infectious diseases
Zika Virus (ZV) Infections
Epidemiology of Zika Virus Infections
In 1947, the Zika virus was first isolated from monkeys in the Zika Forest of Uganda but was not considered an important human pathogen until the first large-scale outbreaks in the South Pacific islands in 2007. In May 2015, local transmission was first reported in South America, then in Central America and in the Caribbean, reaching Mexico by late November 2015. Local transmission of Zika virus has been reported in the following regions: South America Central America and Mexico Caribbean Islands (including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) Pacific Islands Cape Verde (a nation of islands off the northwest coast of Africa) South and Southeast Asia (sporadic cases) Africa Florida and Texas The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issuestravel alertsfor countries in these regions when outbreaks occur. Although as of December 2019, there were no areas with CDC travel precautions due to Zika outbreaks, in early 2020 there were thousands of cases in some areas of Brazil and hundreds of cases in Colombia. In 2016 and 2017, cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection were reported in Miami-Dade County in southeastern Florida and Brownsville, Texas. According to theCDC website, there is no current local transmission of Zika virus in the continental United States. However, Zika virus infection has been reported in travelers returning to the United States after travel to countries where the virus is transmitted locally. Predicting where the Zika virus will spread is difficult. However, because the same mosquito that transmits Zika also transmits Dengue and 