Zika Forest

Zika Forest is a tropical forest near Entebbe in Uganda.[1] Zika means "overgrown" in the Luganda language. As property of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) of Entebbe, it is protected and restricted to scientific research.[1] 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, Zika Forest is very suitable to the study of mosquitoes.[1] According to UVRI, the size of the research area of the forest is about 12 ha.[2] The forest has a rich biodiversity in plants and moths, and is home to about 40 types of mosquitoes. UVRI also maintains an insectarium.

The forest is accessible to visitors for bird watching. Former US President Jimmy Carter once visited the forest for that purpose.[2]

Mosquito studies

Investigations of mosquitoes at Zika started in 1946 as part of the study of human yellow fever at the Yellow Fever Research Institute (renamed East African Virus Research Institute in 1950, and then the Uganda Virus Research Institute in 1977), established in Entebbe, Uganda in 1936 by the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1947, the Zika virus, an arbovirus named after the forest, was isolated from a Rhesus monkey stationed at Zika.[3][4] In 1960, a 36.6 metres (120 ft) steel tower was moved from Mpanga Forest to Zika to study the vertical distribution of mosquitoes, allowing for a comprehensive study of the mosquito population in 1964.[1] In that same year, the Zika virus was described in a mosquito collection from Zika.[5] No routine mosquito collections were performed for about the next four decades, while human activities encroached on the forest. An updated mosquito collection finally took place in 2009 and 2010.[1]

The name Zika has now become synonymous with Zika virus, which has been involved in a growing number of outbreaks around the globe since 2007.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Kaddumukasa MA, Mutebi JP, Lutwama JJ, Masembe C, Akol AM. "Mosquitoes of Zika Forest, Uganda: Species Composition and Relative Abundance". J Med Entomol. 2014 Jan;51(1):104-13. PMID 24605459. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Uganda Virus Research Institute
  3. ↑ Hayes, E. B. (2009). "Zika Virus Outside Africa". Emerging Infectious Diseases 15 (9): 1347–1350. doi:10.3201/eid1509.090442. PMC 2819875. PMID 19788800.
  4. ↑ Dick, G. W. A.; Kitchen, S. F.; Haddow, A. J. (1952-09-01). "Zika Virus (I). Isolations and serological specificity". Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 46 (5): 509–520. doi:10.1016/0035-9203(52)90042-4. ISSN 0035-9203. PMID 12995440.
  5. ↑ Haddow AJ, Williams MC, Woodall JP, Simpson DIH, Goma LKH. "Twelve isolations of Zika Virus from Aedes (Stegomyla) africanus (Theobald) taken in and above a Uganda Forest.". Bull. W.H.O. (1964) 31: 57–69.
  6. ↑ Sikka, Veronica; Chattu, Vijay Kumar; Popli, Raaj K.; Galwankar, Sagar C.; Kelkar, Dhanashree; Sawicki, Stanley G.; Stawicki, Stanislaw P.; Papadimos, Thomas J. (11 Feb 2016). "The emergence of zika virus as a global health security threat: A review and a consensus statement of the INDUSEM Joint working Group (JWG)". Journal of Global Infectious Diseases 8 (1): 3–15. doi:10.4103/0974-777X.176140. ISSN 0974-8245.

Coordinates: 0°7′27″N 32°31′32″E / 0.12417°N 32.52556°E / 0.12417; 32.52556

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