In 2015, an outbreak of the Zika virus in South America and tragic complications linked to the disease have been making headlines for many months, with concerns around the current outbreak deemed significant enough for the World Health Organization to declare the Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. For most people, infection causes short-lived and mild symptoms; however, Zika has now been confirmed as the cause of a defect in newborns known as microcephaly, in addition to being linked to other neurological and autoimmune complications. There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available in the fight against Zika, and the best form of protection is protection against its vector: the Aedes mosquito.

This is the first episode in a series of educational short videos provided by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to get a nuanced picture of this serious illness.