Zika Comes to the Western Hemisphere and Americas: How, When, Consequences

This chapter traces the history of the Zika virus. Viruses are usually messengers of bad news. The bad news emerging as a specialty of infection by Zika viruses and the harm they cause is the long-term disability of the most vulnerable populations: pregnant women and their babies. Zika virus is a member of the flavivirus group, whose fellow members are yellow fever and West Nile viruses; all three are transmitted by mosquitoes. Attacks by Zika virus and the disease it caused unexpectedly exploded in 2015–2016, mainly in Brazil and surrounding countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Zika was then transported to the United States. Zika infections recorded in the United States were linked primarily to airplane or ship travelers from the areas of Zika outbreaks. Adult males and females infected with Zika virus may develop an autoimmune disease termed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). GBS describes persons whose own immune system attacks their nerves (polyneuropathy), leading to symmetrical weakness of the extremities requiring hospitalization.