There’s a lot of talk in the news about the Zika virus in the United States. The disease carrying mosquito continues to make its presence known with studies now showing the virus started a year earlier than first thought in Brazil.

The virus is new to the U.S. but it has been around for many years. It was first identified in 1947 in Uganda. The virus was contained to that part of the world for decades, but as more travel options became available and more people moved from country to country, so too did the virus.

In the last decade, more countries have been affected, such as French Polynesia in 2013 and also in Brazil. The virus is spread by mosquitoes biting an infected person, then biting another person and passing on the virus.

For most people who are infected, there are no symptoms. However, for some there’s about a week-long period of not feeling good. The worse manifestation is the effect the virus has on pregnant women with birth defects and other health issues that affect their unborn children.

According to the CDC, the mosquito-borne threat of Zika virus ranges from the southern region to as far north as New England, where the mosquitoes – Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus – make their home.

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