Zika Outbreak to End in Two to Three Years, Scientists Predict

An aedes aegypti mosquito is seen inside a test tube as part of a research on preventing the spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases at a control and prevention center in Guadalupe, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, March 8, 2016.
Reuters/Daniel Becerril/File Photo

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - Science - Countering Zika in Latin America

reuters.com - by Julie Steenhuysen - July 14, 2016

The Zika outbreak rampaging through Latin America will likely burn itself out in the next two to three years, based on the fact that people develop immunity to the virus after an initial infection, British scientists said on Thursday.

The researchers, whose work is published in the journal Science, estimated that infections from the mosquito-borne virus will become so widespread in affected countries that populations will develop what is called "herd immunity." This occurs when a high percentage of a population has become immune to an infection either through developing natural immunity or through vaccination, making a wider outbreak less likely.

That would prevent further transmission of the Zika virus for at least a decade, with only smaller, intermittent outbreaks, they said.

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