n 1947, a study of yellow fever yielded the first isolation of a new
virus, from the blood of a sentinel rhesus macaque that had been placed in the
Zika Forest of Uganda.
1
Zika virus remained in relative obscurity for nearly 70
years; then, within the span of just 1 year, Zika virus was introduced into Brazil
from the Pacific Islands and spread rapidly throughout the Americas.
2
It became
the first major infectious disease linked to human birth defects to be discovered
in more than half a century and created such global alarm that the World Health
Organization (WHO) would declare a Public Health Emergency of International
Concern.
3
This review describes the current understanding of the epidemiology,
transmission, clinical characteristics, and diagnosis of Zika virus infection, as well
as the future outlook with regard to this disease.