Nearly fifty years ago, I was living in Entebbe, then capital of Uganda, studying mosquito-borne viruses at the East African Virus Research Institute. One of those, a dengue-like virus, was named after the Zika forest, a little residual pocket of trees down the hill from the institute, where it was first isolated. I was coauthor on a 1964 paper describing 12 strains of Zika virus from mosquitoes collected there (Bull World Health Organ, 31:57-69, 1964), and we deduced that it cycled between mosquitoes and monkeys in the Zika treetops.
Survey Series
For Advertisers
Out of Africa
A once-obscure virus spreads its wings, sickening hundreds. How did this happen?
(continued >>)
To continue reading this full article, you must be a subscriber to The Scientist.
You are only a few minutes away from unlimited access.
If you already have an online subscription, please Log-In Now.
New to The Scientist? Register to get access to a selection of our content, interactive features and useful tools free without a subscription.
New to The Scientist? Register to get access to a selection of our content, interactive features and useful tools free without a subscription.
Subscribe to The Scientist to get unlimited access to our premium content
Get unlimited access to this article and over 20 years of The Scientist archives. You won’t miss a word – all for as little as $4.95. Subscribe now.The Scientist offers site licenses to institutions and organizations. Recommend us to your librarian and get online access through your place or work or study.