Want to help fight Zika? There’s an app for that.

  • App aimed at helping answer Zika concerns
  • Created by USF college of Public Health Doctoral student based in Panama
  • Zika is a virus is spread mainly through the bite of a tropical mosquito
  • For more information on the Zika web site and APP: www.geozika.com

Dr. Arturo Rebollon, a USF college of Public Health Doctoral student based in Panama, has teamed up with a geographical information systems mapping company to create a new web site and application for all things Zika.

"There's a huge fear about Zika because we already have dengue, chickungunya, they're scared about that and now you add another layer of fear," Dr. Rebollon said.

More than 2,200 cases of Zika infection have been reported in the U.S. and its territories. In Puerto Rico, more than 400 pregnant women were at risk of having babies with major deformities such as microcephaly, a condition in which newborns have smaller brains that might not have developed properly.

The virus is spread mainly through the bite of a tropical mosquito called Aedes aegypti. It can be found in the southern United States, but there's no evidence that they've been spreading the virus in the mainland U.S. yet.
 
The APP is laid out and presented in Layman’s terms so everyone can understand. It’s presented in Spanish but can be translated in different language and accessed on almost any type of device. The Zika APP provides information on systems, tips, and interactive maps that will pinpoint target areas for locals and tourists.
 
"You can take pictures online, anywhere in the planet, submit it through a server and that picture will be posted in a map so you can identify exactly where the mosquito breeding sites are," Dr. Rebollon said.

The maps are updated every two weeks and even though it was created in Panama, Dr. Rebollon said the APP will be a big help here at home.
 
"The tourists can avoid these areas to avoid any disease because if you don't have access to the mosquito the risk of infection by Zika gets reduced to nothing,” Dr. Rebollon said.