The past few months have seen the Zika pandemic rise to a global concern. Recently, the first recorded Zika infection from mainland US has been confirmed. Furthermore, the case is the first charted instance of the virus being transferred sexually. Because of the rapid spread of the mosquito-borne virus, the World Health Organization has since stepped in in order to not only develop a cure but also to determine factors that affect the dissemination of the virus.
"The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions," quipped WHO President Margaret Chan.
The hasty response has proven fruitful as just a couple of days ago, scientists announce a facet that is exacerbating the epidemic.
According to entomologists from University of California Davis, one factor that aid in the spread of the Zika Virus is the rising temperatures. The explain that the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, the source of the disease, becomes more active in all biological aspects, in warmer temperatures.
"With higher temperatures you have more mosquitoes feeding more frequently and having a greater chance of acquiring infection. And then the virus replicates faster because it's hotter, therefore the mosquitoes can transmit earlier in their life" explained Bill Reisen a scientist from the University of California.
The newly presented information explains a lot about the manner in which the virus spread. Recife, Brazil is the largest city to be hit by the Zika pandemic experience the hottest several months in record. The recent upsurge of the temperature due to the El Nino also gave way to the hasty spread of the virus. There is some speculation that climate change maybe a culprit in the epidemic. However scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research claim that it is too early to associate the outbreak to global warming.