A new study jointly funded by the CDC and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research identified eight African and Asian nations that are at the greatest risk for experiencing outbreaks of the Zika virus in coming months. Using three different modeled scenarios, including one mirroring the spread of the comparable Dengue virus, researchers labeled India, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Pakistan and Bangladesh as the countries most at risk (Sun 2016). The combined population of the affected areas is over 2.6 billion, and nearly 400,000 travellers visit the identified risk areas annually (Bogoch et al. 2016). The identified nations have warm, humid climates and are considered resource-limited and the populations immunologically naive, presenting a vulnerable breeding-ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito and the Zika virus that it can carry. Some scientists hope that prior exposure to Zika in African and Asian nations, where outbreaks of the virus have previously occurred, will confer immunity to some members of the population.

 

References:

Sun, Lena H. "Zika Outbreaks Most Likely to Hit Eight Countries in Asia, Africa." Washington Post. September 2, 2016. Accessed September 10, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/09/01/zika-outbreaks-most-likely-to-hit-these-countries-in-asia-africa/.

 

Bogoch, Isaac I., Oliver J. Brady, Moritz U G Kraemer, Matthew German, Maria I. Creatore, Shannon Brent, Alexander G. Watts, Simon I. Hay, Manisha A. Kulkarni, John S. Brownstein, and Kamran Khan. "Potential for Zika Virus Introduction and Transmission in Resource-limited Countries in Africa and the Asia-Pacific Region: A Modelling Study." The Lancet Infectious Diseases, September 1, 2016. doi:10.1016/s1473-3099(16)30270-5.

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