Zika virus epidemic now involves 72 countries, worldwide. Transmission is multimodal through mosquito bites and blood and body fluids. ZIKV causes Guillain Barre Syndrome and pregnancy complications including perinatal microcephaly. Diagnosis is complicated by subclinical infection in 80%, co-circulation with dengue and chikungunya fevers with similar presentations and cross-reactivity in serological tests. There is no cure, or preventive vaccine.

Background: Jamaica, along with the Americas, experienced major epidemics of arboviral diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito in recent years. These include: Dengue fever in 2012, Chikungunya fever in 2014 and Zika virus infection (ZIKV) in 2016. We present the emergence of the ZIKV epidemic in Jamaica and outline the national response.