Zika virus disease continues to make news all over the world. This is a mosquito-borne viral infection that primarily occurs in tropical and subtropical areas of the world (especially the Americas and the Pacific Islands). This is a map from Centre for Disease Control (CDC) of “All Countries & Territories with Active Zika Virus Transmission”:
Why is this happening?
Because of the real threat that this tiny mosquito (Aedes species; same mosquitoes that spread dengue and chikungunya viruses) can cause to the pregnant women: birth defects. There is nothing scarier for a future mom than this!
Zika can also be transmitted through sex, though, which spreads the risk of infection to the bedroom. The infections during pregnancy have been linked to miscarriage and can cause microcephaly, a potentially fatal congenital brain condition. Zika virus also may cause other neurological disorders such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disease of the nervous system.
These mosquitoes are aggressive daytime biters. They can also bite at night.
What are the symptoms if you get bitten?
Most people infected with Zika virus have no signs and symptoms, while others report mild fever, rash and muscle pain. Other signs and symptoms may include headache, red eyes (conjunctivitis) and a general feeling of discomfort.
Symptoms can last for several days to a week. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. Once a person has been infected with Zika, they are likely to be protected from future infections.
How can you prevent Zika infection?
There is no vaccine yet to prevent Zika. The best way to prevent diseases spread by mosquitoes is to protect yourself and your family from mosquito bites. Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Use Insect repellent with one of the following active ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol. Stay in places with air conditioning and window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside. Prevent sexual transmission of Zika by using condoms.
Why there is no treatment for Zika?
This is mainly because the scientist believed for a long time that the infection was benign and it was not worth using the already stretched-out resources to investigate for a potential treatment. The connection between microcephaly and Zika is relatively new. It was suspected for a while but it was proven definite not so long ago. Even now the majority of people who get infected will develop mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.
Vaccine development is under way at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Scientists are tweaking a vaccine that was initially developed for the West Nile virus, and they expect to launch a safety trial for it this month (September 2016).
If I am pregnant and get Zika, what should I do?
Tough question.
Pregnant women with Zika should get more frequent ultrasounds, which is the only reliable way to detect microcephaly before a baby is born. The birth defect often cannot be identified until the second trimester, which means that for now, many couples will have to make decisions about their pregnancy with incomplete information. This is a highly personal (and tough!) decision that a couple needs to make.
What do the doctors still not know about Zika?
Doctors still don’t understand why some pregnant women infected with Zika give birth to babies with microcephaly while others do not. They also don’t know at which point during pregnancy the risk of infection is greatest and how likely it is for babies born with the disease to survive longer than a year. And while Zika definitely causes microcephaly, how the virus halts brain development remains unclear. Also unknown is what other brain problems the virus may cause. This is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
These uncertainties are probably the main cause of anxiety in people and they feed this media frenzy that we are witnessing right now.