After being first detected in 1947 in a monkey in Uganda, Zika was most often found along the equator from Africa into Asia. Nine years ago, new cases popped up in islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Last year, it made its way to the Americas -- with already devastating results.
The number of cases there has grown exponentially, prompting significant public health measures aimed at curbing it and protecting those most endangered by it, particularly women who could become pregnant or who already are. Brazil alone has reported more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly -- a neurological disorder that results in babies being born with small heads -- in infants born to women infected with Zika during their pregnancies.