Epidemic of Zika Virus

Epidemic of Zika Virus

Carla Slaton

SCI/163

March 7, 2016

Robert Williams

Epidemic of Zika Virus

Introduction

Zika virus is a rising mosquito-borne flavivirus that was first found in rhesus monkey in Zika forest present in Uganda in the year 1947. Before the year 2007, few cases of the infection caused by the virus in human beings were found in the some countries from Africa and Asia. First reported outbreak of the infection occurred 2007 in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia. After that, some outbreaks were reported in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in America, first local transmission of Zika virus occurred in May 2015 and some cases were found in Brazil. In the month of December 2015, the Ministry of Health suspected that there were about 440,000–1,300,000 autochthonous cases of the disease caused by Zika virus in Brazil. By the end of January 2016, locally-transmitted cases were found in the Pan American Health Organization from Puerto Rico. Moreover, 19 other countries or territories in the Americas also reported the transmission of the disease (Hennessey, Fischer, Staples, 2016). Zika virus has not been found to be related to hemorrhagic fever and/or death (Fauci, & Morens, 2016).

Transmission of the disease through the human population

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes mainly transmit Zika virus, though Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are also found to have an ability to transmit the virus through the human population. These mosquitoes are present throughout many parts of the U.S., and they can also transmit dengue as well as chikungunya viruses (Hennessey et al., 2016).

Zika virus infection have also been found to be transmitted through intrauterine route, thereby resulting in congenital infection; intrapartum route from an infected mother to her newborn baby; blood transfusion; sexual transmission; and laboratory exposure. Researchers are of opinion that transmission of Zika virus...