When nature gives you Zika virus ... cure cancer with it!.

When nature gives you Zika virus ... cure cancer with it!New research shows that Zika kills the kind of brain cancer cells that are hardest to treat.Each year, glioblastoma is diagnosed in about 12,000 people in the United States (including Senator John McCain). After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment, a small population of glioblastoma stem cells often survives and soon begins producing new tumor cells. Because of their neurological origins and ability to create new cells, glioblastoma stem cells reminded the researchers of neuroprogenitor cells. Zika virus is known to specifically target and kill neuroprogenitor cells. The researchers tested whether the Zika virus could kill stem cells in glioblastomas removed from human patients. The virus spread through the tumors, infecting and killing the cancer stem cells while avoiding other tumor cells. This suggests that Zika infection and chemotherapy-radiation treatment could be used as complementary treatments, with one killing the bulk of the tumor cells and Zika attacking the stem cells.

Health officials announce first Zika-related death in Puerto Rico.

A patient with Zika virus infection in Puerto Rico has died of complications related to severe thrombocytopenia, according to a recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). It is the first Zika virus-associated death to be reported in the country. “Although Zika virus-associated deaths are rare, the first identified death in Puerto Rico highlights the possibility of severe cases, as well as the need for continued outreach to raise health care providers’ awareness of complications that might lead to severe disease or death,” Emilio Dirlikov, PhD, of the Puerto Rico Department of Health’s Office of Epidemiology and Research and the CDC’s Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development, and colleagues wrote. Zika virus infections continue to rise the researchers reported that weekly case counts of Zika virus infection have gradually increased in the country since late November. As of April 14, health officials from the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) and CDC Dengue Branch in San Juan, identified 6,157 patients with suspected arbovirus infections. Among them, 11% of patients, including 65 symptomatic pregnant women, were identified as probable or laboratory-confirmed Zika virus cases. The most common symptoms among these patients included rash (74%), myalgia (68%), headache (63%), fever (63%) and arthralgia (63%). Seventeen patients required hospitalization, including five with suspected Guillain-Barré syndrome. culled from healio.com

NON-HUMAN PRIMATES MAY BE INVOLVED IN ZIKA TRANSMISSION...

Zika-Infected Monkeys have been identified in Brazil. The viral strain scientists isolated from two nonhuman primates is identical to the one circulating among humans. A new study published in the scientist reveals that a small sampling of capuchins and marmosets from various sites around the state of Ceará, Brazil, have tested positive for Zika virus (ZIKV), researchers reported in a preprint posted to BioRxiv April 20. Further analysis of the virus from two animals revealed that it is identical to a strain circulating among humans in South America. “This is the first report on ZIKV detection among Neotropical primates, which stands as a caveat for the possibility that they could act as reservoirs,” the authors, led by Silvana Favoretto of the Pasteur Institute in São Paulo, wrote in their report. The team took blood samples or oral swabs from 15 free-ranging marmosets and nine capuchins, eight of which were pets. Four marmosets and three capuchins tested positive for the virus. The regions of the state from which infected animals hailed overlapped with regions where there have been either suspected or confirmed cases of Zika-linked microcephaly or other birth defects in humans. “The Zika virus outbreak in Brazil has been thought to have been mainly transmitted between humans by mosquitoes,” Vincent Racaniello of Columbia University in New York wrote on his Virology Blog. “However, the results of this new study suggests that nonhuman primates could also be involved.” culled from http://www.the-scientist.com/

'Sweaty billboard' could help fight Zika.

A billboard that attracts and kills mosquitoes has been designed by marketing agencies in Brazil. The board releases a mixture of a lactic acid solution that mimics the smell of human sweat, and carbon dioxide, which is in human breath.At night, fluorescent lights increase the attraction. The mosquitoes get trapped in the display, later dying from dehydration, according to the project. Its inventors have released the blueprint for free and are encouraging people around the world to make them. However, one expert warned it could attract insects to areas where there are many humans. The mosquitoes the billboard targets fly around four feet high, the trapping mechanism is located at that height. It can attract the insects from a distance of up to around 1.5 miles, the Mosquito Killer Billboard site says. The Brazilian project was created by the ad agencies NBS and Posterscope. read more www.bbc.com

COLUMBIA CONFIRMS 2 MICROCEPHALY CASES LINKED TO ZIKA VIRUS.

