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With the rise of Zika virus in the United States, many people are concerned not just about the risk of human infection, but also the possibility of animals being infected as well. Can pets get Zika? Can they carry it within their bodies and pass it on to humans?

Join Abt Associates and distinguished speakers for a discussion on the causes and consequences of infectious disease pandemics.

In 2015, a mysterious virus, eventually identified as Zika, first appeared in Brazil, flooding clinics with patients. Health care workers and researchers working in Brazil made a startling connection between the increase in prenatal Zika virus infections and the growing number of babies born with microcephaly and other devastating birth defects. The year before, as the world watched in horror, the Ebola virus tore through the heart of West Africa, leaving some 12,000 dead in its wake. The outbreak was historic: ten times worse than all other Ebola outbreaks combined. And beyond the headlines, out of the spotlight, other threats were unfolding at the same time: legions of viruses were continuing their march around the globe, largely unreported. Nipah. Chikungunya. MERS. All are diseases caused by viruses that reside in animals and spill over into humans. Over the last half century, the number of spillover diseases has increased rapidly. What's behind the rise in spillover viruses? What can we do to stop them? And what have we learned from the ultimate containment of Ebola?

Airing August 3, 2016 10 p.m. Eastern, Press Release  Film Website  Film Trailer

Summary

"From 1 January 2007 to 20 April 2016, Zika virus transmission was documented in a total of 66 countries and territories.

Mosquito-borne transmission:  42 countries are experiencing a first outbreak of Zika virus since 2015, with no previous evidence of circulation, and with ongoing transmission by mosquitos.  17 countries have reported evidence of Zika virus transmission prior to 2015, with or without ongoing transmission or have reported an outbreak since 2015 that is now over.

Person-to-person transmission:  Eight countries have now reported evidence of person-to-person transmission of Zika virus, other than mosquito-borne transmission (Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal and the United States of America).

In the week to 20 April, no additional countries have reported mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission. Peru and Portugal are the latest countries to report person-to-person transmission. Microcephaly and other fetal malformations potentially associated with Zika virus infection or suggestive of congenital infection have been reported in six countries (Brazil, Cabo Verde, Colombia, French Polynesia, Martinique and Panama). Two cases, each linked to a stay in Brazil, were detected in Slovenia and the United States of America. A further case, linked to a brief stay in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, was detected in a pregnant woman in the United States of America. In the context of Zika virus circulation, 13 countries and territories worldwide have reported an increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and/or laboratory confirmation of a Zika virus infection among GBS cases. Based on a growing body of research, there is scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and GBS. The global prevention and control strategy launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Strategic Response Framework encompasses surveillance, response activities and research. This situation report is organized under those headings."

"U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has introduced legislation that would establish a coordinated national plan to fight diseases that come from animal sources, including Zika and Ebola.

The One Health Act of 2016 would charge the nation's agencies—from the Centers for Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—to work together on identifying specific goals and priorities to help understand, prevent, and respond to animal disease outbreaks."

"A growing body of scientific evidence shows that the felling of tropical forests creates optimal conditions for the spread of mosquito-borne scourges, including malaria and dengue. Primates and other animals are also spreading disease from cleared forests to people."

(CNN)The Zika virus is "is now spreading explosively" in the Americas, the head of the World Health Organization said Thursday, with another official estimating between 3 million to 4 million infections in the region over a 12-month period.

"The level of concern is high, as is the level of uncertainty," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's director-general, told her organization's executive board members. "We need to get some answers quickly."

"The Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus related to yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis, originated in the Zika forest in Uganda and was discovered in a rhesus monkey in 1947. The disease now has “explosive” pandemic potential, with outbreaks in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas.1 Since Brazil reported Zika virus in May 2015, infections have occurred in at least 20 countries in the Americas.2 Puerto Rico reported the first locally transmitted infection in December 2015, but Zika is likely to spread to the United States. The Aedes species mosquito (an aggressive daytime biter) that transmits Zika virus (as well as dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever) occurs worldwide, posing a high risk for global transmission. Modeling anticipates significant international spread by travelers from Brazil to the rest of the Americas, Europe, and Asia.3 What steps are required now to shore up preparedness in the Americas and worldwide?"

Citation: Lucey DR, Gostin LO. The Emerging Zika Pandemic: Enhancing Preparedness. JAMA.Published online January 27, 2016. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.0904.

Excerpt: " The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil, is likely to spread to all countries in the Americas except for Canada and Chile, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

Zika transmission has not yet been reported in the continental United States, although a woman who fell ill with the virus in Brazil later gave birth to a brain-damaged baby in Hawaii."

Excerpt: "Zika virus, a mosquito-borne infection believed to cause microcephaly in infants born to infected mothers, has crossed from Latin America into Texas, experts reported today.  The case of Zika in a traveler recently returned from El Salvador was confirmed through investigations by Harris County, Texas, health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The case is expected to result in major new surveillance and vector-control initiatives."