Zika virus

noun

Zi·​ka virus ˈzē-kə- How to pronounce Zika virus (audio)
variants or Zika
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

Examples of Zika virus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This year, the county has hired extra people for this work, as part of a pre-emptive strike in the fight against an advancing Zika virus. Karen Garloch, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024 The cause of the Syndrome is unknown, but most patients report symptoms of some kind of infection (COVID-19, Zika virus, a respiratory or gastrointestinal infection) in the weeks proceeding a diagnosis. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 20 Sep. 2023 Blinken, Becerra, and Nkengasong addressed various global health challenges in the 21st century that have prompted the growing interest in global health security concerns besides COVID-19, such as Ebola, Zika virus, and HIV/AIDS. Gabrielle M. Etzel, Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2023 Scientists are too — especially when mosquitoes carrying diseases like Zika virus and dengue fever spread northward as the climate warms. Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 18 Nov. 2021 Organoids have already enhanced our understanding of conditions like autism, schizophrenia, even Zika virus, and hold the potential to illuminate many others. Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2023 For example, the Food and Drug Administration says its emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 products will be able to continue after the public health emergency officially ends, similar to how countermeasures to Zika virus or anthrax remain available. Alexander Tin, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2023 One of the most concerning mutations appeared in about 78% in collected specimens of Aedes aegypti -- one of the most infamous species of mosquito and a major vector of dengue, yellow fever and Zika virus, according to the study. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 21 Dec. 2022 With up to 110 trillion mosquitoes on the planet, the insects can carry lethal diseases like malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus and Zika virus. Liam Gravvat, USA TODAY, 6 Aug. 2022

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Zika virus was in 1952

Dictionary Entries Near Zika virus

Cite this Entry

“Zika virus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Zika%20virus. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

Zika virus

noun
Zi·​ka virus ˈzē-kə- How to pronounce Zika virus (audio)
variants or Zika
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
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
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
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)
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
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