Over 30 Americans have been diagnosed with Zika across 11 states after traveling internationally, including confirmed cases in Illinois. There here have been no confirmed cases of the virus being contracted in the U.S., and Indiana experts say an outbreak here is unlikely.
"We have air conditioning and we don't have to leave our windows open during the summer," says Richard Hardy, Professor of Biology at Indiana University. "We have mosquito screens on our windows that can minimize the contact between mosquito and human. While it's certainly not impossible and I would be surprised if we didn't start to get isolated cases. I don't think there's a likelihood of a takeoff of a real epidemic."
I don't think there's a likelihood of a takeoff of a real epidemic
The Zika virus was discovered in Uganda 1947, but the first confirmed case of the virus in the Americas wasn't until it was discovered in Brazil this past May.
The virus, primarily transmitted by mosquito bite, is rarely deadly, and only shows symptoms in an estimated 20 percent of those who contract the virus.
The major concern lies in a possible link discovered between pregnant women with Zika and microcephaly, a birth defect that leads to a shrunken head and incomplete brain development. A definitive link has yet to be proven, although cases of microcephaly in Brazil have increased dramatically since the virus was discovered in the country.
"If the link with microcephaly is confirmed, that would obviously cause a lot of concern and panic in terms of what to do from the point of view of pregnant women," Hardy says. "But again my suspicion is what we're going to find is that link to microcephaly is one by yes it may be able to cause it but how frequently might be relatively low."
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks, R-Indiana, introduced a bill trying to combat a possible Zika epidemic before it begins. Titled H.R. 4400, the bipartisan bill would put the Zika Virus on the Food and Drug Administration's Tropical Disease Priority Review Voucher Program.
There is no vaccine, no treatment for it currently.
"There is no vaccine, no treatment for it currently, and so we need to make sure our government processes, the FDA specifically, that we have processes in place to incentivize researchers and companies to focus their attention on creating vaccines and treatments for tropical diseases," Brooks says.
The Centers for Disease Control has issued travel alerts for the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, Central America and South America. The CDC is advising travelers to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
