Zika: The Emerging Epidemic

A gripping narrative about the origins and spread of the Zika virus by New York Times science reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr.

Until recently, Zika-once considered a mild disease-was hardly a cause for global panic. But as early as August 2015, doctors in northeast Brazil began to notice a trend: many mothers who had recently experienced symptoms of the Zika virus were giving birth to babies with microcephaly, a serious disorder characterized by unusually small heads and brain damage.

By early 2...