endemic in Vietnam by the country Health Ministry
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entity, Subnational entities, such as State (administrative division), states, county, counties an ...
due to the number of local cases. Vietnam confirmed that one baby has been born with microcephaly on October 31. Following the rise of local Zika infection cases in the Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, the virus have also been declared as endemic by the country Health Department
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entity, Subnational entities, such as State (administrative division), states, county, counties an ...
. The government of the republic hosting the "One Philippines against Zika" national summit on October 28 with church in the country has joint fight to curb the spread of the virus by issuing a pastoral guidance to help raise awareness about the mosquito-borne disease among local communities. Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
has also seen an increase of infection, most of the cases are believed to be imported from other countries. On October 27, Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
reported its first imported case on a pregnant foreign woman.
International
Governments or health agencies such as those of Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, United States as well the European Union issued travel warnings. The warnings are predicted to have an effect on the tourism industry in affected countries.
To prevent the transmission of the Zika virus, WHO recommends using insect repellent
An insect repellent (also commonly called "bug spray" or "bug deterrent") is a substance applied to the skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface. Insect repellent ...
, wearing long-sleeved clothes to cover the body, and using screens and mosquito net
A mosquito net is a type of meshed curtain or cloth that is circumferentially draped over a bed or a sleeping area to offer the sleeper barrier protection against bites and stings from mosquitos, flies, and other pest insects, and thus a ...
s to exclude flying insects from dwellings or sleeping areas. It is also vital to eliminate any standing water near homes to minimize breeding areas for mosquitoes. Authorities can treat larger water containers with recommended larvicides. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
(CDC) recommends that containers holding water near homes either be sealed or scrubbed once per week, because mosquito eggs can stick to them.
On February 1, 2016, WHO declared the cluster of microcephaly cases and other neurological disorders a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, which may reduce the number of visitors to the Rio Olympics in 2016. The designation has been applied in the past to the Ebola outbreak in 2014, the outbreak of polio
Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
in Syria in 2013, and the 2009 flu pandemic
The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1/swine flu/influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, was the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918� ...
. South Korea held an emergency meeting in response to the WHO declaration on February 2, 2016. A second meeting of the WHO-convened emergency committee, held on March 8, 2016, reaffirmed the situation's status as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The committee reported that evidence was increasing for a causal relationship between Zika virus and microcephaly and other neurological conditions, and called for continued research, aggressive mosquito control, and improved surveillance and communication of risks to the public. The report stated that pregnant women should be advised not to travel to affected areas, and should use safe sex practices if their partners lived in or travelled to affected areas throughout their pregnancy. On March 9, 2016, WHO announced that research should prioritise prevention and diagnosis, not treatment, and in particular non-live vaccines suitable for pregnant women and those of childbearing age, novel mosquito control measures, and diagnostic tests that can detect dengue and chikungunya as well as Zika.
Responses
In January 2016, it was announced that, in response to the Zika virus outbreak, Brazil's National Biosafety Committee approved the releases of more genetically modified ''Aedes aegypti'' mosquitoes throughout their country. Previously, in July 2015, Oxitec had published results of a test in the Juazeiro
Juazeiro, formerly also known as Joazeiro, is a municipality in the state of Bahia, in the northeastern region of Brazil.
The city is twinned with Petrolina, in the state of Pernambuco. The two cities are connected by a modern bridge crossing ...
region of Brazil, of so-called "self-limiting" mosquitoes, to fight dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. They concluded that mosquito populations were reduced by over 90% in the test region. Male genetically modified mosquitoes mate with females in the wild and transmit a self-limiting gene that causes the resulting offspring to die before reaching adulthood and thus diminishes the local mosquito population. In January 2016 the technique was being used to try to combat the Zika virus
Zika virus (ZIKV; pronounced or ) is a member of the virus family ''Flaviviridae''. It is spread by daytime-active ''Aedes'' mosquitoes, such as '' A. aegypti'' and '' A. albopictus''. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, where ...
in the town of Piracicaba
Piracicaba ( ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality located in the Interior of São Paulo, interior of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. It serves as the main city ...
, São Paulo.
On February 1, 2016, the WHO declared the current Zika virus outbreak an international public health emergency, and the Brazilian President released a decree that increased local and federal pest control agents' access to private property required by mobilization actions for the prevention and elimination of ''Aedes'' mosquito outbreaks in the country.
