Zika Virus - How It Spreads?

ZIKA

Zika is a virus that is spread by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. Pregnant women that have been infected with the Zika virus can pass the virus to their unborn baby causing risk of birth defects. Any person infected with the Zika virus can pass it to another person through sex. Locations that have had reports of infected mosquitos have been in the United States and other countries. In the United States area Brownsville, Texas and Miami-Dade County, FL have had reports of infected mosquitos. Countries like Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Ghana, South Sudan, and most areas below altitude of 6,500 feet are at risk of having mosquitos infected with the Zika virus. Precautions need to be taken when traveling through the United States and other countries especially through at-risk zones. Steps to help prevent becoming infected with the Zika virus is to avoid being bitten by a mosquito, check CDC’s travel recommendations for areas with risk of Zika, build a Zika prevention kit, protect yourself during sex, and if you have Zika then protect others.

If you have been infected with the Zika virus most people have no symptoms or mild symptoms. Mild symptoms are fever, headache, rash, conjunctivitis, Joint and muscle pain. Mild symptoms last only for several days to a week. People usually do not get sick enough to go to the hospital and very rarely does someone dies from the virus. There is no cure or vaccination for the Zika virus. Treatment for the virus is to treat the symptoms, drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration, take acetaminophen (Tylenol) to reduce fever and pain, and do not take aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) until dengue can be ruled out to reduce the risk of bleeding. The CDC is doing several things to help such as tracking the spread of Zika virus, training disease detectives to find and report Zika cases, teaching healthcare providers how to identify Zika, testing samples for Zika and providing laboratories with diagnostic tests, studying links between Zika and birth defects and Guillain-Barré syndrome, educating the public about Zika virus, and advising travelers how to protect themselves while traveling in areas with risk of Zika.