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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Terrestrial Invasives
  3. Terrestrial Pathogens and Diseases
  4. Zika Virus Disease

Zika Virus Disease

Common Name

Zika virus disease, Zika (ZIKV)

Date of U.S. Introduction

On Aug 1, 2016, CDC issued guidance for people living in or traveling to a 1-square-mile area of the Wynwood neighborhood in Miami, FL, identified by the Florida Department of Health as having mosquito-borne spread of Zika. (https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00393.asp)

Means of Introduction

Ae. aegypti is the primary vector responsible for the current outbreak in the Americas. Ae. albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) has been shown to be able to transmit Zika virus in Africa and in laboratory settings, although it does not yet appear to be a major vector of the virus. (Plourde and Bloch 2016; WHO 2016)

Impact

The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. People usually don't get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected. However, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly, as well as other severe fetal brain defects. Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections. (DHHS, CDC)

Current U.S. Distribution

There is no current local transmission of Zika virus in the continental United States, including Florida and Texas, which reported transmission of Zika virus in 2016-17 (CDC - Zika in the U.S.)

Spotlights

  • The Ultimate Buzz Kill

    • Jun 19, 2023

    • USDA. ARS. Tellus.

    • New techniques use radiation to eliminate dangerous mosquitoes. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is notorious for spreading dengue virus, yellow fever virus, chikungunya virus, and Zika virus, among other ailments. While many mosquitoes do not feed on people, or even domestic animals, this mosquito targets humans causing disease to millions of people throughout the world. ARS researchers with scientists from the University of Florida have developed a new technique for using radiation to control mosquito populations.

  • About Zika Virus Disease

    • DHHS. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    • Zika virus disease (Zika or ZIKV) is a disease caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito.

  • Google News - Zika Virus Funding

    • Google.

  • Invasive Mosquito Project

    • Invasive Mosquito Project.

    • The Invasive Mosquito Project is aimed at monitoring invasive container-inhabiting mosquito species across the United States. By doing this monitoring, we can determine where the invasive mosquito species, as well as native species, are distributed across the U.S. and define at-risk human and animal populations based on this distribution. This citizen science project provides students, teachers, and anyone interested the opportunity to collect real data and contribute to a national mosquito species distribution study.

Videos

All Resources

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Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Partnership
Federal Government
International Government
Academic
Professional

  • PLOS Collections - Zika

    • Public Library of Science.

    • Note: Collection of all Zika-related research published in PLOS journals; freely accessible

  • Zika Virus Resource Centre

    • Lancet.

    • Note: Collection of scientific/technical articles published in Lancet journals; freely accessible

Citations