Researchers generally believe the virus was brought to Brazil by an infected traveler who had been exposed to the virus in French Polynesia, who was then bitten by a mosquito that then infected others.
Para peneliti umumnya percaya virus tersebut dibawa ke Brazil oleh wisatawan terinfeksi yang telah terkena virus di Polinesia Prancis, yang kemudian digigit oleh nyamuk yang kemudian terinfeksi lain.