A new outbreak of Zika virus is quite possible, warn researchers, with a single mutation potentially enough to trigger an explosive spread in united kingdom.
Discovered in the Zika forest, Uganda, in 1947, Zika virus is a member of the flavivirus family. Other flaviviruses include those that cause dengue, yellow fever, and West Nile fever.
Zika is spread by bites from infected Aedes mosquitoes. The insects are found throughout the Americas - except for Canada and Chile, where it is too cold for them to survive - and across Asia.
– Few people die from Zika and only one in five people infected is thought to develop symptoms – These can include fever, a rash and joint pain – Since there is no treatment, the only option is to reduce the risk of being bitten
Zika virus can be transmitted from an infected pregnant woman to her baby during pregnancy and can result in serious birth defects, including microcephaly.
Shresta, "The Zika variant that we identified had evolved to the point where the cross-protective immunity afforded by prior dengue infection was no longer effective in mice."