Two cases of microcephaly linked to the Zika virus have been confirmed in Colombia, but there has been no explosion of cases of the birth defect, the health ministry said on Thursday. Public health officials have been concerned about the possibility of a surge in the rare birth defect, seen in worrisome numbers in Brazil, as the mosquito-borne virus spreads rapidly in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than 1,100 Zika-related cases of microcephaly have been confirmed in Brazil, but the new figures indicated that its neighbor Colombia is not yet experiencing the same type of increase. There have been 33 microcephaly cases recorded this year in Colombia associated with various causes, the health ministry said in a statement. Eighteen were investigated for a suspected link to Zika, and 16 of those cases were ruled out, it said. Babies with microcephaly are born with unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. “We have not seen an explosion in cases of microcephaly,” vice health minister Fernando Ruiz said, adding that in typical years Colombia records 11 or 12 cases a month. “We have a number of cases within normal range,” Ruiz added. There eventually could be a total of between 95 and 300 cases of microcephaly in Colombia this year, the ministry said. U.S. health authorities on Wednesday announced their conclusion that infection with the Zika virus during pregnancy causes microcephaly in babies. The World Health Organization has said there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis. Colombia’s national health institute director, Martha Lucia Ospina, said figures previously put forward by the WHO, the U.N. health agency, showing eight babies in the country with Zika-linked microcephaly were incorrect. “There are two confirmed cases in this country,” she said. One of those cases was in central Cundinamarca province. The other was in Norte de Santander, along the Venezuelan border.There were previous reports of Zika-linked microcephaly in Colombia, but until Thursday health officials had said they could not confirm any cases caused by the virus. There have been more than 60,000 reported cases of Zika infections in Colombia, including more than 11,000 in pregnant women, the national health institute said last week.Many Colombian pregnant women infected with Zika are not due to give birth until May or later, but more than 2,700 have already given birth, officials said. Brazil said on Tuesday it had confirmed 1,113 cases of Zika-related microcephaly. Brazil is investigating 3,836 additional suspected cases of microcephaly. Culled from News daily.

Fighting pandemics should be funded 'like the military'.

Governments around the world need to invest in defending against pandemics such as Ebola and Zika in the same way they invest in the military, says the head of biomedical research charity the Wellcome Trust. Jeremy Farrar, an expert on infectious diseases explains We spend gazillions to defend ourselves from military attacks, but from the beginning of the twentieth century far more people have died from infection. We are hugely vulnerable from a public health perspective. Farrar, who is speaking at WIRED Health on 29 April, described sudden outbreaks of diseases with no known vaccines or treatments as the new normal. Farrar stated that We've had Ebola for the last two to three years, now Zika. He has been involved Since 1998 in about eight major epidemics including SARS and bird flu. This is the new world and these are not rare events. Diseases are more likely to spread these days because of a number of factors. Firstly, the world is more connected, which means people travel more frequently. Secondly, increasingly dense populations mean more interactions between humans and animals, where most diseases originate. Climate change also plays a role, with rising temperatures and humidity providing the perfect breeding ground for disease carriers. When there are no drugs, no vaccines and no diagnostic tests, an outbreak goes from being a relatively small affair to 30,000 people, referring to Ebola in West Africa, which quickly claimed more than 11,300 lives. While Zika is less deadly than Ebola, its long-term effects on unborn babies are not clear. Around 20 per cent of people infected with the virus become ill, with symptoms including fever, rash, headaches and joint pain. The virus has also been linked to a spike in babies born with microcephaly, a congenital condition that causes incomplete brain development. The risk of this neurological disorder has forced governments in Jamaica and Latin America to advise women against getting pregnant. There is currently no vaccine or medication to treat Zika infections. Symptoms are treated with fluids, rest and pain relief. "It's spread across a whole continent and it's likely to invade the United States. Then it's highly likely to spread around the world and we have no method to control it," Farrar says. "There won't be 11,000 deaths, but if you had a whole generation of babies born with developmental delays that would be a disaster." The Ebola can be sexually transmitted and cause long term mental and eye problems, Farrar predicts that more complications will be discovered with Zika. "We've learned lessons from Ebola and we hoped to have a couple of years to put in place some changes, but Ebola hasn't finished yet. There are still outbreaks happening today. And while that's going on we've got to deal with Zika. It's not impossible to imagine there might be a third thing happening in Asia," he explains. Farrar cites Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) as another example of a virus we are "completely unprepared" for. The illness was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has since spread to several other countries, with many patients dying. Tackling these diseases requires being smarter about diagnosis, gathering data, sharing information and developing vaccines more quickly and in a more collaborative way. Public health organisations must also prepare to deal with entirely new threats, citing HIV as an example of a "completely unknown virus that we'd never seen before". The sharing of information is getting better and there's a movement towards developing vaccines quicker and making sure all of the potential interventions we could need are going to be available. read more at wired.co.uk

