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Zika Virus: Possible Transmission in Metropolitan FranceThe Zika virus, an arbovirus similar to those that cause dengue fever and yellow fever, could spread in metropolitan France, according to a recent report by the High Council for Public Health (HCSP). Transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes genus (including the tiger mosquito), it causes fever, muscle pain, and skin rashes, and may even lead to neurological complications. Little is known about the disease, but in all recorded outbreaks (Micronesia, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, since 2007, and since last May in Brazil), it has been characterized by:• a high proportion of asymptomatic cases (80%),• lower morbidity than that of dengue or chikungunya, but an unusual frequency of observed neurological complications,• no direct mortality,• difficulty in clinical diagnosis, particularly when other arboviral diseases (dengue, chikungunya) are present, • difficulty in laboratory diagnosis because: - direct diagnosis by RT-PCR is hampered by short-lived viremia, - indirect diagnosis by antibody testing is hampered by the existence of cross-reactions with the dengue virus.There is only symptomatic treatment available for this disease (no vaccine). The HSCP considers the risk to be real in metropolitan departments already colonized by the tiger mosquito, during its active period from May to November. Most of these departments are located in southeastern and southwestern France, but the at-risk area also includes the Rhône, Isère, and Saône-et-Loire departments. A strategy for epidemiological surveillance of Zika is currently being considered and developed. It is expected to be implemented in the coming months.