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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		Understanding the spread of Zika virus
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:02
	Publish Date:		2016-03-28 00:00:00
	Description:		The sudden outbreak of Zika virus in the Americas has scientists baffled. By studying mosquito behavior, epidemiologist Chris Barker of the University of California, Davis is looking for possible explanations behind the spread, and where Zika might or might not go next. "I tend to focus on the processes that drive transmission and that includes climate; it includes interactions between people and vectors. There are a lot of models for vector-borne diseases that sort of ignore the vector component. I have mosquitoes from Puerto Rico, for example, and that’s right in the middle of where Zika is active right now. So we’re going to compare the vector competence, which is the ability of the mosquitoes to transmit the virus here, versus Puerto Rico." Prior to the recent outbreak, Zika occurred in areas of Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. "We’re interested in doing some work comparing viral strains as well, to look at pre-epidemic strains versus the ones we’re seeing now, to see if there’s been a change that could have caused this explosive transmission across the Americas."
	Total Play:		0