Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Previously, Zika virus was thought to cause mild infection, and serious complications only recently emerged. Liu, Shi and Qin discuss how the virus has evolved during its recent global spread and consider how these changes might be linked to pathogenesis.