Some experts have proposed combatting the spread of the Zika virus by breeding and releasing mosquitoes that have either been genetically modified to prevent them from transmitting pathogens or that have been infected with the ''Wolbachia
''Wolbachia'' is a genus of gram-negative bacteria infecting many species of arthropods and filarial nematodes. The symbiotic relationship ranges from parasitism to obligate mutualism. It is one of the most common parasitic microbes of arthrop ...
'' bacterium, thought to inhibit the spread of viruses. Another proposed technique consists of using radiation to sterilize male larvae so that when they mate, they produce no progeny. Male mosquitoes do not bite or spread disease.
In February, the Brazilian federal government mobilized 60% of the country's Armed Forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
, or about 220,000 soldiers, to warn and educate the populations of 350 municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
on how to reduce mosquito breeding grounds.
A joint statement on the sharing of data and results on the Zika outbreak in the Americas and future public health emergencies was issued on February 10, 2016, by a group of more than 30 global health bodies. The statement reinforces a similar consensus statement issued by WHO in September 2015. The statement calls for free access to all data as rapidly and widely as possible.
In February 2016, Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
announced that they were donating $1 million via UNICEF
UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
to fight the spread of the Zika virus and offering professional personnel to help to determine where it will hit next.
Prevention and treatment
While there are no known cures for Zika, there have been recent developments in Zika vaccination. Three vaccine designs are showing high confidence levels of protection against the Zika virus. Scientists have conducted tests on the rhesus monkey, and human trials began in late 2016.
This preventative treatment is promising, but it will take years before it is available for widespread usage.
British experts are clear that any of the vaccines would take considerable time to develop. Dr Ed Wright, a senior lecturer and virologist at the University of Westminster, said: "All of the vaccines currently under development are many years away from being licensed and available for widespread public use." Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said: "We knew that these vaccines worked in mice and now the researchers have shown that they also protect non-human primates from Zika virus infection." "The next step will be to see if these vaccines are safe and the scientists hope to start early trials in humans to address this."
Kineta, a Seattle-based biotech company, is actively working on treatments and has received an undisclosed amount of funding from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, one of the National Institutes of Health, to carry on the research. Kineta CEO Dr Shawn Iadonato said in a statement. "We are eager to expand testing of our broad spectrum antivirals in Zika virus as they have shown compelling efficacy across other flaviviruses such as Dengue and West Nile and have the potential for long-term development."
As of July 26, 2016, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. dosed the first subject in its multi-center phase I trial to evaluate Inovio's Zika DNA vaccine (GLS-5700). In addition to the previously announced US FDA approval for the conduct of the study, Health Canada's Health Products and Food Branch has also approved this study, which will be conducted at clinical sites in Miami, Philadelphia, and Quebec City. The phase I, open-label, dose-ranging study of 40 healthy adult volunteers is evaluating the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of GLS-5700 administered with the CELLECTRA-3P device, Inovio's proprietary intradermal DNA delivery device. In preclinical testing, this synthetic vaccine induced robust antibody and T cell responses – the immune responses necessary to fight viral infections – in small and large animal models.
Direct Relief, an emergency response organization, established a Zika Fund and fulfilled requests for supplies in 14 affected countries.
Challenges to US response
In May 2017, the Government Accountability Office
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the s ...
published a report, "Emerging Infectious Diseases: Actions Needed to Address the Challenges of Responding to Zika Virus Disease Outbreak", to correspond with an associated House subcommittee hearing. The GAO said that even though scientific breakthroughs have increased in recent years, the United States remains unprepared to handle a Zika virus outbreak.
Timothy Persons, head scientist at the GAO, listed areas of limited research that damage the United States' ability to effectively respond to a Zika outbreak, including an accurate record of the number of cases in the United States, components associated with transmission from mothers to children (especially regarding pregnancy), risk of transmission through bodily fluid as related to the potential for sexual transmission of the virus, impact of prior exposure to Zika and other arbovirus
Arbovirus is an informal name for any virus that is Transmission (medicine), transmitted by arthropod Vector (epidemiology), vectors. The term ''arbovirus'' is a portmanteau word (''ar''thropod-''bo''rne ''virus''). ''Tibovirus'' (''ti''ck-''bo ...
es, and both short-term and long-term outcomes. Recent outbreaks have been connected to an alarming a spike in microcephaly
Microcephaly (from Neo-Latin ''microcephalia'', from Ancient Greek μικρός ''mikrós'' "small" and κεφαλή ''kephalé'' "head") is a medical condition involving a smaller-than-normal head. Microcephaly may be present at birth or it m ...
