Zika in 2020 ? What is the Zika virus ? Symptoms , Treatment

 

Where does Zika virus come from ?

Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 by mosquito-borne flavivirus in monkeys. In 1952 in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania, it was later identified in humans.

In Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific, outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been recorded. Rare sporadic cases in Africa and Asia, typically with mild conditions, of human infections, were discovered between the 1960s and 1980.

In 2007, the first Zika-virus-induced outbreaking was reported in Yap Island (Micronesia Federal States). In 2013, a large outbreak of Zika virus infection occurred in French Polynesia, and other Pacific countries and territories. . In March 2015, a large outbreak of the rash disease was reported in Brazil, soon identified as an infection by the Zika virus, and Guillain-Barre disease was reported in July 2015.

Brazil reported a link between Zika and microcephaly in October 2015. Evidence of transmission and outbreaks appeared soon across the Americas, Africa, and other parts of the world. To date, there is evidence of the mosquito-transmitting Zika infection in a total of 86 countries and territories.

Zika has been reported in and around Miami, FL, and Brownsville, TX in 2016 in the United States.

In babies born to infected women, including microcephaly, babies with underdeveloped heads, and brain damage, this virus causes birth defects. In addition, Zika was associated with Guillain-Barre Syndrome which attacks the nerves by the immune system. It spreads mainly by mosquitoes, although there have been reported cases of sexual transmission.

For pregnant women in countries where the disease is spreading, CDC continues to issue travel warnings.

 

What is the virus of Zika? How are you catching it? How can you prevent this?

Aedes mosquitoes, a mosquito of the same type carrying dengue fever, yellow fever, and Chikungunya virus, are the first Zika virus that was found in Uganda in 1947. An infected person is bite by a mosquito and then transfers these viruses to others that it bites. External breakdowns occurred in the south Pacific only in 2007.

Zika can spread via sex usually after a person travels to an area in which Zika has erupted and the virus has contracted. The virus can be transmitted to sexual partners by infected women and men, even when CDC indicates that they have not demonstrated symptoms of infection. Infected pregnant women may also transfer the virus to their fetuses.

There have also been some studies that show that infected people can have the virus in the blood, semen, urine, saliva, and fluids in the eye.

What are Zika's symptoms? or What happens if you get Zika virus ?

The condition can cause fever, rash, articular pain, and redness in the eye (conjunctivitis, or pinkeye). But most people aren't going to know they got it.

"Symptoms will only occur in 1 in every 5 individuals with the virus," says Adalja. "There is no overwhelming majority of symptoms."

The symptoms of CDC infected mosquito bite can occur anywhere from 3 to 14 days. It can last between a few days and a week.

Call your doctor, especially if you are pregnant, if you have developed symptoms and live in or have visited an area where Zika is breastfeeding. Pregnant women with Zika symptoms should be tested for Zika at any time during their pregnancy.

Scientists believe they are likely protected from future infections once a person has been infected.

Does Zika resemble other mosquito-borne conditions like Dengue Fever, Chikungunya, or West Nile Virus?

All of these symptoms can cause a variety of grip symptoms that vary from a few days to over one week. Just like Zika, only a few people will have any symptoms from dengue or western Nile. While dengue and chikungunya also spread the same type of mosquitoes as Zika, many different types of mosquitoes spread the West Nile virus.

Zika is also the only virus known by sexual contact to be propagated.

What is the treatment of Zika?

No treatment is available but most people with symptoms use over-the-counter medicines for pain and soreness. The disease usually takes place in about a week.

The CDC recommends that infected individuals take a lot of relaxation, drink dehydration fluids and take acetaminophen for pain and fever. Aspirin or any other NSAIDs should be taken only when dengue is excluded, to minimize the risk of blood flow, said the agency.

Zika vaccine is not available, but the human vaccine is tested by the National Health Institutes.

How do Zika, Microcephaly, and Pregnancy relate?

