First mosquitoes carrying Zika detected in US

Tests have found the Zika virus in mosquitoes from Miami, the first detected on continental United States, confirming local transmission of the disease, the Florida authorities said.

Caribbean to experience wetter, warmer season in 2016

The Caribbean region is predicated to experience in 2016 a rainy season that is wetter and warmer than usual, a regional meteorological outlook said Monday.

More than 150 killed in Angola yellow fever outbreak

A yellow fever epidemic has killed 158 people in Angola, with more than 50 deaths occurring last month alone, the World Health Organization officials have said.

UN health agency warns El Niño may increase breeding grounds for mosquitoes spreading Zika

The above-average rainfall caused by El Niño that is expected in parts of South America until May could cause floods and increases in diseases spread by mosquitoes, including malaria and the Zika virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

Cuba to deploy 9,000 troops to prevent Zika virus

Cuban President Raul Castro on Monday called on his people to help prevent the entry of the Zika virus in the island while dispatching 9,000 troops to strengthen vector control and sanitation efforts.

Record temperatures linked to rise in mosquito-borne viruses

Rising temperatures will lead to increases in mosquito-borne viruses such as the Zika virus, Janos Pasztor, UN assistant secretary-general on climate change, said at a press conference Friday.

Brazil to deploy army in fight against Zika virus

Brazil will deploy 220,000 soldiers in its fight against mosquitoes spreading the Zika virus, the government announced on Tuesday.

Health Minister Marcelo Castro said Brazil was "losing badly" in its fight against the virus which has no vaccine or treatment.

Colombia Reports 5,000 Zika Cases in First Weeks of 2016

Since the Zika virus outbreak struck Colombia in October last year, over 16,000 clinically and laboratory confirmed and suspected cases have been reported by health authorities. During the first weeks of 2016, over 5,000 confirmed and suspected cases have been recorded.

Health Organization Stresses Preventive Actions Against Zika Virus

The Pan American Health Organization, the regional office of the World Health Organization has released a statement on the transmission and prevention of the Zika virus, the mosquito-borne virus the agency says is "new to the Americas."

Florida scientists prepare to release hundreds of thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes

Hundreds of thousands of mutated mosquitoes could soon be unleashed in Florida, but don’t worry: scientists say they have a plan.
It might sound like something out of a low-budget horror film, but the US Food and Drug Administration really is considering whether or not they should allow scientists to send thousands upon thousands of genetically altered insects into the wild.
If all goes as planned, mosquitos modified by some serious Frankenstein treatment will be introduced into the Florida Keys and ideally mate with skeeters that carry the deadly dengue fever, passing along in the process a fatal birth defect that will hopefully eradicate the offspring before birth. From there, scientists say they expect the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the dangerous disease will be decimated in only a few generations without causing any major implications for the native ecosystem.