Fauci A and David Morens M. P
ublished on January 13, 2016, at NEJM.org
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1600297
"The explosive pandemic of Zika virus infection occurring throughout South America, Central America, and the Caribbean (see map) and potentially threatening the United States is the most recent of four unexpected arrivals of important arthropod-borne viral diseases in the Western Hemisphere over the past 20 years. It follows dengue, which entered this hemisphere stealthily over decades and then more aggressively in the 1990s; West Nile virus, which emerged in 1999; and chikungunya, which emerged in 2013. Are the successive migrations of these viruses unrelated, or do they reflect important new patterns of disease emergence? Furthermore, are there secondary health consequences of this arbovirus pandemic..."
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BBC News - Jan 25, 2016 - By James Gallagher
"The Zika virus is likely to spread across nearly all of the Americas, the World Health Organization has warned.
The infection, which causes symptoms including mild fever, conjunctivitis and headache, has already been found in 21 countries in the Caribbean, North and South America.
It has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains and some countries have advised women not to get pregnant.
No treatment or vaccine is available.
The virus is native to Africa and was first found to be spreading in the Americas in Brazil in May 2015.
The lack of any natural immunity in the Americas is thought to be helping the infection to spread rapidly..."
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