Asia spared so far

Zika, which was first detected in Uganda in 1947, is not new to the tropical parts of Asia but has not caused any big outbreaks over close to 70 years. Apart from Samoa, no country in Asia-Pacific region has reported localised transmission during the current outbreak.

Though the traces of the Zika virus were detected in people across six states India in 1952-53 , no outbreaks have occurred in India, which means the population’s immunity against this new virus is likely to be low.