Previously found in forest monkeys, Zika has recently been found to be infecting new born babies, as well.
The situation in Brazil has turned rather grim, as a mosquito-borne virus is believed to have been causing infants to be born with brain damage. This has left the Brazilian health authorities in distress.
Zika, as the pathogen is referred to, was first discovered 70 years ago, in the forest monkeys of Africa. It is also being compared to the dreaded virus, West Nile, that often proved fatal after brief spells of mild symptoms.
As reported by NDTV, on November 28, the Brazilian Health ministry, after the autopsy of a child, who had succumbed to microcephaly - a deformity where the child is born with a shrunken skull - found the Zika virus. The virus could be traced back to the mothers of all the affected babies as well.
"This is an unprecedented situation, unprecedented in world scientific research," said the ministry's statement, as reported by CNN.
With 29 cases of fatality in infants and Brazil investigating more than 2,400 cases, which has sharply risen from previous year's 147, the situation has turned alarming.
Angela Rocha, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist in Pernambuco, the city with most cases of Zika, said,"These are newborns who will require special attention their entire lives. It's an emotional stress that just can't be imagined...we're talking about a generation of babies that's going to be affected."
It might be a better idea for the women to 'hold off' on planning their pregnancy around this time, she added.
Since this virus had never before been a problem to humans, scientists believe that sudden climate changes has led to behavioral changes in the virus. Nearly two third of the 11,000 residents of the Yap island were afflicted by Zika in 2007. It followed in Tahiti and French Polynesia, until an epidemic started in Brazil, possibly by May.
After monitoring the virus for a while, the World Health Organization has sounded the alarm, reporting that the virus has struck Cape Verde in West Africa, Panama and Honduras. However, no cases of infection from mosquito bites have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States.
In its struggle to contain the situation, Brazil has so far led public awareness campaigns, dispatched enough larvicide to treat 3,560 Olympic-sized swimming pools and will be adding 2,66,000 community health agents, to make more house calls.
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