Zika Forest
The Zika (or Ziika) Forest (
The forest covers an area of about 25 hectares (62 acres) next to the swamps of Waiya Bay, an inlet of Lake Victoria. Easily accessible and combining several ecosystems, the Zika Forest is well suited to the study of mosquitoes.[1] According to the UVRI, the size of the research area of the forest is about 12 hectares (30 acres).[2] The forest has a rich biodiversity in plants and moths, and is home to about 40 types of mosquitoes. The UVRI also maintains an insectarium.
The forest is also accessible to visitors for
The Zika virus as well as the moths Sidisca zika and Milocera zika are named after the forest.
The Zika Forest is where the infected Aedes mosquito first spread Zika to rhesus monkeys, then spreading further to humans.[3]
Mosquito studies
Investigations of mosquitoes at Zika started in 1946 as part of the study of human
The name Zika has been made notorious by the Zika virus, involved in a growing number of outbreaks around the globe from 2007 onwards.[7]
References
- ^ PMID 24605459.
- ^ a b "Resources and Facilities". Department of Entomology. Uganda Virus Research Institute. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
- ^ "The history of zika virus". www.who.int. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- PMID 19788800.
- PMID 12995440.
- PMID 14230895.
- PMID 27013839.