, a birth defect that inhibits the proper development of a baby's brain, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, which causes paralysis.
Other challenges include the lack of a safe and effective vaccine, a complicated diagnostic process, and faltering support for research funding in the federal government. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, ) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID's mis ...
(NIAID), said "There aren't any federally licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics currently available to prevent or treat Zika." Zika is often difficult to distinguish from other illnesses that are spread by mosquitoes, like dengue
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after ...
, West Nile, and chikungunya
Chikungunya is an infection caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). The disease was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania and named based on the Kimakonde words for "to become contorted". Chikungunya has become a global health concern due to ...
, among others. President Trump's budget proposal for 2018 proposed stripping $800 billion from Medicaid over ten years. Democratic Representative Frank Pallone
Frank Joseph Pallone Jr. ( ; born October 30, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1988. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to 1993, ...
of New Jersey said that this decision "endangers our ability to manage public health emergencies like Zika."
Controversies
Some efforts to contain the spread of Zika virus have been controversial. Oxitec, the company behind the "self-limiting" mosquitoes, which pass on a fatal gene to their offspring, released in Brazil, has faced criticism from environmental groups, who fear that releasing a new mosquito strain into the wild will damage the ecosystem. In the short term, the concern is that a drop in the mosquito population could affect the populations of other species. Supporters claim that the environmental impact of the "self-limiting" mosquitoes will be minimal, since only one species of mosquito is being targeted and the genetically modified mosquitoes are still safe for predators to eat. Oxitec Product Development Manager Derric Nimmo likened the process to "going in with a scalpel and taking away ''Aedes aegypti'', leaving everything untouched." Since ''Aedes aegypti'' is an imported invasive species
An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
in Brazil, some experts expect that its eradication will have little impact on the environment. However, other environmentalists emphasize that the long-term consequences of eliminating an entire species cannot be predicted.
Government recommendations that women delay pregnancy have also proven to be controversial. Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
and reproductive rights
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to human reproduction, reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights:
Reproductive rights ...
groups have deemed the recommendations irresponsible and difficult to follow, since women alone are tasked with avoiding pregnancy despite having little control to do so. A 2012 study suggests that 56% of pregnancies in Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
and the Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
are unplanned (compared to an average unplanned pregnancy rate of 40% worldwide). Access to contraceptives
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
might be limited in regions where the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
is predominant, such as in El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
. Anti-abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
laws in much of the region leave women with no recourse once they become pregnant. Aside from three countries where abortion is widely available (French Guiana, Guyana, and Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
) and three countries where abortion is allowed in cases of fetal malformation (Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, and Panama), most of the region only permits abortion in the cases of rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
, incest
Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
, or danger to the mother's health. In El Salvador, abortion is illegal under all circumstances.
On February 5, 2016, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univer ...
urged Latin American governments to consider repealing their policies regarding contraception and abortion, emphasizing that "upholding human rights is essential to an effective public health response". On February 16, 2016, the Vatican condemned the UN for its call to action, deeming it "an illegitimate response" to the Zika crisis and emphasizing that "a diagnosis of microcephaly in a child should not warrant a death sentence".
On February 18, 2016, after a trip to Latin America, Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
stated that "avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil" in cases such as the Zika virus outbreak. His comments sparked speculation that the use of contraception may be morally permissible in the prevention of the Zika virus.
Scientific communication and concerns
The 2015–2016 Zika virus outbreak became an important topic on many social media sites, especially on Twitter. An analysis of Twitter posts on February 2, 2016, showed that 50 tweets per minute were posted about Zika, many of which contained the hashtags #salud, which means health in Spanish as well as #who, which served as a reference to the World Health Organization.
The epidemic also caused a rise in tweets from college students upset that their spring break trips and study abroad plans had been changed or cancelled due to the virus' spread.
