The Zika virus was first discovered in the Ziika Forest of Uganda in 1947, hence the name Zika (the second i was dropped from the name). The first human cases were described in 1952 in Africa, and then the virus seemed to disappear until outbreaks occurred in Micronesia in 2007 and French Polynesia in 2013. Zika virus infections are generally very mild. Eighty percent of people have no symptoms, and the 20 percent who do have symptoms develop a rash, low-grade fever, muscle and joint aches, inflammation of the eye (conjunctivitis), and headache.