New mosquito traps offer nontoxic alternatives in Zika fight.

Canadian and Mexican researchers have developed a novel, low-cost and effective method for capturing and destroying Aedes spp. mosquito eggs by using traps made from used tires. This new solution to mosquito control, which does not use pesticides or noxious chemicals, may have implications for the prevention of vector-borne diseases like dengue and Zika. Gérardo Ulíbarri, PhD, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Laurentian University, Ontario, said in a press release that they decided to use recycled tires because tires already represent up to 29% of the breeding sites chosen by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, partly because tires are a universally affordable instrument in low-resource settings, and partly because giving old tires a new use creates an opportunity to clean up the local environment. Over the course of 10 months in a remote community in Guatemala — where dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses are endemic — Ulíbarri and colleagues studied the effectiveness of a mosquito egg ovitrap called an “ovillanta.” The device, which is designed to imitate a natural breeding site for mosquitoes and attract egg-laying females, is fashioned from two sections of a used car tire that overlap in the shape of a mouth. According to the researchers, a nontoxic attractant solution is poured into the bottom half of the trap, which has a fluid release valve. Female insects lay their eggs on strips of pellon paper inside the ovillanta, and the eggs are counted to monitor the density of the mosquito population and then destroyed with fire or ethanol. Once emptied, the solution is filtered and used again, building up a higher concentration of a natural pheromone left with each egg that will attract other female mosquitoes to the site. In the study, Ulíbarri and colleagues compared the ovillanta with standard ovitraps made from buckets containing 1 L of clean water. According to the researchers, the contents of standard ovitraps are typically discarded onto the ground instead of being recycled, which can sometimes allow surviving Aedes eggs that did not adhere to the strip to hatch on dry soil up to several months later. Moreover, the need to replace clean water on a regular basis can be challenging in remote areas with limited infrastructure. Eighty-four ovillantas were used in seven neighborhoods in the urban core of Sayaxché, which has a population of approximately 15,000. Results indicated that significantly more mosquito eggs were trapped using the ovillantas as more than 181,000 eggs were destroyed during the 10-month period using the new method, almost seven times as many as control sites. Argentinian researchers from the Centro de Investigaciones de Plagas e Insecticidas (CIPEIN) also have designed a new ovitrap prototype — a cup made of low-density polyethylene infused with the larvicide pyriproxyfen, a WHO-recommended juvenile hormone analog that targets mosquito larvae during the pupal stage of development. Once the cup is filled with water, the larvicide is released from the plastic container, killing the eggs of A. aegypti mosquitoes. The CIPEIN researchers tested the plastic ovitrap on laboratory-raised A. aegypti and found that the device was 100% effective at preventing larvae from developing into adults during a 30-week period, even after the water in the container had been changed once a week. However, the researchers noted that field trials are necessary to test the prototype’s effectiveness to suppress A. aegypti populations. A practical tool for managing dengue vectors, must be a specific trap, effective, inexpensive, simple to construct and operate, and it should not require frequent maintenance. . Traps without toxic pesticides are more likely to be accepted by homeowners because of concerns about potential health and environmental hazards. This prototype in the study meets all these requirements. culled from; healio.com

Vietnam reports first Zika infections.

