Epidemic of Zika virus and maxillofacial surgery.

Zika is a RNA virus spread by the ubiquitous Aedes mosquitoes. It was first discovered in Uganda in 1947, and arrived in south-east Asia by the middle of the 20th century. In 2014 the virus started to spread across the Pacific Islands to reach South America. Since then it has spread rapidly northwards, and reached Mexico and the Caribbean in November 2015. Clinically it presents as a self-limiting febrile illness. However, there is increasing evidence of a link between Zika virus and the Guillain-Barré syndrome, and maternal Zika virus infection and microcephaly of the fetus.