You've been hearing a lot about Zika virus lately—but just how much at risk are you?
A recent study by NASA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research published in the Public Library of Science found that Zika virus, that awful condition that's been a bit of a problem in Brazil and French Polynesia over the past few years, could spread into the U.S. this summer. They even produced this handy map that details which areas of the country will be at the highest risk for the virus to spread come July.
The study takes into account the potential abundance of Aedes aegypti (the species of mosquitoes that carry and spread Zika) as well as the average number of people arriving in different parts of America from countries on the Center for Disease Control's Zika travel advisory.
It found that Miami (and Florida in general) could be pretty screwed if the disease picks up steam stateside, and the entire eastern seaboard—including New York—is at a moderate risk for Zika to spread. The entire southern coast could be met with Zika-ridden mosquitoes as well, as well as Los Angeles and much of southern California. The northern chunk of the country (including the natural-disaster-impervious Chicago) seems to be pretty safe, though.
Zika virus is treatable, but it's certainly not fun to contract. The World Health Organization lists mild fever, skin rash, muscle and joint pain, conjunctivitis and headaches among its symptoms. It's also been connected to the occurence of fetal malformations and neurological disorders.
Don't expect the virus to spread across the country like the plague, though. According the the report from NASA no locally-transmitted Zika cases from mosquitoes have been reported in the continental U.S.