Here are four things to know about Zika immunities in Southeast Asia:
1. Zika was first detected in the region in the 1960s and was intermittently detected in Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia over the next five decades. This information suggests Zika could have been infecting people silently for many years.
2. Previous studies suggest as many as 30 percent of Malaysians may be immune to Zika. But experts say the studies are fairly dated and carry no information about other nations in the region, so, while it is likely that previous Zika infection facilitates immunity, it is not certain.
3. The urbanization of the region could also undercut the potential protection of immunity. The Aedes aegypti mosquito — Zika’s primary vector — prefers to breed in standing water near homes and thrives in urban environments.
4. While some scientists have suggested Zika may have morphed into a more dangerous virus overtime, recent studies contradict this notion, adding to the mystery of whether or not the region’s Zika immunities will offer a layer of protection from the outbreak.
“The virus could spread explosively or not,” Jasper Chan, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong, told NPR. “We’ll have to wait and see how the story unfolds.”
More articles on the Zika virus:
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Pennsylvania reports its 1st sexually transmitted Zika case
Florida monitoring 84 pregnant women with Zika
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