2016’s first black swan is named ‘Zika’

THE term “black swan,” as we understand it in our 21st-century world, is an old metaphor that actually dates back to at least Roman times, appearing in the work of the poet Juvenal. It is an unexpected event of extreme impact. We are barely into the second month of 2016 year, and we have already been introduced to a new one. Its name is “Zika.”

The explosive – and frightening – spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus seems to have caught the entire world off-guard. Even the early indications are that, because of the infection’s particularly insidious characteristic of causing severe birth defects, it will have public health consequences for years to come.