Zika

American  

[zee-kuh] / ˈzi kə /

noun

1.  Zika disease,.   Zika fever,.   Zika virus disease.  an illness caused by a chiefly mosquito-borne virus of the genus Flavivirus , typically characterized by mild fever, rash, and joint pain.

2. the virus that causes this illness; Zika virus.

---

Etymology

Origin of Zika

First recorded in 1950–55, Zika is from the Luganda word zika “overgrown”; the virus was first identified in a rhesus monkey in the Zika Forest in Uganda

Example Sentences

The Aedes mosquito, primarily Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, is responsible for transmitting chikungunya as well as other major viruses like dengue, Zika, and yellow fever.

From Science Daily

Chikungunya fever spreads through bites from Aedes mosquitoes, the same insects that transmit dengue and Zika viruses.

From Science Daily

She lives in Maceió, a coastal city in north-eastern Brazil, where 75% of the cases of congenital Zika virus syndrome in the country were registered.

From BBC

Tamara had microcephaly - an abnormally small head - one of many conditions resulting from her mother being infected with the Zika virus while pregnant.

From BBC

In December, Brazil's Congress approved a bill introduced back in 2015 that would see families affected by Zika receive compensation of $8,800, and monthly payments of $1,325 - five times higher than the current allowance.

From BBC