As residents of malaria-prevalent countries, we are very scared of malaria and what it could do to us, but malaria is not the only thing that mosquitoes could cause, we also have cases of Zika virus.
Zika virus is borne from mosquito bites, it was first identified in Uganda in the year 1947 in a Rhesus macaque monkey, its identification was followed by evidence of its existence in humans in other African countries back in the 1950s.
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Then from the 1960s to the 1980, sporadic human infections were detected across Asia and Africa, but since 2007, the outbreak of Zika virus disease has been recorded in the Americas, Africa, the Pacific, and Asia.
A pregnant mother also can transfer this virus to her child even while pregnant. Sexual contact, blood transfusion, and organ transplantation are other ways of transmitting the virus. Developing a vaccine for the Zika virus remains actively a point of research as there is no prevention or treatment option available.
However, from 2017, cases of Zika virus began to decline actively but persist at a low level in several other countries in the Americas and other endemic regions. It is reported to date that a total of 89 countries and territories have evidence of mosquito-transmitted Zika virus infection, but surveillance remains limited on a global scale.
Most cases of the Zika virus do not have associated symptoms, but the people who show symptoms, typically begin to show it around 3-14 days after the emergence of an infection. The symptoms shown are typically mild usually, they include; rash, conjunctivitis, fever, malaise, joint and muscle pain, and headaches that usually last for about 2-7 days. Diagnosing Zika virus infection will require laboratory confirmation, the symptoms are common to other arboviral and non-arboviral diseases.
A pregnant mother who is infected with Zika virus may have a child with microcephaly and other congenital malformations, which include; high muscle tone, limb contractures, hearing loss, and eye abnormalities. The existence of these collective symptoms is referred to as congenital Zika syndrome.
The complications could extend further to a case of stillbirth, preterm birth, and fetal loss. A case of; Guillain-Barre syndrome, myelitis, and neuropathy especially in adults and older children can also be caused by Zika virus infection.
As I mentioned earlier, there is no one-stop treatment for ZIka virus infection or disease, but it can be managed in cases where it is not so serious and there is no link with complications.
With the presence of rash, joint pain, or fever, plenty of rest should be gotten, fluid should be consumed, and symptoms should be treated with analgesics and/or antipyretics. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs need to be avoided until dengue virus infections are ruled out of the equation, and this is because of bleeding risk. If symptoms get worse, medical care and advice should be taken immediately.
Pregnant mothers who live in areas where the Zika virus is present or show even the slightest symptom should get instant medical help for appropriate guidance since there is no vaccine yet to help with the infection.
However, protection against all forms of mosquito bites either during the day or at night is a helpful tool for the prevention of ZIka virus infection especially amongst women who plan to get pregnant and have little children. Protective measures include wearing clothes that will cover all parts of the body whilst outside, then the use of physical barriers like doors, and windows. Remembering to also apply skin repellent is also very important.
Doctors advise that pregnant women and little children should sleep under a mosquito net, travellers who are new to affected areas need to also take caution by protecting themselves appropriately against mosquito bites at any time.
It is very convenient for Aedes mosquitoes to breed in small water collections around the home, school, and work sites, so eliminating these breeding sites is the first thing to focus on. Take out standing water in flowerpots, clean up trash and used tires.
Bear in mind that, it can also be sexually transmitted, so people with the Zika virus as well as their sexual partner especially when she is pregnant must see a medical expert and understand the available risk of sexual transmission of the Zika Virus. There is a case where the pregnant woman may have to abstain from sex all through the nine months of being pregnant.
For the people who live in places where there is no active transmission of Zika virus, but have traveled to an active Zika virus area, they are advised to abstain from sex for three months to prevent the infection of their sexual partner.
For Further Studies.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/zika-virus
https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-history-of-zika-virus
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/zika
