what you need to know Zika Virus

Zika is a disease caused by Zika virus that is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.

The Zika virus is a mosquito-transmitted infection related to dengue, yellow fever and West Nile virus.
Although it was discovered in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947 and is common in Africa and Asia, it did not begin spreading widely in the Western Hemisphere until last May, when an outbreak occurred in Brazil.

Until now, almost no one on this side of the world had been infected. Few of us have immune defenses against the virus, so it is spreading rapidly. Millions of people in tropical regions of the Americas may now have been infected.

Yet for most, the infection causes no symptoms and leads to no lasting harm. Scientific concern is focused on women who become infected while pregnant and those who develop a temporary form of paralysis after exposure to the Zika virus.

Zika is spread by mosquitoes of the Aedes species, which can breed in a pool of water as small as a bottle cap and usually bite during the day. The aggressive yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, has spread most Zika cases, but that mosquito is common in the United States only in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, and in Hawaii – although it has been found as far north as Washington, D.C., in hot weather.

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is also known to transmit the virus, but it is not clear how efficiently. That mosquito ranges as far north as New York and Chicago in summer.

Although the virus is normally spread by mosquitoes, there has been one report of possible spread through blood transfusion and one of possible spread through sex. The virus was found on one occasion in semen.

Symptoms

1.About 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus become ill (i.e., develop Zika).

2.The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other       common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period (the time from               exposure to symptoms) for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a             week.

3.The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.

4. Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for a few days but it can be found          

longer in some people.

5. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.

6.Deaths are rare.

Diagnosis
1,The symptoms of Zika are similar to those of dengue and chikungunya, diseases spread through the    same mosquitoes that transmit Zika.

2.See your healthcare provider if you develop the symptoms described above and have visited an area   where Zika is found.

3.If you have recently traveled, tell your healthcare provider when and where you traveled.

4.Your healthcare provider may order blood tests to look for Zika or other similar viruses like dengue     or chikungunya.

Treatment
1. No vaccine or medications are available to prevent or treat Zika infections.

2.  Treat the symptoms:

•         Get plenty of rest
•         Drink fluids to prevent dehydration
•         Take medicine such as acetaminophen to relieve fever and pain
•          Do not take aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen  and naproxen. Aspirin and NSAIDs should be avoided until dengue can be ruled out to reduce the risk of hemorrhage (bleeding). If you are taking medicine for another medical condition,talk to your healthcare provider before taking additional medication.

3.If you have Zika, avoid mosquito bites for the first week of your illness.

•     During the first week of infection, Zika virus can be found in the blood and passed from an       infected person to another mosquito through mosquito bites.
•     An infected mosquito can then spread the virus to other people.

culled by Ife Aiyelari