Zika virus

noun Zi·ka virus \ ˈzē-kə- \

variants: or Zika

Definition of Zika virus

1 :a flavivirus (species Zika virus of the genus Flavivirus) typically transmitted by aedes mosquitoes (especially Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus) that causes a usually mild illness marked chiefly by fever, joint pain, rash, and conjunctivitis and that has been associated with an increased incidence of microcephaly in infants born to pregnant women infected with the virus

2 or less commonly Zika fever :the illness caused by Zika virus

Origin and Etymology of zika virus

after the Zika Forest near Entebbe, Uganda, from where a monkey and mosquitoes containing the virus were captured in 1947-48

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1952

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

Zika virus

noun Zi·ka virus \ ˈzē-kə- \

variants: or Zika

medical Definition of Zika virus

1 :a flavivirus (species Zika virus of the genus Flavivirus) typically transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes (especially A. aegypti and A. albopictus) and that causes a usually mild illness marked chiefly by fever, joint pain, rash, and conjunctivitis and that has been associated with an increased incidence of microcephaly in infants born to pregnant women infected with the virus

The Zika virus, spread by mosquitoes, produces an itchy rash, pinkeye, joint pain and fever.
—Lawrence K. Altman, The New York Times, 3 July 2007

Of greater concern is the explosive Brazilian epidemic of microcephaly, manifested by an apparent 20-fold increase in incidence from 2014 to 2015, which some public health officials believe is caused by Zika virus infections in pregnant women.
—Anthony S. Fauci and David M. Morens, The New England Journal of Medicine, 13 Jan. 2016

Meanwhile, a virus linked to the mosquitoes known as Zika has spread throughout Brazil, causing thousands of cases of brain damage in babies born with abnormally small heads.
—Joshua Emerson Smith, The Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2016

2 also Zika fever :the illness caused by Zika virus

Health authorities across South America and the Caribbean are on alert over the spread of Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease that may be linked to congenital brain deformity.
—Donna Bowater, The Daily Telegraph (London), 19 Nov. 2015

An often mild or inapparent disease caused by a flavivirus (an arbovirus genus), Zika fever comes with the scenery in many parts of Africa and Asia.
—Wayne Biddle, A Field Guide to Germs, 1995