Emerging Infectious Diseases: Zika Virus.

Zika virus is one of the problems that has been devastating to people across the world. The virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1956 but now has been confirmed in many countries in the world. According to science, the Zika virus has an incubation period of three to fourteen days before the first symptom starts to manifest. Most of the people who have been diagnosed with the Zika virus did not show symptoms (Mansuy et al. 2016). However, the common symptoms of the Zika virus include rash, joints and muscle pain, conjunctivitis and headache. The symptoms last for two to seven days and affect people differently. Therefore, the 3-month pregnant neighbor who was in a region prone to the Zika virus might have contracted the virus.

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Transmission

Just like malaria, the mosquito transmits the Zika virus. Zika virus is common in tropical and subtropical regions. However, unlike mosquito that transmits malaria that bites at night, the mosquito carrying the Zika virus bites during the day, in the morning and evening. The same mosquito that transmits the Zika virus also spread yellow fever and chikungunya. Another way that the virus is transmitted is from a mother to the fetus. People can also transmit the virus to each other through sexual contact, organ transplant and blood transfusion (Mansuy et al. 2016). Thus, if the 3-month pregnant woman was exposed to any of the risk factors, chances are she is positive for the Zika virus. Several complications are connected to virus infection. First, a pregnant woman who has been exposed to the virus exposes the fetus. The developing fetus can develop congenital abnormalities or microcephaly (Baud et al. 2017). Zika virus can lead to complications such as preterm birth, fetal loss and stillbirth. Therefore, pregnant women should avoid areas where the virus has been reported.

Advice

My advice for the mother would be to visit the nearest clinic to confirm her case. Although she was exposed to the Zika virus and shows the symptoms, they could be caused by other health conditions. Therefore, the first step should be to go for a diagnosis to confirm the case. The diagnosis can take place through laboratory tests of blood, semen, urines or any other body fluids. Until today, treatment for the Zika virus has not been established but scientists have been working on developing a vaccine (Musso & Gubler, 2016). However, medications have been developed that help to control, the symptoms of the Zika virus. However, the pregnant mother should not worry too much about the unborn child because only one out of 12 pregnant women transmits the virus to the fetus.

References

Baud, D., Gubler, D. J., Schaub, B., Lanteri, M. C., & Musso, D. (2017). An update on Zika virus infection. The Lancet, 390(10107), 2099-2109.

Mansuy, J. M., Suberbielle, E., Chapuy-Regaud, S., Mengelle, C., Bujan, L., Marchou, B., … & Martin-Blondel, G. (2016). Zika virus in semen and spermatozoa. The Lancet infectious diseases, 16(10), 1106-1107.

Musso, D., & Gubler, D. J. (2016). Zika virus. Clinical microbiology reviews, 29(3), 487-524.