
Key facts about Zika Virus
- Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.
- People with Zika virus disease usually have symptoms that can include mild fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for 2-7 days.
- There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available.
- The best form of prevention is protection against mosquito bites.
- The virus is known to circulate in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
- Zika Virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys
- It was subsequently identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania