Be aware of dangerous Zika virus
In global community, virus is a major concern and
health practitioners are paying more attention to curb outbreak of epidemic
from deadly viruses. One of the less known virus that may attack India is Zika
virus.
Zika virus belongs to the same family of viruses as
yellow fever, West Nile, chikungunya and dengue. It first appeared in Africa in
the 1940s and has been present in Africa and Asia for over 50 years.
The first eruption in Brazil was in May 2015, and it
spread quickly because there was no natural immunity in the province. Health
reports indicated that Brazil has reported approximately 4,000 cases of
microcephaly in babies born to females who were infected with the virus during
their pregnancies.
Zika is spread mainly through the Aedes mosquito,
but in some cases, it can be transmitted through labour, blood transfusions,
lab exposure and sexual contact. Person who has voyaged to a nation with an epidemic
of the virus is at high risk of this virus.
This virus is transmitted when the Aedes mosquito
bites a person with an active infection and then spreads the virus by biting
others. Those people then become carriers during the time they have symptoms.
Research of the Centre for Disease and Control
showed that these mosquitoes normally lay eggs in and near standing water in
things like buckets, bowls, animal dishes, flower pots and vases. Mosquitoes
become infected when they feed on a person already infected with the virus.
Infected mosquitoes can then spread the virus to other people through bites.
It is also said that a mother already infected with
Zika virus during pregnancy can transmit the virus to her new-born around the
time of birth, but this is rare.
Symptoms:
The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are as
under:
- v Fever
- v Rash
- v Joint pain
- v Conjunctivitis (red eyes)
The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting
from several days to a week
Diagnosis:
Zika virus can be diagnosed through PCR (polymerase
chain reaction) and virus isolation from blood samples. Diagnosis by serology
can be difficult as the virus can cross-react with other flaviviruses such as
dengue, West Nile and yellow fever.
Treatment:
It is highly discouraging that there is no vaccine to protect from the disease
and no medicine to treat for zika infection. Doctors recommend that if a person is infected
with Zika virus and exhibit symptoms of fever must take medicines, such as
acetaminophen or paracetamol, to relieve fever and pain and immediately consult
physicians. The best treatment for Zika virus is prevention.
Preventive
measures:
People can take preventive action to protect from
this disease. It is necessary to adopt preventive measure when they are traveling
to countries where Zika virus or other viruses spread by mosquitoes are found.
Preventive actions are as under:
1. Use insect repellents. When people use it as
directed, insect repellents are safe and effective for everyone, including
pregnant and nursing women.
Most insect repellents can be used on children. Do not use products containing oil of lemon
eucalyptus in children under the age of three years.
2. If people use both sunscreen and insect
repellent, apply the sunscreen first and then the repellent.
3. It is not recommended to spray insect repellent
on the skin under clothing.
4. Treat clothing with permethrin or purchase
permethrin-treated clothing.
5. Always follow the label instructions when using
insect repellent or sunscreen.
In India, Zika virus has not knocked yet but there
are chances of transmission of this virus. Health ministry in India is fully
prepared to curb Zika virus. Testing kits are ready if anybody is infected in
India. It is always better to create
wakefulness for the virus and clean environment to avert from such deadly
viruses that are life threatening.
Comments
Post a Comment