demonstrates most everything else acknowledge teresa vo, al jazeera, buenos aires. >> you can always get the latest open our website, the result is on our screen acknowledge aljazeera.com. >> thanks for joining us for "america tonight." i'm joie chen. a new threat has emerged with international health care workers warning of the possibility of devastating consequences. as more and more cases of the zika virus emerge across the globe even in the united states. but just how great is the danger and who is most at risk? we get answers from "america

tonight's" lisa fletcher, on the trail of a vicious attacker. >> this tiny insect, so small but doing big damage around the globe. doctors say this particularly aggressive mosquito, the aedies egyptiani, the numbers rise almost daily right now, almost 20 countries are battling active transmissions, mostly in south and central america. at least 34 cases spread over 12 states, the district of columbia and four in canada. all are related to people returning from countries where the virus is endemic. a few weeks ago, we sat down with dr. anthony fauci, head

of institutes of health. >> we haven't started on the zika, very soon, within weeks to a month because of the seriousness of the matter in brazil. >> he met with president obama as zika became a household words and the virus was traveling fast. dr. gavin mcgregor skinner is director of immune response and an expert in infectious diseases. >> the w.h.o. says it is spreading explosively. that kind of language, while accurate, can insight sort of a panic among population he. >> that's a really good point, we need the keep this real. it shows though that the surveillance systems, the

diagnosic systems, shows that the system is working, it caught us by surprise. >> it's very difficult to quickly test large populations for virus. >> there's only five laboratories in u.s. one at cdc atlanta and four state department labs that can currently diagnose zika virus out of a blood sample. we need to have that scaled, not only in u.s., but in central america, south america and the caribbean countries as well. >> is that possible, since they are poor countries and we only have five labs? >> this is going to require a plan. we need to have a commercially care. it is going to cause a backlog and delay diagnosis.

>> only about 1 in 5 people infected actually get sick. symptoms are usually mild and last about a week. fever, rash, joint pain and pink eye. but in brazil, something more startling and insidious is happening. there infected pregnant women have given birth to more than 4,000 babies suffering from microcephaly, a rare neurological disorder that's being linked to zika virus. with this birth defect, the brain doesn't develop normally during pregnancy, resulting in a disproportionately small head and that's just the beginning. microcephaly can cause a host of other problems, including developmental delay, seizures, hearing and vision loss. the sheer numbers have caused officials to warn potential

mothers not to travel to brazil. >> the guidance that the cdc has issued relates to advice that is given to pregnant women or women who are thinking of becoming pregnant about traveling to some of these countries. and steps they can take to mitigate the risks that they face. >> reporter: responding to the concerns of travelers, united and delta airlines are allowing customers to delay or cancel their trips to zika affected areas without penalty. other airlines are more restrictive . director skinner: >> thousands of babies with neurological deficits and that's going to be really challenging. again think how worried the moms and dads must be right now and how we might have to get down to that local community level and ensure that they're being looked

after, answering all their questions and that is another real public health emergency we're going to face. often we say right, that's fine, under control, but disasters happen lowell an locally and wea lot of moving parts to get that right. >> "america tonight's" lisa fletcher, fighting this at the community level, we saw what happened with ebola, this can be very difficult. >> right, it has to start with governments and with doctors and nurses communicating the right message from the top down. with ebola governments were saying things like don't get ebola, that's not helpful. what they need to do is put out specific actionable messages so people can do things to prevent getting the virus. that's what gavin mcgregorgregor skinner is suggesting. >> the centers for disease

control suggests that women not get pregnant for a few years? >> it's not a practical plan. we brought that up and he said, you got to give population specifics, you can't say don't have section. wear deet coated clothing, wear nets over the your beds. >> on the list of things at a can be done, vaccines for ebola, that became a part of the conversation when we saw so many people dying in africa, what about the likelihood of getting out some prevention quickly? >> when we did the ebola piece, that is just with happening a few weeks ago, we are working on it. fast forward to now, sometime in 2016 we are going to

have a zika vaccine in trials. maybe not widespread or safe for use but we are going to have a trial. >> is that because something is different in the case what's happened, we are talking in ebola, gee how long would it take to get an effective vaccine even into the trial stage. what is different here? >> i think one of the things, mcgregor skinner was tell me, we have dengue, we have yellow fever and chikungunya. we can use that knowledge to help move things look with the zika virus. >> zika is near where the stuff takes place. >> zika forest, 62 acres it is protected and it is only used for research. by the government of uganda and they research mosquitos

specifically because there's 40 different kinds of mosquitos the this small area. >> 40 different varieties which may be calling different kinds of illnesses. >> right. >> i didn't know there were that many kinds of mosquitos. you talk about this one being particularly aggressive? >> carried by the aegis egypti mosquito, they are aggressive, more robust than the average mosquito, they have stripes, sometimes called the tiger mosquito, they are particularly problematic, as they have evolved they have learned how to breed without much water. even when you give people instructions get rid of standing water, it doesn't take much for this particular mosquito to breed. mcgregor skinner told us as little as a tiny vase of flowers is enough. there is a program in place that they've been working for years,

an insect sterility program. they inject the mosquito, the mosquito becomes sterile and her eggs cannot hatch. it's had some tremendous success he said, he would like this used on a broader scale, get it with the mosquitos and stop the breeding. >> bug birth control, "america tonight's" lisa fletcher, thanks. later on the program, another devastating virus and the consequence he of the communitie s of the consequences of the virus that it takes. and hot on "america tonight's" website now, faith and the future, young nun, a new generation committing her life the god. at aljazeera.com/americatonight.