In babies born to infected women, Zika causes microcephaly, the CDC reports. Microcephaly blocks the growth of the head of a baby, causing devastating, and sometimes lethal brain damage.

Since Brazil first emerged in May 2015, the virus has caused panic. In Brazil over 2,100 babies have been delivered with Zika-related microcephaly or other birth defects. At that time, it advised women to postpone pregnancy, Brazil and several other countries.

Although babies are caused by many microcephaly causes, including pregnancy infections, genetic problems, and exposure to toxic substances, the CDC says that research shows that Zika is one of the causes. Research has suggested that infection, while baby organs are still forming, appears to have the worst effects during the earliest stage of pregnancy.

However, some studies show that fetuses could be damaged after infection, and there is evidence that microcephaly is not the only Zika-related birth defect. The CDC describes five kinds of infections in pregnant women, including severe microcephalic defects, that are Zika-specific or that occur seldom with other infections. You are the following:

• Reduced tissue of brain indicating brain damage by calcium deposits

• Back of the eye damage

• Limited range of joint motion, for example, clubfoot.

• Excessive muscle tone, restricting movement

Such effects are called Zika syndrome congenital in babies.

In the U.S., more than 2,474 pregnant women and more than 4,900 female pregnancies have been confirmed by the CDC since July 2018. A hundred and sixteen U.S. babies born with Zika-linked birth defects have been linked to 9 pregnancy losses. In May 2016, the agency established US registries for pregnant women infected with Zika, including in Puerto Rico.

The Agency recommends the use of condoms or abstention from sex during pregnancy by both women and men who lived or traveled with Zika and a pregnant sex partner.

The CDC states that all pregnant women with possible exposure to Zika should be assessed during every prenatal visit, and Zika tests should be offered to all pregnant women with potential exposure.

Which countries are pregnant women's travel advisory to the CDC?

To travel to any country or territory where the Zika transmission is continued, the CDC recommends that pregnant women and couples planning pregnancy within three months consultation with their health care providers.

On the CDC website, you will find a list of countries. However, the list must be changed frequently and often be reviewed if countries become a low risk or are added to other countries.

Pregnant women travelers are particularly concerned by Scott C. Weaver, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Human Infection and Immunity, University of Texas Medicinal Branch in Galveston.

"Going to an area with a circulating Zika virus is very risky, particularly in the first quarter or early second quarter," he says. "...I would not recommend that pregnant women visit areas where there are ongoing epidemics."

Couples who try to have a baby should wait a few months to become pregnant if one of their partners is traveling to an area where Zika spreads - even if they have no confirmed infection, according to the CDC. The agency recommends that women wait two months and men, even though the male did not have symptoms, wait at least six months after the exposure.

For 6 months after returning, men and women who visited Zika-disseminated areas are advised to practice secure sex or abstinence. Whether or not they try to become pregnant and whether or not they have Zika symptoms.

The only way to prevent Zika infection completely during pregnancy is by not going to Zika-risk areas and using precautions or avoiding sex with someone who recently visited a risk area.

What if I have traveled to these areas and am pregnant?

Speak to your physician. You will monitor the health of your baby, and you will be screened for virus symptoms. Other diseases, like dengue or chikungunya, may be excluded if you have symptoms.

Pregnant women traveling to a region where they are Zika, even if they have no symptoms, can be tested 2 to 12 weeks after return, CDC states.

Each 3 to 4 weeks, the agency says pregnant females should receive ultrasounds to monitor the growth of the baby.

What if I don't plan a pregnancy?

In addition to the regular method of birth control, women exposed to Zika should use condoms or abstain from sex for at least 198 weeks to decrease the risk of sexual transmission, the CDC says.

Men with potential exposure should use a condom or abstain from sex for 6 months or more even if they did not have Zika symptoms.

Where are we at risk in the United States?

No local mosquito-borne virus transmission in the continental United States has been reported since 2018.

The CDC says it is difficult to detect local Zika spread, given that a person may not be showing signs until 2 weeks after infection. Further, it may take weeks to diagnose and investigate cases.

