Zika Forest
Zika Forest is a tropical forest near Entebbe, Uganda.[1] Zika means "overgrown" in the Luganda language. As property of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) of Entebbe it is protected and restricted to scientific research.[1] The forest covers an area of about 25ha (61.8acres) next to the swamps of Waiya Bay, an inlet of Lake Victoria. Easily accessible and combining several ecosystems Zika Forest is very suitable to the study of mosquitoes.[1] According to UVRI the size of the research area of the forest is about 12 ha.[2] The forest has a rich biodiversity in plants and moths, and is home to about 40 types of mosquitoes. UVRI also maintains an insectarium.
The forest is accessible to visitors for bird watching. Former US President Jimmy Carter once visited the forest for that purpose.[2]
Mosquito studies
Investigations of mosquitoes at Zika started in 1946 as part of the study of human yellow fever. In 1947 the Zika virus was isolated from a Rhesus monkey stationed at Zika.[3] In 1960, a 36.6m steel tower was moved from Mpanga Forest to Zika to study the vertical distribution of mosquitoes allowing for a comprehensive study of the mosquito population in 1964.[1] In 1964, the Zika virus was described by Haddow et al. from a mosquito collection at Zika.[4] For about four decades no routine mosquito collections had been performed while human activities encroached on the forest. An updated mosquito collection was performed 2009-2010.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Kaddumukasa MA, Mutebi JP, Lutwama JJ, Masembe C, Akol AM. "Mosquitoes of Zika Forest, Uganda: Species Composition and Relative Abundance". J Med Entomol. 2014 Jan;51(1):104-13. PMID 24605459. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Uganda Virus Research Institute
- ^ Hayes, E. B. (2009). "Zika Virus Outside Africa". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 15 (9): 1347–1350. doi:10.3201/eid1509.090442. PMC 2819875. PMID 19788800.
- ^ Haddow AJ, Williams MC, Woodall JP, Simpson DIH, Goma LKH. "Twelve isolations of Zika Virus from Aedes (Stegomyla) africanus (Theobald) taken in and above a Uganda Forest". Bull. W.H.O. (1964) 31: 57–69.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
 | This Uganda-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |