Rapid spread of Zika virus in the Americas raises alarm

Mosquito-borne disease linked to birth defect is pushing northward from Brazil

boy holding baby with microcephaly

AN OUTBREAK CONTINUES  A Brazilian boy holds his baby brother, born in 2015 with a birth defect called microcephaly. Scientists believe the condition may be linked to maternal infections with the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Felipe Dana/AP

The latest virus to break out of the tropics may be the most frightening.