Zika virus is spread to people through mosquito bites. The most frequent symptoms of this virus are fever, joint pain, rash and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness usually is mild with symptoms that last from few days to one week, but more severe disease require hospitalization.
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in May 2015 issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil. The outbreak in Brazil led to reports of Guillain – Barre syndrome and pregnant women giving birth to babies with birth defects and poor pregnancy outcomes.
There are few very important things you should know about this virus:
The Zika virus is being locally transmitted in these countries: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname, Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela, says the CDC.
There is no vaccine to prevent Zika or any medicine for treating this infection. The virus is transmitted when an Aedes mosquito bites a person with an active infection and then spreads the virus by biting others. Those people then become carriers during the time they have symptoms.
Due to the fact that there isn’t available any treatment or vaccine, only protection against Zika is to avoid travel to areas with an active infestation. If you do travel to a country where Zika is present, the CDC advises strict adherence to mosquito protection measures: Use an EPA-approved repellent over sunscreen, wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts thick enough to block a mosquito bite, and sleep in air-conditioned, screened rooms, among others.
Many researchers around the world work hard in laboratories and try to create a Zika vaccine. But, until those efforts bear fruit, health officials are implementing traditional mosquito control techniques such as spraying pesticides and emptying standing water receptacles where mosquitoes breed. The CDC is encouraging local homeowners, hotel owners and visitors to countries with Zika outbreaks to join in by also eliminating any standing water they see, such as in outdoor buckets and flowerpots.
Surveys show that the local control is only marginally effective, because it is very hard to get to all possible breeding areas. Microbiologist Brian Foy says that since Aedes aegypti has evolved to live near humans and “can replicate in flower vases and other tiny sources of water” the mosquitoes are particularly difficult to find and eradicate.
Source: www.day2daymagazine.com
