- Studies predict Zika will burn out in 3 years - but infections are not slowing
- New research shows there could be at least 90m cases in Latin America
- That means more than 1.6 million pregnant women are vulnerable to Zika
- The figures are a modest estimate of global reach if Zika reaches the US
- US scientists are testing Florida mosquitoes for possible Zika infection
More than 1.6 million pregnant women could catch Zika in Latin America before the epidemic burns out, a new study warns.
That is a modest estimate of the global reach of the virus, which officials fear may have reached US mosquitoes.
Recent studies have predicted that Zika's aggressive spread will diminish within three years as human immune systems adapt to the infection.
But new research published in the journal Nature Microbiology shows there could be another 90 million infections - at least - before the current epidemic fades.
In Latin America alone, that means at least 1.6 million women of child-bearing age are vulnerable to catching the infection.
And Rio de Janeiro is one of the highest-risk cities in the continent, the study reveals.
Professor Andrew Tatem, lead author of the US, British and French study, said the projections are an early estimation of Zika's devastating impact.
'It is difficult to accurately predict how many child-bearing women may be at risk from Zika because a large proportion of cases show no symptoms,' Professor Tatum explained.
'This largely invalidates methods based on case data and presents a formidable challenge for scientists trying to understand the likely impact of the disease on populations.'
Brazil is expected to shoulder the heaviest burden from the current epidemic, with more than three times the number of infections of any other country.
Researchers calculated how many people could become infected by the mosquito-borne virus in every five-square-kilometer region of Central and South America.
The scientists took into account disease patterns displayed in other similar epidemics, and factors influencing transmission of the virus, as well as climate conditions and incubation periods.
Information on population, fertility, pregnancy rates, birth rates, and socio-economic conditions was also analyzed.
It showed a staggering number of potential infections within the next couple of years.
Professor Tatum told Daily Mail Online the impact on the US is very uncertain given the region's different health systems, wealth, and environments from most of the affected areas in Latin America.
The study's findings come just a week after a surge in fears that the virus could have reached the US.
Last week, a woman in Miami, Florida, was diagnosed with the virus despite not having traveled to a Zika-infected region or having sex with a Zika-infected person.
The case sparked an investigation, which is ongoing, into whether US mosquitoes have picked up the virus.
Furthermore, a Brazilian research team last week revealed that Zika has been spotted in another much more common species of mosquito - which is far more prevalent in America.
The alarming finding could make it difficult to limit the spread of the virus, which has been linked to thousands of birth defects as it sweeps rapidly through the Americas.
Until now, the mosquito species Aedes aegypti had been identified as the main transmitter of Zika infections.
But Brazilian scientists have discovered the Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito can carry the virus.
The Culex is 20 times more common than the Aedes aegypti – the bug which also transmits dengue fever and Chikungunya.
Zika infection has been associated with a birth defect called microcephaly, which results in children being born with abnormally small heads and brain damage.
Since the Zika epidemic began in 2015, nearly 5,000 cases of microcephaly have been recorded in affected regions.
On February 1 this year the World Health Organisation declared the epidemic an international public health emergency.
Experts have predicted that the current epidemic may not last more than another two to three years due to the high number of infections leading to 'herd immunity'.
This is when such a high proportion of a population develop immunity to a virus or microbe that the infectious agent runs out of available hosts.
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