Question

A brief history of zika virus from its discovery in the zika forest to the global outbreak today

Answer 1

The Zika virus was first discovered in 1947, during a routine surveillance for yellow fever in the Zika forest in Uganda by Yellow Fever Research Institute scientists. The term “ziika” means “overgrown” in Luganda.

Because the forest is tropical and encompasses several ecosystems, it was perfect for studying mosquitoes and viruses. The forest was actually property of the Uganda Virus Research Institute, which to this day restricts the land for scientific research. That year, researchers isolated the Zika virus from a captive rhesus monkey at the forest.

1948. The virus was taken from the mosquito Aedes africanusafter one was caught in a tree platform in the Zika forest.

1952. For the first time, researchers identified the first human Zika cases, detected in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.

1958. Two more strains of the virus are discovered from the same type of mosquito — the Aedes africanus — and in the same Zika forest.


1964. Researchers identify the first proof  that Zika virus causes human disease. David Simpson was working with Zika strains in Uganda when he fell ill from the virus and published a study on his observations of the infection. In the study , he notes that the “clinical picture of the infection was that of a mild febrile illness of short duration accompanied by a generalized maculopapular rash,” and that “a rise in antibody to Zika virus was demonstrated.”

Back then, the Zika virus was compared to the likes of chikungunya and dengue fevers (both of which are transmitted through mosquitos), though it appeared at the time that Zika was far milder.

Throughout the next few decades, the virus was detected in mosquitoes in countries beyond Uganda and Tanzania — including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan. While there may have been a few human cases here and there, “no outbreaks [were] detected and the disease in humans continue[d] to be regarded as rare, with mild symptoms,” the WHO notes. “Researchers later suggest that the clinical similarity of Zika infection with dengue and chikungunya may be one reason why the disease was so rarely reported in Asia.” In fact, only about 14 human cases of the disease had been confirmed during this time frame.


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