Zika Virus Unmasked: Understanding a Global Enigma

Zika virus or Zika fever is a disease one gets from certain types of mosquitoes namely Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Zika is caused by a virus, an organism that uses the cells of the body to make more copies of itself. Many people don’t know they have it or have very mild symptoms. If a person who’s pregnant gets infected, the virus can prevent the foetus’s brain from developing properly. The Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitos are found in many parts of the world. There have been outbreaks in the Americas, the Caribbean and parts of Africa and Asia.