The image highlighted below from this article feels wrong to me as someone who lives in the United States.
It seems like every global map I see has North and South America on the left side of the map…
Zika’s alarming spread: CDC investigates link to paralyzing condition, adds 8 countries to travel warning
Infectious disease experts are becoming increasingly concerned about the spread of the tropical virus which has been linked to brain defects in infants.
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Agreed. Pretty sure we're referred to as, "The West" for a reason.
The reason being European cartographers. Buy a map from Australia, and you'll see that The Americas are clearly to the east:
http://www.telescopes-astronomy.com.au/world_map_travel_road_street_australia_city.htm
All maps are just drawn from a particular perspective, there isn't really a reason for the Americas to be on the left side, or even with the north at the top. Nor with Greenwich in the UK as the exact spot of the international date line. It's all historical perspective. and also different types of 2d representations of a 3d sphere result in some countries appearing easy bigger or smaller than they actual are. And because the spread of the virus is centered on the Pacific I think it made sense to use that map.