Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-27-2016
Abstract
The Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus related to yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis, originated in the Zika forest in Uganda and was discovered in a rhesus monkey in 1947. The disease now has “explosive” pandemic potential, with outbreaks in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas. Since Brazil reported Zika virus in May 2015, infections have occurred in at least 20 countries in the Americas. Puerto Rico reported the first locally transmitted infection in December 2015, but Zika is likely to spread to the United States. The Aedes species mosquito (an aggressive daytime biter) that transmits Zika virus (as well as dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever) occurs worldwide, posing a high risk for global transmission. Modeling anticipates significant international spread by travelers from Brazil to the rest of the Americas, Europe, and Asia. What steps are required now to shore up preparedness in the Americas and worldwide?
Publication Citation
Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 315, No. 9, 865.
Scholarly Commons Citation
Gostin, Lawrence O. and Lucey, Daniel, "The Emerging Zika Pandemic: Enhancing Preparedness" (2016). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 1619.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1619
Included in
Diseases Commons, Health and Medical Administration Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Health Policy Commons, Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons