The Zika virus is essentially transmitted to people when one is bit by an infected mosquito mostly found in tropical regions. The virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti insect. The virus belongs to the same family as Chikungunya, Dengue, Yellow fever and West Nile. However , unlike some of the aforementioned viruses, there is currently no vaccine that can be used to prevent or even treat the infection. Until recently, Zika was largely an obscure virus confined to Asia and Equatorial Africa.
The virus was first uncovered in the year 1947 when a handful of scientists making a study of the Yellow fever in the Zika forest Uganda came across a virus up to this point unknown. The scientists made the discovery of the unknown virus at the time in a feverish rhesus monkey. Fast forward to the year 1958 and it was uncovered that the virus was mainly transmitted or get spread around through the bite of the aggressive Aedes mosquito though it can even be spread sexually.
The major cause of concern about the virus is its distinct and alarming link with microcephaly. Microcephaly is essentially a neurological disorder resulting to newborns spotting an unusually smaller head. The resultant effect is of cause severe developmental issues and in extreme circumstances, death. From November 2015, free discount prescriptions alone has registered 4180 cases of microcephaly in babies born to women that acquired the computer virus during pregnancy. This is a far cry to the measely 146 cases that were registered in the year 2014.
Just how the Zika virus is spread
Transmission of the Zika virus is generally through the Aedes bug. The virus is sent when the Aedes bug bites a person with an active infection and thereafter spreading it through biting other people. The symptoms of the virus are not severe but slight and include possible green eye, fever, headache and a rash. In fact, up to 80% of individuals infected with the virus never have a good idea that they are infected.
What you can do to safeguard yourself against Puerto Rico Health
Considering the fact that there exists no shot or treatment for the Zika virus, the only way to protect one self from the virus is through taking preventative actions. For starters, you can desist from travelling to areas with an energetic infestation. Secondly, you should avoid mosquito bites by sleeping under a mosquito net. Thirdly, make it a habit to wear long sleeved shirts as well as long trousers that are thick enough to prevent an insect bite. Fourthly, make sure that you rest in lodgings with screened windows and air conditioned rooms. If you are already infected from the virus, the best way to keep people around you safe is through taking measures not to be bitten by a bug.
What is being done to stop Zika?
Efforts to create a Zika vaccine have taken center stage with researchers doing everything in their electric power to ensure that the Zika virus is non-existent. However, until there is a breakthrough, it is important for individuals to implement conventional mosquito control techniques such as emptying ranking water which is a fertile mosquito breeding ground, sleeping under nets as well as spraying insect poison.
