Why in news? Raichur district has become the first confirmed Zika virus case in the state.

Highlights:

• Zika virus cases were found in Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

About Zika

• Virus family : Flaviviridae
• Spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes ( aegypti and albopictus) in tropical and subtropical regions.
• Origin: Zika Forest of Uganda
• Shares a genus with the dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses
• Symptoms : No or only mild symptoms, similar to a very mild form of dengue fever.
• Treatment/ vaccination : No specific treatment and vaccine
• Can spread from a pregnant person to their baby results in microcephaly, severe brain malformations and other birth defects
• Transmission ways : Through sexual contact or blood transfusions.
• Vertebrate hosts : Primarily monkeys with only occasional transmission to humans.