Evolving RNA Virus Pandemics: HIV, HCV, Ebola, Dengue, Chikunguya, and now Zika!

The Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus related to yellow fever, dengue, and West Nile, originated in the Zika forest in Uganda and was discovered in a rhesus monkey in 1947. The disease now has "explosive" pandemic potential, with outbreaks in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas. To date, the CDC has issued travel alerts for at least 30 countries and territories in Latin America, the Caribbean, Polynesia, and Cape Verde in Africa.