Zika virus
species of virus
Zika virus (ZIKV; pronounced or ) is an arbovirus which is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae. It is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947. Zika virus shares a genus with the dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. Since the 1950s, it has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt. From 2007 to 2016, the virus spread eastward from Oceania across the Pacific Ocean to the Americas, leading to the 2015–2016 Zika virus epidemic.
The infection, known as Zika fever or Zika virus disease, often causes no or only mild symptoms, similar to a very mild form of dengue fever. There is no treatment for the disease as of 2025, but paracetamol (acetaminophen) and rest may help with the symptoms. As of April 2019, no vaccines have been approved for clinical use, however a number of vaccines are currently in clinical trials. Zika can spread from a pregnant woman to her baby.
“Zika virus” enters the record as species of virus. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Zika, virus and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Zika virus” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Zika, virus and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q202864. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1947, 2007, 2016 and 2015.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Zika virus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Zika virus primary sources, Zika virus archive and Zika research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Zika virus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.