Members of the Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Consortium recently published a series of papers that show how Zika virus spread across South America, the Caribbean, and into the United States. The researchers used sequencing technology to collect genomic data that allowed them to understand how the virus evolved and spread during the recent outbreak that began Brazil. The studies, which were published in Nature and Nature Protocols, were conducted by a large number of international collaborators, and provide key insights into the emergence, transmission, and spread of viruses during public health emergencies.
Papers:
Genomic Epidemiology Reveals Multiple Introductions of Zika Virus Into the United States
Establishment And Cryptic Transmission Of Zika Virus In Brazil And The Americas
Zika Virus Evolution And Spread In The Americas
Multiplex PCR Method For MinION And Illumina Sequencing Of Zika And Other Virus Genomes Directly From Clinical Samples
Media:
The Atlantic – How Zika Conquered the Americas
WIRED – Virus Hunters Draw A Map of Zika’s Spread With DNA
NPR – Miami’s Zika Outbreak Began Months Before It Was First Detected