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Virus isolation in monkeys and mosquitoes, 1947
The virus was first isolated in April 1947 from a rhesus macaque monkey that had been placed in a cage in the Zika Forest of Uganda, near Lake Victoria, by the scientists of the Yellow Fever Research Institute. A second isolation from the mosquito A. africanus followed at the same site in January 1948. When the monkey developed a fever, researchers isolated from its serum a "filterable transmissible agent" that was named Zika in 1948.

First evidence of human infection, 1954
Zika had been known to infect humans from the results of a serological survey in Uganda, published in 1954. Of 99 human sera tested, 6.1% had neutralizing antibody.

As part of a 1952 outbreak investigation of jaundice suspected to be yellow fever, researchers reported isolation of the virus from a patient, but the pathogen was later shown to be the closely related Spondweni virus. Spondweni was also determined to be the cause of a self-inflicted infection in a researcher reported in 1956.

Spread in equatorial Africa and to Asia, 1951–1983
Subsequent serological studies in several Africa and Asian countries indicated the virus had been widespread within human populations in these regions. The first true case of human infection was identified by Simpson in 1964, who was himself infected while isolating the virus from mosquitoes. From then until 2007, there were only 14 confirmed human cases of Zika infection from Africa and Southeast Asia.

Micronesia, 2007
In April 2007, the first outbreak outside of Africa and Asia occurred on the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia, characterized by rash, conjunctivitis, and arthralgia, which was initially thought to be dengue, chikungunya, or Ross River disease. Serum samples from patients in the acute phase of illness contained RNA of Zika. There were 49 confirmed cases, 59 unconfirmed cases, no hospitalizations, and no deaths.

Oceania
Between 2013 and 2014, further epidemics occurred in French Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands, and New Caledonia.

Other cases
On 22 March 2016 Reuters reported that Zika was isolated from a 2014 blood sample of an elderly man in Chittagong in Bangladesh as part of a retrospective study.

Americas, 2015–present
a widespread outbreak of Zika was ongoing, primarily in the Americas. The outbreak began in April 2015 in Brazil, and has spread to other countries in South America, Central America, North America, and the Caribbean. The Zika virus reached Singapore and Malaysia in Aug 2016. In January 2016, the WHO said the virus was likely to spread throughout most of the Americas by the end of the year; and in February 2016, the WHO declared the cluster of microcephaly and Guillain–Barré syndrome cases reported in Brazil – strongly suspected to be associated with the Zika outbreak – a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. It is estimated that 1.5 million people have been infected by Zika in Brazil, with over 3,500 cases of microcephaly reported between October 2015 and January 2016.

A number of countries have issued travel warnings, and the outbreak is expected to significantly impact the tourism industry. Several countries have taken the unusual step of advising their citizens to delay pregnancy until more is known about the virus and its impact on fetal development. With the 2016 Summer Olympic Games hosted in Rio de Janeiro, health officials worldwide have voiced concerns over a potential crisis, both in Brazil and when international athletes and tourists, who may be unknowingly infected, return home and possibly spread the virus. Some researchers speculate that only one or two tourists may be infected during the three week period, or approximately 3.2 infections per 100,000 tourists. In November 2016, the World Health Organization declared that the Zika virus was no longer a global emergency.