The Zika virus is essentially transmitted to people when one is bit by
an infected mosquito mostly found in tropical regions. The virus is
transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The virus belongs to the same
family as Chikungunya, Dengue, Yellow fever and West Nile. However,
unlike some of the aforementioned viruses, there is currently no vaccine
that can be used to prevent or even treat the infection. Until
recently, Zika was largely an obscure virus confined to Asia and
Equatorial Africa.
