an academic medical center (AMC) is a “gem” touted frequently throughout north Louisiana and beyond. We should all be thanking those in our community, who worked diligently to bring a school of medicine, school of graduate studies and school of...

The Zika virus, which originated in Uganda in the Zika forest, is rare among adults. However, it’s incredibly dangerous for a developing baby. “If you are a woman of child-bearing years or if you are pregnant, you must take every precaution to not get infected, especially during the first trimester,” said Mirfakhraee.

While this virus was first discovered in 1947, it was only the cause of small and sporadic outbreaks in Africa and southeast Asia prior to 2007. Since 2007, the virus has slowly marched across the South Pacific Islands, and it reached South America in 2013 or 2014.