Many studies have been conducted on the connections and impact of social media mentions of Zika. One analysis found that the primary topics discussed on Twitter before the peak of the outbreak regarding Zika included Zika's impact, reactions to Zika, pregnancy and microcephaly, transmission routes of Zika, and case reports. During the summer of 2016 when Zika was spreading at a much faster rate, this social media analysis determined that the major topics on Twitter regarding Zika had become concerns about the spread of Zika, criticism of Congress, news about Zika, and scientific information about Zika. The same study also found that tweets from reputable institutions and people holding scientific credentials demonstrated the ability of Twitter as a source to spread information quickly on the internet. Another study found that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the general public showed similar concerns about Zika. The CDC's posts on Twitter during the outbreak focused on symptoms and education for Zika. However, the public had more of a tendency to focus concern on the consequences of Zika on women and infants, such as microcephaly.
While there was concern for children on social media, this concern was lacking in countries largely impacted by Zika virus, such as Brazil. In Brazil, struggling mothers of infants with microcephaly caused by Zika have used support systems on social media on the cellphone chat app called WhatsApp
WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
or on Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
pages that can help connect mothers in need of supplies and money to donors.
The heavy traditional news and social media coverage of the virus spreading did cause concern over lack of reliability. Research has found that between May and June 2016, four out of five social media posts about Zika provided accurate information, but inaccurate posts were much more popular. This led many researchers to worry about the quality of information being spread and shared on social media. Google Trends showed that Zika did not become a trending topic for the media until January 2016. A study done found that 81 percent of the most popular posts on Facebook about Zika did contain truthful information, but posts spreading false information were far more popular. Initial media reports on Zika in the United States focused on reassuring viewers and readers that Zika was not a threat in the United States. Studies have found that real-time social media updates are desirable methods for communication during the emergence of infectious diseases. However, misinformation is common and data control in the cyber world has become a growing necessity.
Many people criticized the lack of governmental response from the U.S. Government in the wake of the crisis. The United States was criticized for a lack of preparedness in terms of an ability to contain a virus outbreak in the United States. The Obama Administration requested an emergency supplemental appropriation of $1.86 billion for both domestic and international response to the crisis. In response to this request, Congress redirected $589 million from funds previously dedicated to Ebola instead of allocating new funds. Another criticism regarding Zika funding had to do with the fact that Congress members still took vacation in July 2016 before allocating any of the funds requested in February 2016.
In August 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that they had spent $194 million of the initial $222 million allocation to fight Zika virus. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that the NIAID was running out of funds, which would substantially slow down the development of vaccines. Although the government faced criticism for not responding strongly enough to the Zika outbreak, the government eventually provided funding of $1.1 billion for Zika in October 2016. It took congress nearly seven months to agree to this allocation, which left many prevention and education projects without funding for a substantial amount of time. Senate Democrats urged Republicans to approve the full amount of funding more quickly rather than waiting for major transmission of Zika virus to begin in the United States.
In 2017, public health experts are still concerned about the failure of the Zika response in the United States. Many officials failed to provide information about Zika's sexual transmission. New York City subway systems had posters about mosquitos while all local cases reported had been picked up elsewhere or transmitted sexually. Many experts believe that the United States lacked severely in providing the public with information to prevent sexual transmission of the virus.
See also
* Zika virus outbreak timeline
* Health crisis
A health crisis is an emergency or complex health system that affects the public in one or more geographic areas from a particular locality to encompass the entire planet. Health crises generally have significant impacts on community health, loss ...
References
Feather references
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* McSweeny, R. (2016, December 20). Zika outbreak fuelled by El Nino and climate change. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.carbonbrief.org/zika-virus-outbreak-fuelled-by-el-nino-and-climate-change
External links
Zika virus infection
at the Pan American Health Organization
at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Zika outbreak in the Americas and the Pacific
at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
(New York Times)
Risk map for the spread of Zika to 100 cities worldwide
(UNSW Australia)
All the reported cases of Zika in the United States
(Washington Post)
Zika Response Funding: In Brief
Congressional Research Service
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...
Zika virus 1947 to 2016 – interactive maps
(esri UK)
Official Map of Zika-transmitting Mosquitoes in the US
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zika virus epidemic, 2015-16
2015 disasters in Asia
2016 disasters in Asia
2015 disasters in South America
2016 disasters in South America
2015 disease outbreaks
2016 disease outbreaks
2015 in Brazil
2016 in Brazil
2016 in Singapore
Disease outbreaks in Brazil
2015 disasters in Brazil
2016 disasters in Brazil
Health disasters in Brazil
Health disasters in Singapore
Disease outbreaks in Singapore
Zika virus
2010s epidemics
Public health emergencies of international concern
2016 disasters in Singapore