ZIKA VIRUS - HOW WE GET INFECTED

What is the Zika virus? How do you catch it?

Key facts

1. Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, which bite during the day.
2. Symptoms are generally mild and include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. Symptoms typically last for 2–7 days. Most people with Zika virus infection do not develop symptoms.
3. Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations, known as congenital Zika syndrome. Infection with Zika virus is also associated with other complications of pregnancy including preterm birth and miscarriage.
4. An increased risk of neurologic complications is associated with Zika virus infection in adults and children, including Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuropathy and myelitis.

Zika virus, first identified in Uganda in 1947, is transmitted by the same type of mosquito that carries dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya virus. A mosquito bites an infected person and then passes those viruses to other people it bites. Outbreaks did not occur outside of Africa until 2007, when it spread to the South Pacific

There are two lineages of the Zika virus: the African lineage, and the Asian lineage.

it may be spread through sexual contact or blood transfusions. In early February, a case of Zika spreading through sexual contact was reported in Dallas County, TX. There, a person who'd traveled to an area that had cases of the virus infected a partner who had not traveled.

It was reported that Brazilian scientists have found the virus in the saliva and urine of infected people.

What are the symptoms of Zika virus?

The disease can cause fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis, also called pinkeye. But most people won’t know they have it.

All can cause a variety of flu-like symptoms that range in severity and can last from a few days to more than a week. As with Zika, few people infected with dengue or West Nile will show any symptoms

SEXUAL TRANSMISSION

Zika virus can be transmitted through sexual intercourse. This is of concern due to an association between Zika virus infection and adverse pregnancy and fetal outcomes.

For regions with active transmission of Zika virus, all people with Zika virus infection and their sexual partners (particularly pregnant women) should receive information about the risks of sexual transmission of Zika virus.

WHO recommends that sexually active men and women be correctly counselled and offered a full range of contraceptive methods to be able to make an informed choice about whether and when to become pregnant in order to prevent possible adverse pregnancy and fetal outcomes

How is Zika virus treated?

There’s no treatment, but Adalja says most people with symptoms do well with over-the-counter medications for aches and pains. The disease usually runs its course within a week or so.

What is the connection between Zika, microcephaly, and pregnancy?

Zika has been tied to cases of microcephaly in babies born to infected pregnant women. Microcephaly stunts a baby’s head growth, causing devastating, sometimes-fatal brain damage, and it can result in miscarriage or stillbirth. A cause-and-effect link with the Zika virus hasn’t been definitely established, though.

The virus has caused panic in Brazil since it first appeared there in May. More than 4,000 babies in Brazil have reportedly been born with microcephaly. Brazil and several other nations have advised women to postpone pregnancy.

Reference from WEDMD, WIKIPEDIA AND WHO HEALTH ORGANISATION

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