A species of positive sense ssRNA viruses in the family Flaviviridae that is carried and spread by Aedes mosquitoes. This virus causes zika fever and infection in pregnant women can pass to the fetus and is associated with microcephaly and other birth defects. Zika virus infection can also trigger Guillain-Barre paralysis.

An arbovirus in the FLAVIVIRUS genus of the family FLAVIVIRIDAE. Originally isolated in the Zika Forest of UGANDA it has been introduced to Asia and the Americas.

Any viral organism that can be assigned to the species Zika virus.

Zika is a virus that is spread mostly by mosquitoes. A pregnant mother can pass it to her baby during pregnancy or around the time of birth. It can spread through sexual contact. There have also been reports that the virus has spread through blood transfusions. There have been outbreaks of Zika virus in the United States, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, parts of the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Most people who get the virus do not get sick. One in five people do get symptoms, which can include a fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (pink eye). Symptoms are usually mild, and start 2 to 7 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. A blood test can tell whether you have the infection. There are no vaccines or medicines to treat it. Drinking lots of fluids, resting, and taking acetaminophen might help. Zika can cause microcephaly (a serious birth defect of the brain) and other problems in babies whose mothers were infected while pregnant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that pregnant women do not travel to areas where there is a Zika virus outbreak.