Species of flavivirus Zika virus is an arbovirus which is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae. It is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus. Its name comes from the Ziika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947. Zika virus shares a genus with the dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. Since the 1950s, it has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt. From 2007 to 2016, the virus spread eastward from Oceania across the Pacific Ocean to the Americas, leading to the 2015–2016 Zika virus epidemic. 367,537 views on January 28, 2016 — Wikipedia's most-read article that day. Also most read: ITC Hotels, Harry Markopolos, Samoa Air, Anti (album). Wiki link