ZIKA virus disease is a mosquito-borne disease that has recently emerged in large numbers in Brazil and has co-occurred with infant death and microcephaly in the region according to reports by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The disease is not likely to come to South Africa according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases deputy director Professor Lucille Blumberg, however, pregnant woman are advised against travelling to countries where the virus is most prevalent.
The virus has been seen in 28 regions in South and Central America, according to the United States Centre for Disease Control. They are: American Samoa, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Samoa, Suriname, Venezuela, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
According to the WHO Media Centre factsheet on the Zika virus disease, it is caused by a virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.
People with Zika virus disease usually have a mild fever, skin rash, headache, muscle and joint pain, malaise and conjunctivitis. The symptoms are usually mild and normally last for two to seven days. There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available. The best form of prevention is the protection against mosquito bites.
The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) of Zika virus disease is not clear, but is likely to be a few days.
Recently in Brazil, local health authorities have observed an increase in Zika virus infections in the general public as well as an increase in babies born with microcephaly in northeast Brazil. Agencies investigating the Zika outbreaks are finding increasing evidence linking Zika virus and microcephaly. However, more investigation is needed before the relationship between microcephaly in babies and the Zika virus disease is understood. Other potential causes are also being investigated.
https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/zika/en/
Also read:
Tick bite fever: What you need to know
