ZIKA

When one disease leads to another: How Zika lead to newborns with microcephaly. The origins, spread and development of Zika.

Until recently, Zika was hardly a cause for global panic. But as early as August 2015, doctors in northeast Brazil began to notice a trend: many mothers who had recently experienced symptoms of the Zika virus were giving birth to babies with microcephaly, a serious disorder characterized by unusually small heads and brain damage. The first case of microcephaly in Puerto Rico was confirmed on May 13, 2016. Right now, at least 298 million people in the Americas live in areas "conducive to Zika transmission". Over the next year, more than 5 million babies will be born. In Europe, an assessment identified three areas in Georgia, Russia and on the Portuguese island of Madeira that are most vulnerable to a breakout.

Donald G. McNeil Jr. is a science reporter covering plagues and pestilences for the New York Times.

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Book Published 2016-07-05 by Norton

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