Zika Virus: An Emerging Vector Borne Disease

The Zika virus was first isolated in 1947 from Rhesus macaque monkeys and the first human isolation was done in 1952. Though it did not cause any major outbreaks till 2007, it caused an outbreak in 2007 in the French island of Polynesia and thereafter the massive epidemic in Brazil in 2015. The most troublesome part about the epidemic was the clustering of microcephaly cases in new-borns born to pregnant women, that WHO declared it to be a public health problem of international concern. The prevalence of the vector mosquitoes Aedes worldwide, the different modes of transmission, lack of suitable tests for diagnosis, no approved vaccines all make Zika virus a deadly disease. The current review provides an insight into all the aspects of Zika virus