Everything You Need to Know About the Zika Virus
Everyone is talking about the Zika virus, but should you be worried? How can you best protect yourself if you’re pregnant?
Sanaz Majd, MD
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Everything You Need to Know About the Zika Virus
If you are pregnant or planning on being this year, you likely have some unsettling feelings due to the Zika virus outbreaks all over the world.
About once or twice a year, another infectious disease agent seems to make headlines. In the recent several years we’ve covered nasty issues, such as Ebola, Enterovirus-D68, Lyme disease, and Hepatitis C. Now the new buzz is surrounding the Zika virus, first reported in Brazil in May of 2015, which is causing fetal brain abnormalities in pregnant women infected with the virus.
Many thought Zika was only risky to those living in endemic areas with a particular species of mosquitos. But now a new report of a sexually transmitted case in Dallas, Texas has once again thrown this frightening bug back into the U.S. media.
What is this mystifying Zika virus? How is it spread? How can you protect yourself and your loved ones from it?
What Is the Zika Virus?
The Zika virus, like several other nasty organisms including Dengue and Chikungunya, is spread to humans via the infected bite of the Aedes species mosquito. These mosquitos originally contract the virus from an infected human, then becoming infected themselves, and going on to spread Zika to other humans via future bites. This is the most common method of transmission of the Zika virus. However, there have been less frequent reports of spread through both blood transfusions and sexual contact with those infected.
After the bite of this particular mosquito, about 20% of those infected become ill—not all. Then, within a week or two after this bite, symptoms begin to erupt and often include a constellation of the following:
- Fever
- Muscle pain
- Joint pain
- Rash
- Pink eye
Complications of Zika Virus
Fortunately, most people who display symptoms of the infection have a mild illness that typically lasts a week and then self-resolves—not unlike the common cold and flu viruses that most of us experience every year.
However, there has been a link between this virus and a brain abnormality called “microcephaly” in the fetuses of pregnant women exposed to this virus. “Micro” means “small,” and “cephaly” refers to the brain. Therefore, “microcephaly” is a congenital abnormality that reflects an abnormally small brain, sometimes not compatible with life, causing death in the womb or thereafter.
There have also been reports of a neurological complication, called Guillain Barre Syndrome in those with Zika virus, regardless of pregnancy status. This is a disorder in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, causing paralysis from the lower extremities that spread upward through the body.
Considering these frightening consequences, how can you protect yourself against Zika?
Prevention of Zika Virus
There is no cure for Zika virus. And unfortunately, unlike the potentially equally horrifying flu virus that kills up to 50,000 people in the U.S. alone each year (with pregnant women at higher risk), no vaccines currently exist to prevent the Zika illness. And unlike malaria, there is no prescription medication to prevent the illness.
Like many other viruses that we are all familiar with, prevention is really the key. This includes two vital measures:
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Prevention of mosquito bites in the first place:
How do we do this? The best way is to refrain from visiting these countries until it is deemed less risky if you are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant.
But for those living in these regions of the world without a choice, daily use of a mosquito repellent containing the ingredients DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and oil of lemon eucalyptus is useful. Wear long sleeves and a hat and avoid skin exposure. Turn on the air conditioner and install window and door screens. Routinely and frequently change water from flower pots and pet dishes. Please consult your obstetrician before you contemplate pregnancy, and during the pregnancy.
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Prevention of sexual transmission:
Please abstain from sex with any travelers to these endemic regions throughout your duration of pregnancy. Or at the very least, use a condom … every single time.
Should You Be Worried About Contracting the Zika Virus?
It’s unlikely for this virus to become an epidemic in the U.S.
There are so far no reports of any mosquitos in the U.S. that have been reported to carry this virus. Zika is entering the country via travelers to these outside countries that have been bitten by these mosquitos elsewhere. As of February 3, 2016, 35 cases of Zika virus infections have been reported in the U.S. involving travelers to these endemic areas.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have released a travel alert, asking pregnant women to avoid any travel to Brazil and numerous other Latin American countries like Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Samoa, for fear of contracting this virus.
It’s unlikely for this virus to become an epidemic in the U.S. It is primarily spread and carried by a very specific type of mosquito that does not reside here in the United States. Therefore, person-to-person transmission is only really possible via sexual contact. Otherwise, cases involving U.S. residents really primarily involve those who travel outside of the country.
Bottom line: if you are a female of child-bearing age who is sexually active and may be currently pregnant, abstain from travel to the involved countries. If you are a male traveling in these regions with any sexual contact with women of child-bearing age in the U.S., then either abstain from traveling, or from sex, or else always use a condom.
Please note that all content here is strictly for informational purposes only. This content does not substitute any medical advice, and does not replace any medical judgment or reasoning by your own personal health provider. Please always seek a licensed physician in your area regarding all health related questions and issues.
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