Zika Virus – An Obscure Disease Goes “Viral”

Abstract

Zika virus is an arbovirus (virus spread by arthropods), that is a member of the flavivirus family, along with other viruses including Yellow Fever, West Nile, Dengue, Japanese encephalitis and Saint Louis encephalitis viruses. First isolated in 1947, it did not appear in the Americas until early 2014 when it was identified on Easter Island (Chile).