THE ZIKA VIRUS.

On Monday (Jan. 25), the World Health Organization announced that Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness that in the past year has swept quickly throughout equatorial countries, is expected to spread across the Americas and into the United States. Zika virus is transmitted by the mosquito species Aedes aegypti, also a carrier of dengue fever and chikungunya, two other tropical diseases. Though Aedes aegypti is not native to North America, researchers at the University of Notre Dame who study the species have reported a discovery of a population of the mosquitoes in a Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, D.C. , the team identified genetic evidence that these mosquitoes have overwintered for at least the past four years, meaning they are adapting for persistence in a northern climate well out of their normal range. This mosquito is typically restricted to tropical and subtropical regions of the world and not found farther north in the United States than Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina. What this means for the scientific world," said Severson, who led the team, "is some mosquito species are finding ways to survive in normally restrictive environments by taking advantage of underground refugia. Therefore, a real potential exists for active transmission of mosquito-borne tropical diseases in popular places like the National Mall.(source ;science daily) The emergence of mosquitoes in normally restricted areas has exposed the pandemic potential of the ZIKA VIRUS,with pregnant women at highest risk.Prevention of mosquito bites through use of treated nets,insecticides,and clearing environment of stagnant water,destruction of developmental stages and more recently the introduction of genetically modified mosquitoes to wipe out the infective strains have all been employed to reduce disease incidence. Travelling to zika-risk zones by pregnant women has also been initiated as they are mostly prone to the infection.