Mosquitoes have infected two women with the Zika virus in Vietnam, health authorities said on Tuesday, in the country’s first cases of a disease linked in Brazil to thousands of suspected cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect. A 64-year-old woman in the beach city of Nha Trang and a pregnant 33-year-old in Ho Chi Minh City fell sick in late March, and three rounds of tests have confirmed they are Zika-positive, health officials said. The sufferers are in stable condition and no further infections have been found among their relatives and neighbors, the health ministry said in a statement.“After epidemic investigations, we consider the source of infection could be mosquito,” Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said of the patient in Ho Chi Minh City. She is eight weeks pregnant, Long said in a Vietnam Television broadcast, but gave no details of the first woman. Health officials have quarantined the living areas of the patient’s families and taken samples from others living nearby for further tests, said Nguyen Chi Dung, head of Ho Chi Minh City’s department of preventive medicine. The World Health Organization is working closely with Vietnam, a WHO official told a health ministry meeting to announce the infections. Zika is carried by mosquitoes, which transmit the virus to humans. The WHO says there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, though conclusive proof may take months or years. Microcephaly is characterized by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. Zika has been endemic in Asia, with infection cases confirmed in Bangladesh, South Korea, Thailand and China. Brazil said it had confirmed more than 860 cases of microcephaly, most of which it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. It is investigating more than 4,200 additional suspected cases of microcephaly. Read more at http://newsdaily.com/2016/04/two-vietnamese-women-contract-zika-virus-first-in-vietnam-government/#QYRfc6AIXf2ehxoY.99

MOSQUITOES , PATHOGENS AND GLOBAL THREAT.

The world focuses on Zika's rapid advance in the Americas but experts warns the virus that originated in Africa is just one of a growing number of continent-jumping diseases carried by mosquitoes threatening humanity. The Aedes aegypti species blamed for transmitting Zika breeds in car tires, tin cans, dog bowls and cemetery flower vases. And its females are great at spreading disease as they take multiple bites to satisfy their hunger for the protein in human blood they need to develop their eggs. Around the world, disease-carrying mosquitoes are advancing at speed, taking viruses such as dengue and Zika, plus a host of lesser-known conditions such as chikungunya and St. Louis encephalitis, into new territories from Europe to the Pacific. In 2014, there was a large outbreak of chikungunya, which causes fever and joint pains, in the Caribbean, where it had not been seen before, while the same virus sickened Italians in 2007 .Europe has seen the re-emergence of malaria in Greece for the first time in decades and the appearance of West Nile fever in eastern parts of the continent. The speed of change in mosquito-borne diseases since the late 1990s has been unprecedented, for many experts the biggest potential threat is Aedes albopictus, otherwise known as the Asian tiger mosquito. This is expanding its range widely and is capable of spreading more than 25 viruses, including Zika. There is evidence that Aedes albopictus is now out-competing aegypti in some areas and becoming more dominant, in the United States, Aedes albopictus has been found as far north as Massachusetts and as far west as California. In Europe it has reached Paris and Strasbourg. The global movement of mosquitoes rests on the increase in human travel, humans are moving the pathogens around and the mosquitoes are waiting there to transmit them. Deforestation in Malaysia, for example, is blamed for a steep rise in human cases of a type of malaria usually found in monkeys. The elimination of mosquitoes,their breeding sites and avoiding mosquito bites in mosquito prone areas are some of the measures to keep the mosquito menace at bay. Read more here; http://veterinarymedicineechbeebolanle-ojuri.blogspot.com.ng/2016/01/the-zika-threat-and-global-village.html

New virus transmission route discovered in pigs.

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus causes serious inflammation of the brain in people and fertility problems in pigs. Mosquitoes were previously the only known transmission route. However, the virus can also be spread from pig to pig by direct contact, and this could enable it to circulate in pigs during the mosquito-free winter season. The JE virus is the main cause of serious encephalitis in people in Asia. The virus is found in large parts of Southeast Asia and is now also widespread in India. It circulates between birds and mosquitoes and between pigs and mosquitoes, and is passed to humans through mosquito bites. In children in particular, infection can lead to acute encephalitis and permanent impairment or even death. In pigs, the main effect of the virus alongside fever and encephalitis is fertility problems. The virus is closely related to the West Nile, Zika and dengue viruses. All are transmitted by mosquitoes and are flaviviruses, which cause serious illness in humans and animals. Previously, the only known transmission route for JE viruses was mosquitoes. A team of researchers from the Institute of Virology and Immunology and the University Bern at the Vetsuisse Faculty led by Dr. Meret Ricklin and Prof Artur Summerfield have now shown that JE viruses can also be passed directly from pig to pig. The study has just been published in the journal "Nature Communications."

