Global map of areas susceptible to Zika virus transmission, based on temperature, rainfall, humidity, vegetation, and urban extentELIFE, J. MESSINA ET AL.The unprecedented Zika outbreak in Latin America has raised questions about the virus’s potential spread. Researchers at the University of Oxford, U.K., and colleagues have now mapped regions of the world where conditions could be right for local Zika transmission. The affected areas are home to more than 2.17 billion people, the researchers reported in a paper published today (April 19) in eLife.
“Our global risk map reveals priority regions where authorities could intervene to control the vector population and where surveillance of the virus should be concentrated in order to improve rapid outbreak response and clinical diagnosis,” study coauthor Janey Messina of Oxford said in a statement.
To produce their map, Messina and colleagues combined data from six different variables: temperatures suitable for Zika vector Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus mosquitoes, rainfall, humidity, vegetation, and urban extent.
“Our findings that a global area inhabited by over 2.7 billion people is highly suitable for transmission of Zika virus, combined with the rapid cross-continent spread we have already seen, emphasize why the World Health Organization has declared the current outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” study ...
