Forbes: Zika: Coming To America Through Mosquitoes, Travel, and Sex
“…The latest two [viruses] that hit the U.S., chikungunya and dengue, are painful and bad enough — and dengue can kill people who are infected more than once. Zika adds an added nasty punch of perhaps causing microcephaly, a birth defect where babies are born with abnormally small skulls and brains, and often have developmental abnormalities…” (Stone, 1/4).

New York Times: Alarm Spreads in Brazil Over a Virus and a Surge in Malformed Infants
“…Brazilian researchers say that Zika, an obscure mosquito-borne virus that made its way to the country only recently, is to blame for the sudden increase in brain damage among infants. But other virologists caution that more testing is needed to prove the dangerous link between the virus and brain damage, leaving the full extent of the threat to the country, and to the hemisphere, unclear…” (Romero et al., 12/30).

Reuters: Puerto Rico reports first case of Zika virus, spread by mosquitoes
“Puerto Rico has reported its first case of Zika, a mosquito-borne virus that has been spreading across South America and the Caribbean and has been linked by Brazilian authorities to a serious birth defect, a U.S. Congressman said on [December 31]…” (Brown/Cavaliere, 12/31).

Wall Street Journal: Spread of Brazil’s Mosquito-Borne Virus Is Growing, but at Slower Pace
“…Health authorities fear the Southern Hemisphere’s approaching summer tourism and Carnival seasons could help further spread the virus as travelers leave homes and yards unattended, and unwittingly transport mosquitoes and mosquito larvae with them…” (Johnson/Jelmayer, 12/29).