A mosquito-borne disease that has spread throughout the Caribbean and Latin America has now been seen in the US.

The Zika Virus is a disease spread through mosquitos that directly poses a threat to newborns and pregnant women. It has affected nearly 4,000 babies just in Brazil last year.

The virus is believed to be linked to microcephaly which is birth defect that cause shrunken heads in newborn babies. Because of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended expecting mothers against traveling to affected areas. There are 14 countries and territories on the list and counting.

Alarmingly, cases have popped up all over the US. States such as North Carolina all the way to Oregon just confirming the firsts in their state.

There are currently 84 confirmed cases of the Zika virus but fortunately only associated with travel to the affected countries.

There is an immense amount of research currently going on in the US on the virus and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on its highest alert.

As of right now, there we have a very small understanding of the virus but everyday we are learning more and more on stopping it, its behavior, relation to birth defects, a vaccine and so on.

There is currently no cure nor vaccine for the disease however the idea of “GMO mosquitos”.

WHO released a statement on the Zika virus that mentioned this technique saying:

“Another technique being developed involves the mass release of male insects that have been sterilized by low doses of radiation. When sterile males mate, the female’s eggs are not viable, and the insect population dies out. The sterile insect technique has been successfully used, on a large scale, by the International Atomic Energy Agency and FAO to control agriculturally important insect pests.”