>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is.

s. >> a second look now at another health threat reaching across the globe. it wasn't so long ago that we were focused on ebola, the virus that left a horrific trail of death in africa.and als africa. and also made itself known in the united states. al jazeera's documentary unit brought cameras in to see the lingering impact on the communities ripped apart in ebola's wake.

>> i arrived in liberia in the tall of 2014 at the height of the ebola outbreak. by now over 5,000 people have died across west africa and every day hundreds more are still getting infected. here in liberia, the virus has broken out of the capital, monrovia, tracing all the cases and their contacts has become impossible. ebola is now spreading uncontrolled through the rest of the country. >> brother and sister, father and mother.

>> mami jua had died the night before and this is her burial. ebola had infected the entire family, mame, her husband stanley and four children. only stanley survived. we meet stanley the day he is released from the ebola treatment unit.

>> stanley lost his entire family because of a fateful decision. he had defied a quarantine order and everyone is now talking about his case. >> each of my children die, and my wife, as i sitting here, no family i got.

>> i track down stanley in a suburb of monrovia where he was hiding with relatives.

stanley's situation is now so unstable, a pastor has gotten involved. >> the first time they called me, i was called to talk with stanley because he had attempted killing himself. i asked him why, he said people are still blaming him. for the people he intentionally brought the boy into the town to kill the people in the town. that's their perception. so part of our seclusion rule is to see how we can talk with stanley and the people and seize if they have a reason to let go what has happened and see how they can reunite in some way in return. >> see the full documentary in ebola's wake which premiers here on al jazeera america this sunday at 10:00 p.m, eastern.

up next, a turn to the center of the political universe now, iowa, home of the nation's first vote of the campaign season and an unlikely faith community in the center of the political fray.

so this is it, what the first of the nation caucus voting, iowa's neighbor to neighbor

voting official race. in the hawkeye state we found a group of faith and values voters who feel in the campaign of 2016 they will be left behind. this is all you might expect to hear, along the lonely roads of eastern iowa. but listen carefully. you might hear something more unexpected. a call to prayer. that's drawing the faithful to this community along the cedar river for more than a century. >> what did you think when you first saw cedar rapids iowa? >> i couldn't believe all the corn. it was all corn corn corn.

and it just took forever. >> born in lebanon's baca valley, her parents brought her to detroit when she was just 9. but she found her true american home as an 18-year-old bride in eastern iowa in the community that built the very first mosque in the americas. the nadi as it's known, the mother mosque. >> it's not where most people in other parts of the country think they're going to find the mother mosque. >> well, it was the first mosque in the western hemisphere and five families built that mosque because they had the drive and the determination to raise their children as muslims . >> local lower says it was the lebanese christians who encouraged the muslims to come in the late 18s. 1800s. over the century they integrated

cedar rapids faith community but never abandoned their own. >> you're a good muslim who sends out christmas cards. >> yes, why not? >> in her holiday greetings, aziza i. grimmer, reminds christians the difference between islam and christianity. >> from the koran chapter 3.45. >> here in cedar rapids the faithful have long lived and event died in harmony. divisions were few. the cemeteries were generation after generation of muslims. jews, czechs and bohemian honored their dead, all lying next to each other. along with the calm has been the sound of success.

cedar graphic tucked in the back of his grandfather's grocery. >> it's hard to believe that from those kinds of roots, you end up with something like that. >> well my grandfather was an entrepreneur. >> today, his business employs 100 in suburban cedar rapids. and just bought out another iowa company. >> i credit my grandfather. the land of freedom and opportunity, he came with nothing and the story can be duplicated a million times. >> they just happen to come from -- >> they just lap to come from syria. >> your story is not different from any other kid growing up in iowa? >> i couldn't -- the only difference i couldn't eat pork or drink alcohol. >> are there different pressures now? >> if you just go about your

normal life and never go online and go to any of the news outlets or watch tv you wouldn't know the difference. if it wasn't for that i would say no there's no difference. >> but he says in this political season there's no way for iowa muslims to stay silent. >> now we have to spend our resource he and time and energy explaining about islam. they don't care. they have an image about what a muslim is and what they see and read in the media. >> that's underscored by the service at the islamic center in cedar rapids where his son worships and is surrounded by family at friday prayers . and where the imam encourages worshipers to share their faith. >> we have heard americans make horrible comments about muslims and american muslims. that's because they don't know us, they don't know who we

are. that's a time that we should show americans about islam through our actions. >> at the other side of cedar rapids at the mother mosque, worshipers say, the attacks have been nothing emotional comments. the faithful here are braced for the possibility of more trouble. do you think this endangers people in your community? >> absolutely. yes, we are. >> does it make other iowans hate muslims? >> no doubt that will raise some hate. that will raise some fear. that will raise some trouble to the muslims. and -- >> and what will your community do? >> all what we will pray. >> we still have -- >> aziza igram praise, too,

hoping to keep the hate at a distance. >> does it make you angry? >> no, it makes me sad. it really does . and it makes me worry. it's very, very heartbreaking for us. at my age i'm not worried about what's going to happen to me. but i'm thinking about my grandchildren and my great grandchildren growing up. >> what does it make you worry? >> makes me worry if we get one of those presidents what's going to happen to us? they going to close our mosques, show our driver's license and social security numbers? when we have to go somewhere? that's what makes me sad and upsets me. >> that's "america tonight." please tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. you can talk to us on twitter or facebook and come back. we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow.

>> our american story is written everyday. it's not always pretty, but it's real... and we show you like no-one else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight. >> i'm david schuster in for ali velshi. "on target" tonight. count down to caucus day acknowledge the course of this country's political future.