Concerns Mount As Zika Virus Spreads Outside Brazil.

reports on its front page that Brazilian researchers claim the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has caused over 2,782 cases of microcephaly in newborns in Brazil, only recently entered the country. Researchers have not pinpointed exactly when the virus entered Brazil but speculated the World Cup or kayak races may have introduced it. The virus has also spread to other Latin American countries, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning that Americans traveling to these countries could bring it back to the US. Zika virus is a member of the Flaviviridae family and is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. It is related to other pathogenic vector borne flaviviruses including dengue, West-Nile and Japanese encephalitis viruses but produces a comparatively mild disease in humans. In 2007, Zika virus caused an outbreak on the island of Yap in the Pacific. This was the first documented transmission outside of its traditional endemic areas in Africa and Asia, and Zika virus is considered an emerging infectious disease with the potential to spread to new areas where the Aedes mosquito vector is present. There is no evidence of transmission Zika virus in Europe to date and imported cases are rare. - See more at: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/zika_virus_infection/Pages/index.aspx#sthash.l9V7Sfd7.dpuf http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/31/world/americas/alarm-spreads-in-brazil-over-a-virus-and-a-surge-in-malformed-infants.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0