South Africa confirms first case of Zika virus .

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa confirmed its first case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in a Columbian man, health authorities said. The virus, which is causing international alarm after spreading through much of the Americas, was detected in the man on his visit to Johannesburg, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said. “The businessman presented with fever and a rash approximately four days after arrival in South Africa but is now fully recovered,” he said. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global public health emergency on Feb. 1, noting its association with two neurological disorders – microcephaly in babies and Guillain-Barre syndrome that can cause paralysis. source; http://newsdaily.com/2016/02/south-africa-confirms-first-case-of-zika-virus/

BRAZIL CONFIRMS ZIKA INFECTION THROUGH BLOOD TRANSFUSION.

Brazilian health authorities confirmed on Thursday a case of transmission of Zika through a transfusion of blood from a donor who had been infected with the mosquito-borne virus that is spreading rapidly through the Americas.The health department of Campinas, an industrial city near Sao Paulo, said a man with gunshot wounds became infected with Zika after multiple blood transfusions in April 2015. Officials said they determined that one of the people whose donated blood was used in the transfusion had been infected with Zika. Zika is usually contracted via mosquito bites, so transmission of the illness through blood transfusions adds another concern to efforts to contain the outbreak. Some countries have tightened procedures for blood donations, to protect blood supplies. Zika has been reported in 30 countries since it first appeared in the Americas last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to thousands of babies being born with microcephaly. This is a condition where infants have abnormally small heads and often have underdeveloped brains. Campinas health officials said the donor of the contaminated blood developed symptoms afterwards that were mistaken for dengue, a virus borne by the same mosquito that transmits Zika. A blood test that showed he had Zika was not completed until Jan. 28 this year. The blood center at the University of Campinas said a second person who donated blood in May developed symptoms and tested positive for Zika, though the recipient of the contaminated blood has not developed symptoms of the virus. Brazil’s Health Ministry said the first recipient died of his wounds and not from the Zika infection. It said it was reinforcing instructions to blood banks that people infected with Zika or dengue not be permitted to donate blood for 30 days after full recovery from the active stage of Zika infection. The American Red Cross urged prospective donors who have visited Zika outbreak zones to wait at least 28 days before giving blood, but said the risk of transmitting the virus through blood donations was “extremely” low in the continental United States. The agency asked donors who give blood and subsequently develop symptoms consistent with Zika within 14 days to notify the Red Cross so the product can be quarantined. Also causing concern is the possibility of transmission through sexual contact. Health officials in Texas reported on Tuesday that a person in Dallas became infected after having sex with another person who had traveled in Venezuela, where the virus is circulating. story source;news daily.(http://newsdaily.com/2016/02/brazil-confirms-zika-infection-from-a-blood-transfusion/)

MONKEYS, BATS AND INFECTION IN MAN.

When it comes to spreading viruses, bats are thought to be among the worst. Now a new study of nearly 900 nonhuman primates in Bangladesh and Cambodia shows that macaques harbor more diverse astroviruses, which can cause infectious gastroenteritis or diarrhea in humans. A bat has bat astrovirus, but a monkey, you could have everything, a research scientist at the University of Washington National Primate Research Primate Center and a co-author of the study, published in PLOS Pathogens. This research, the scientists said, is the first to show evidence of human astroviruses in animals, and among the earliest to demonstrate that astroviruses can move between mammalian species .Astroviruses from a number of species, including human, bovine, bird, cow and dog, were detected in monkeys, This "challenges the paradigm that AstV (astrovirus) infection is species-specific," the authors wrote. It is still unknown whether these viruses are two-way and can be transmitted to humans. They did find evidence that, in monkeys, two species of astrovirus recombined.Knowing that nonhuman primates can harbor diverse astroviruses -- including novel, recombinant viruses that may be pathogenic and/or more efficiently transmitted -- highlights the importance of continued monitoring, the authors said. This is particularly true in countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, where macaques and humans live side-by-side."This study is an example of the concept of One Health for new viruses," noted author Stacey Schultz-Cherry at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. "This is an indication that we really need to think about animal partners in One Health." Astroviruses are most commonly associated with diarrhea. They can also cause clinical diseases such as nephritis, hepatitis and encephalitis. Astroviruses also can be asymptomatic, depending on the species, the researchers reported. Currently, the only treatment is oral rehydration. story source; science daily.

