The Zika virus was first isolated in 1947 in monkeys in Uganda. The first human infections were identified there too, then a few more in Africa and southeast Asia. Only 14 cases in humans were recorded before 2007. So it came as a shock when an outbreak of the virus spread through the Americas, a number of Pacific islands and southeast Asia in 2015. Zika virus disease is generally mild, but an infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects. Rarely, it can cause Guillain-Barré syndrome, a neurological disease. Researchers are trying to establish what led to the sudden epidemic and how the virus can cause such damage.
|