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Zika virus its effects, how it is spread, and the possible threat to women An outbreak of the disease in Brazil is believed to have infected 1.5 million people after the virus spread dramatically around the world in the last couple of years .   Scientists are warning people living in tropical climates, and especially pregnant women, about a new and alarming virus that once only affected subtropical forests in Africa. Called Zika, public health officials in the US believe it could be an emerging health threat.  What is Zika? Until recently, Zika was a rare tropical disease associated with mild symptoms. It takes its name from the Zika forest in Uganda where it was first identified by scientists in the 1940s. It is spread by mosquitoes and so is called an “arbovirus”, in the same family as West Nile and dengue fever. Only a handful of Zika cases had ever been documented before 2013. But scientists began sounding the alarm after multiple outbreaks were discovered in Pacif