FACTS ABOUT ZIKA VIRUS.

An RNA virus of flaviviridae family and genus flavi virus.Transmission is through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito.The mosquitoes are urban dwellers and aggressive day time feeders,feeding both in door and outdoor.The zika virus infection is an emerging mosquito borne illness,1st identified in Uganda in 1947. 1 in every 5 people infected with the zika virus become ill,and the common symptoms of zika are 1) fever 2)rash 3)joint pain 4)red eyes,while other signs include muscle pain and headache.The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to weeks. Pregnant women infected with the virus have babies with small brains,resulting in delayed development. The symptoms of the zika virus are similar to that of dengue and chikungunya. The zika virus remains in the blood of an infected person for 2-7 days but can be longer in some people. There are no vaccines or medication to prevent the zika virus infection,rather symptoms are treated symptomatically following these steps 1) get plenty of rest. 2) drink plenty of fluid to prevent dehydration and 3) use acetaminophen to relieve fever and pain. An infected mosquito can spread virus to other people.People living in areas with high mosquito population should protect themselves by using screened doors,windows ,insecticides and insect repellent. # stay safe # insecticides # treated nets

VECTOR CONTROL AND ZIKA VIRUS.

When the life cycle of the mosquito is understood, then specific interventions can be instituted to kill them.The elimination of stagnant water where some of the stages occur is very important,the spraying of drains with kerosene, cleaning and removing trash from environment will also prevent development of mosquito. The use of insecticides, treated nets and treated clothes are also important.Living quarters surrounded by large bodies of water must be screened to prevent mosquito bites. The Aedes egypti is the identified specie that transmits the zika virus,its also responsible for yellow fever,dengue and chikungunya. The simple protocol of cleaning your environment,removing water collecting containers,using insecticides, clearing drains ,using treated nets and also the use of insect repellent on skin in susceptible environment will keep you safe and free from mosquito bites. Photo credit; internet.

THE ZIKA THREAT AND THE GLOBAL VILLAGE.

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne illness and it was first isolated from a Rhesus monkey in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947. It was first identified in humans in 1957 in Uganda and in 1968, researchers found the virus in people in Nigeria and between 1951 and 1981,the virus found in people in Uganda,Tanzania,egypt,Sierra leone,Gabon e.t.c .The first outbreak outside of Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands only occurred in May 2015, when a case was reported in Brazil. Since then the disease has spread to 18 other countries in south and central America and the Caribbean. The symptoms of Zika include joint pain and a rash – scientists believe it is linked to microcephaly, or abnormally small brains, in newborns. As a result, authorities in Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador have advised women against becoming pregnant during the outbreak. Three travellers who returned to the UK from South and Central America have been diagnosed with the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness that has been linked to brain deformities in babies. The three people had presented with the virus after travelling to Colombia, Suriname and Guyana, all countries which are experiencing Zika outbreaks. Zika does not occur naturally in the UK ,but it can be transmitted only from the bite of a mosquito or, in rare cases through sexual transmission or by transmission from mother to foetus via the placenta.It does not spread directly from person to person. Mosquitoes transmitting the zika virus was only identified in tropical regions but recent research has shown adaptability to colder regions making it easy for spread of the infection.The Aedes aegypti is a day time feeder found predominantly in urban areas in close association with man,making humans the primary target.The best way to stop threat is to protect yourself from bites,avoid travelling to places with outbreaks, wear protective clothing in susceptible areas,use insecticides, screened doors/nets and sleep under treated nets. The war against ZIKA VIRUS is total destruction of mosquitoes, (irrespective of species),clean your environment, remove containers of stagnant water and pour kerosene in your drains/gutters .