Zika virus was first described in 1947 in rhesus monkey serum in Zika Forest, near Entebbe in Uganda. In 1948 it was first isolation from a mosquito (Aedes africanus) and in 1968 from humans in Nigeria.
In Burkina Faso, Zika virus has been identified in the following mosquito species: Aedes aegypti, Aedes furcifer, Aedes jamoti, Aedes opok and Aedes luteocephalus.
Zika virus is stable for up to 6 months at 4 C in glycerol, but is easily inactivated by chloroform, ether and sodium deoxycholate. The virus is also inactivated by p-chloromercuribenzoate.
The virus has been linked to microcephaly in Brazil, where there have been nearly 4,000 cases of suspected microcephaly and 1.5 million cases of the Zika virus, prompting the World Health Organisation to declare an international emergency.
Microcephaly is a serious birth defect, characterized by an abnormally small head and brain. Common symptoms of the Zika virus include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis, according to the CDC. Approximately one in five people infected with the virus show symptoms.
Zika virus
