Zika

[ zee-kuh ]

noun

1. Zika fever,. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Zika¹

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

Investigators believe the strategy may also be effective in preventing other mosquito-borne viral diseases, including Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

From Time

Zika virus, linked to devastating neurological disorders, made its way to Florida in 2016, causing further alarm.

From Time

They feed almost exclusively on humans, and can transmit Zika and Dengue viruses.

From Time

By 2017, Weissman’s lab had shown how to vaccinate mice and monkeys against the Zika virus using messenger RNA, an effort that soon won funding from BioNTech.

From MIT Technology Review

More recently, for example, scientists considered intentionally infecting volunteers with the Zika virus to test vaccines against that disease, but ultimately decided they didn’t have enough data to justify the risk.

From Time