Much Ado About Zika
Out with Ebola – the Zika virus has us all hot under the collar right now !
New? Not really – its been around since the 1950s, but only last year jumped the equatorial belt and went viral all over the Carribean, Central and South America.
Zika was first discovered in a sick monkey in Uganda and is incidentally named after the forest where the monkey was found.
The fear is that the USA is the next target of this pesky parasite but it might be more of a media event than anything else.
How is Zika transmitted?
The Zika virus is transmitted by a bite from an infected Aedes Aegyptia mosquito (which will have been infected by biting a person with the virus – a vicious circle !) These particular mosquitos are particularly fragile, don’t travel far and tend to remain close to their birth place. They are largely restricted to tropical and sub-tropical regions, including the southern USA. White markings on the legs are characteristic of the Aedes Aegypti.
There is also the possibility of infected pregnant mothers transmitting the virus to the newborn at birth, although this is rare according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and there is anecdotal evidence that it may also be sexually transmitted.
How do you know if you have it and should you panic if you do ?
Only 1 in 5 people infected will be symptomatic. The common symptoms, lasting up to a week, are fever, rash, joint pain, red eyes, headache and muscle pain.
So no big deal on the face of it. The worry arises in possibility.
In a small amount of patients there is a remote possibility that they may develop Guillain-Barre syndrome – an autoimmune disorder causing nerve damage and paralysis. Evidence of a link seems few and far between though.
For pregnant women the main concern is the virus crossing the placenta. While there is no direct evidence that the Zika virus causes a condition called microcephaly, there appears to be a connection. This has prompted the CDC to advise pregnant women against traveling to countries where Zika is present, and officials in El Salvador to caution women against becoming pregnant for the next few years!
Microcephaly is a condition where babies are born with abnormally small heads. It is a rare brain condition resulting in most sufferers being stillborn or dying soon after birth.
Treatment :
No medication or vaccine is currently available to prevent or treat a Zika infection. There is a similarly mosquito transmitted infection called Dengue which will need to be ruled out before treating the fever with NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).
What can I do ?
Primarily avoid mosquito bites if you travel to tropical and sub-tropical destinations. Of course easier said than done !
The usual methods are repellents (notwithstanding that mosquitos are developing resistance to common insecticides, which are not without controversy in themselves too); wearing long sleeves and pants; utilizing door and window screens; and not allowing water to collect and stagnate around the house.
