NASA maps Zika's potential spread in the U.S. desiree smith period 4

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/27/health/zika-map-nasa/index.html

The blood-sucking females are responsible for the spread of dangerous diseases such as yellow and dengue fevers, chikungunya and now Zika.The researchers focused their analysis on 50 cities within or near to the currently known range of the Aedes aegypti in the United States.The resulting map, newly released in the journal PLOS Currents, applies factors such as temperature, amount of rainfall, poverty levels and travel to the United States from Zika-affected areas of the world. As rains and high temperatures begin to gather strength in the Southeast, the risk begins to rise, spreading across the South to California and up into the middle of the country.The cities in the study with the highest potential risk include Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville and Tallahassee in Florida; Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; Mobile, Alabama; and New Orleans.

The Marshall research team produced the map in partnership with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, among others. While most of the model seems in line with expectations of the spread of Zika, "There were some surprises," said Cory Morin, a NASA postdoctoral program fellow with Marshall's Earth Science Office. The CDC recently updated its maps on Zika-suitable areas of the United States, while an international group of researchers plotted potential environmental hot spots worldwide