Zika Virus Threatens U.S. from Abroad

ZIKA, THE MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASE LINKED TO A WORRISOME BIRTH DEFECT CALLED MICROCEPHALY AND ANOTHER AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE, HAS BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO THE U.S. IN THE BLOODSTREAMS OF SOME 20-PLUS TRAVELERS SINCE 2007. THEY PICKED IT UP IN MORE THAN A DOZEN COUNTRIES, MOSTLY ACROSS SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA. ALTHOUGH THE TWO TYPES OF MOSQUITOES CAPABLE OF TRANSMITTING THE VIRUS ARE ALREADY IN THE U.S., SO FAR, THE VIRUS HAS NOT YET BEEN LOCALLY SPREAD HERE.  GRAPHIC BY AMANDA MONTAÑEZ

scientificamerican.com - by Dina Fine Maron - January 26, 2016

Zika is not new to the U.S. Even as early as 2007, when the mosquito-borne disease had its first large outbreak in the Pacific island nation of Micronesia, the virus directly touched the U.S.—sickening one American traveler. Since then more than two dozen domestic cases have been reported, all from travelers who contracted Zika in more than a dozen countries around the globe. To create these exclusive maps, Scientific American launched its own investigation, gathering and analyzing information from all 50 states’ health departments, to depict a more nuanced picture of how this disease has been carried back to the U.S. via jet-setters. So far none of these cases have led to local disease transmission in the country but state health officials are bracing themselves for future such incidents.

CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE - Go to Interactive map, based on data from 50 state health departments, details how the mosquito-borne disease made its way to America in travelers’ bloodstreams