Aedes that spread Zika are found in each country of North, Central, and South America except two, according to the WHO's Regional Office for the Americas: Canada and Continental Chile.

How do you get Zika tested?

Two ways to test Zika are available. One test examines genetic code parts of the virus in people with active infections. But after the infection has been deleted, the test will not work, which lasts about 2 weeks after the symptoms.

The FDA is happy to use an emergency version of this test which can differentiate whether a person has dengue, chikungunya, or Zika instead of 3 tests. The new version is available in skilled laboratories, according to the CDC.

Since 80% of people with Zika do not suffer from symptoms, many people don't know when they are infected.

A further test examines proteins called immune system antibodies for fighting the virus. Anticorps in the blood may be found up to 3 months after an infection occurs.

This is not a very specific test, however. It can mistakenly show that someone who has Zika had other viruses such as dengue and chikungunya infection. A positive or unfinished test result will mean that the CDC or a CDC-authorized laboratory will conduct a follow-up test.

This test has been approved by the FDA and distributed to qualified laboratories by the CDC.

Amniotic fluid can also be tested in pregnant women, although the CDC states that this test does not show how well it will work for Zika.

May Zika lead to other conditions of health?

Zika was rarely associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome. This disorder can cause paralysis in part or in full, usually from the beginning of the legs. In areas such as French Polynesia and Brazil, in which an epidemic of Zika has taken place, the disease has increased. Studies show more and more a link between Zika and syndrome.

Current CDC studies show Guillain-Barre is closely related to Zika, but only a small number of those infected get it.

According to research presented during the American Academy of Neurology Conference, there can be a link between Zika and an autoimmune disorder called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). An individual's immune system attacks myelin, similar to multiple sclerosis, around the brain and spinal cord nerve fibers.

The first case of brain swelling associated with Zika, in an 81-year-old man on a South Pacific cruise, is reported by doctors in March 2016. The man ran into a coma with fever. Meningoencephalitis or membranes covering the brain and backbone were diagnosed. The Zika virus has been found in the backbone. After 38 days in the hospital, the man came back.

Later this year, a 70-year-old man died from serious thrombocytopenia in February, which causes low levels of blood platelets that can lead to internal bleeding, the CDC reported the first Zika-linked death in Puerto Rico.

How can I avoid Zika?

Avoid mosquito bites through repellent all day long if you plan to travel in affected areas. Indoor and outdoor wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.

Zika-propagated mosquitoes are aggressive daily biters that are often found indoors and are unusual in the US, says Weaver, director of the Institute of Human Infections and Immunity.

"Throughout the day, you must protect yourself," he says.

The CDC recommends that DEET, picaridin, IR3535, lemon eucalyptus oil (para-menthane-diol), or 2-undergone be used for insect repellents registered at the Environmental Protection Agency. Apply the first and repellent second if you use sunscreen.

Use windows and doors around your homes and remove standing water – such as tires, buckets, flower pools, and plantings – as mosques lay eggs near water.

Such a disease can spread even if you do not know Zika is present. In Weaver's comments, people traveling to affected areas should be very vigilant when returning home from mosquito bites. The CDC recommends that women or men avoid sexual transmission by using condoms and abstaining from sex for eight weeks or six months.

Which countries have Zika virus ? 2020 Zika countries

The Zika virus in over 87 countries is reported by the WHO. Virus activity continues in the Caribbean by 2020, in most places in Latin America, Central Africa, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.

Below is some information on the number of cases of Zika in certain countries in recent years. This is the information provided in October 2019 and risk information as of July 2019 to Europe's Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Asia

India is currently the area with the majority of cases in Asia. 159 confirmed cases had been reported in 2018 since November 2018.

In recent years, Thailand also reported cases. There were 568 reported cases throughout the country in 2018 and 48 in 2019 as of June. Cases with likely infections in Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Maldives have also been reported by media outlets.