- [voiceover] on february first, 2016 the world health organization declared a public health emergencyof international concern over the zika virus. here's everything we know so far. ("resolution") in 1947 in the zika forest of uganda, the first samples ofthe virus were isolated from a captive rhesus monkey.
the next year, scientistsrecover the virus from an aedes africanusmosquito in the same forest. four years later, the firstcases of the zika virus are found in humans, both in uganda and the united republic of tanzania. in 2007, the first large outbreak of zika is found on the pacific island of yap, with 185 suspected cases. prior to this, only 14 cases of zika
had ever been documented. on march second, 2015 brazil notified the world healthorganization of an illness causing skin rashes inthe northeastern states. zika was not a suspect at this point, so patients were not tested for it. as of february 2016,brazilian national authorities estimate between 500,000and 1.5 million cases of the zika virus,
and a total of 39 countries reporting local circulation of the disease. zika spreads when an infected person is bitten by an aedes mosquito. then the infected mosquitogoes on to bite someone else. if a pregnant mother contracts the virus, it can be passed on to her unborn child. although the virus hasbeen spreading quickly, only about one in fivepeople who contracts zika
actually become sick. the symptoms of zika are generally mild, including fever, skin rash, red eyes, muscle and joint pain, and headache. the symptoms generally clear up within two to seven days, and can be treated with some common pain and fever medicines. what's troubling aboutzika is the increase
in a disease known as microcephaly in some of the countriesthat have known outbreaks of the virus. the condition causes newborns to be born with a small head or have heads that stopgrowing after birth. if the smaller head affects brain growth, it may cause developmental disabilities. currently, healthofficials are researching
the possible link between the zika virus in pregnant women and the increase in cases of microcephaly. it is recommended that pregnant women in the affected countriestake extra precautions to avoid mosquitoesuntil more is understood about the virus. the world health organization has drafted a $56 million strategic response plan
to provide surveillance of the zika virus, control the spread ofthe aedes mosquitoes, and support vaccine research. and that's the bulk ofwhat we know so far. a lot of research must still be done to further our understanding of the virus and take steps towards developing a cure.
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