This year was the first time that many people heard about the Zika virus. And it’s clear that it’s spreading. Since 2015 there have been Zika outbreaks reported in sixty countries. So, where did Zika come from? What happens when you get infected? How worried should you be? And why has Zika has become such a problem recently? To find out, we speak to Assoc. Prof. Desiree LaBeaud, Dr. Cathy Spong, Dr. Andrew Haddow, and New York Times health reporter Donald McNeil, Jr.

Credits This episode has been produced by Diane Wu, Heather Rogers, Caitlin Kenney, and Shruti Ravindran. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. Edited by Annie-Rose Strasser. Sound design and music production by Matthew Boll, mixed by Martin Peralta. Music written by Martin Peralta and Bobby Lord.

Selected References

• First case of Zika reported in Nigerian girl N. McNamara, Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1954.
• Donald McNeil Jr’s recent book on Zika epidemic McNeil, DG “Zika: The emerging epidemic,” W. W. Norton and Co, 2016
• Interactive history of Zika from the World Health Organization
• Zika virus may linger in the vagina Prisant, N et al “Zika virus in the female genital tract,” The Lancet 2016
• Estimated risk of microcephaly if you get zika when pregnant is between one and 13% Johansson, M et al “Zika and the Risk of Microcephaly,” New England Journal of Medicine, 2016
• First report that Zika can be spread through sex (confirming Andrew Haddow's hunch over a beer in Senegal) Foy, BD et al “Probable Non–Vector-borne Transmission of Zika Virus, Colorado, USA,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2011
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommendations on Zika
• World Health Organization recommendations on Zika