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The Zika virus also known as ZIKAV or ZIKV is in the virus family Flaviviridae which includes West Nile and dengue fever It is a disease that is transmitted mainly through mosquitoes however sexual transmission between people is possible as well Usually a minor self limited illness when symptomatic causing a maculopapular rash fever and or conjunctivitis but it can also be asymptomatic However contracting Zika during pregnancy can cause outcomes such as loss of the fetus microcephaly or other serious brain abnormalities The virus was first isolated in 1947 from a monkey in the Zika forest Uganda then in mosquitoes Aedes africanus in the same forest in 1948 and in a human in Nigeria in 1952 Factsheet about Zika virus disease 2017 To epidemiologically describe this disease one of the most popular models will be used the epidemiological triangle This model uses the interactions between the host environment and the causative agent of the disease In this instance the environment factors include the climate much of the tropical and temperate places of the world that have more rainfall and warmer climates socioeconomic factors human travel and population growth and crowding clearly have played an important role in Zika s emergence
