While the Zika virus was first identified in India in 1953, it has suddenly gotten a lot of attention recently because of the discovery that there is a link between Zika to abnormalities in brain development in pregnancy and autoimmune illness.
China has confirmed its first case of the Zika virus, but Chinese health authorities have downplayed the risk of spreading due to the current cold temperatures.
Having said that, both Sars in 2002 and Pandemic H1N1 in 2009 in China and Hong Kong had a major impact on the global economy. With no cure or vaccination for the Zika virus, and rising temperatures in China, Asia will be on alert for a silent but potentially explosive Zika pandemic.
Twenty four countries are already checking the population for the Zika virus.
How will this impact the mobility/relocation industry? What are your thoughts?
It anticipates that "Zika virus will continue to spread and will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found". In the meantime the race is on to try to understand how the virus works on the human body and to try to develop a vaccine. Even the most optimistic estimates suggest that will take a minimum of two years