ZIKA VIRUS : Again! Mosquito cause you a disease!
What is Zika Virus?
Zika virus disease is a disease caused by Zika virus that is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The most common symptoms of Zika such as fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
Zika Virus History
The virus was first isolated from a rhesus macaque monkey that had been placed in a cage in the Zika Forest of Uganda, near Lake Victoria, by the scientists of the Yellow Fever Research Institute in April 1947. The monkey developed a fever, and researchers isolated from its serum a transmissible agent that was first described as Zika virus in 1952. It was subsequently isolated from a human in Nigeria in 1954. From its discovery until 2007, confirmed cases of Zika virus infection from Africa and Southeast Asia were rare. In 2007, however, a major epidemic occurred in Yap Island, Micronesia. More recently, epidemics have occurred in Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands and New Caledonia.
The first outbreak of the disease outside of Africa and Asia was in April 2007, on the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. The condition was characterized by rash, conjunctivitis, and arthralgia, and was initially thought to be dengue. The Chikungunya and Ross River viruses were also suspected. However, serum samples from patients in the acute phase of illness contained RNA of Zika virus. The Zika fever disease process was relatively mild: there were 49 confirmed cases, 59 unconfirmed cases, no deaths and no hospitalizations.
A recent larger outbreak of Zika virus outside Africa and Asia was confirmed in April 2015, in Brazil. In the district of Camaçari and the neighbor Salvador city, capital of the state of Bahia, healthcare authorities confirmed that a previously unknown disease affecting around 500 patients with flu-like symptoms followed by rash and arthralgia is indeed an ongoing outbreak of Zika fever, as proved by RT-PCR technique by researchers from Federal University of Bahia. Local authorities link the outbreak to recent increased flow of foreign visitors prompted by the 2014 FIFA World Cup, coupled with the large population of insect vectors such as Aedes aegypt and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes that inhabit the region. The spread follow a similar pattern to the also recent outbreak of chikungunya virus in the same region.
Since April 2015, a large, ongoing outbreak of Zika virus has spread to much of South and Central America, and the Caribbean. In January 2016, the CDC issued a level 2 travel alert for people traveling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. The agency also suggested that women thinking about becoming pregnant should consult with their physicians before traveling. According to the CDC, Brazilian health authorities reported more than 3,500 microcephaly cases between October 2015 and January 2016. Some of the affected infants have had a severe type of microcephaly and some have died. Check this video for more information about this virus.
Prevention
The most significant risk factor for Zika virus infection is mosquitoes and their breeding sites. Prevention and control relies on reducing mosquitoes through source reduction (removal and modification of breeding sites) and reducing contact between mosquitoes and people. As same as avoid dengue and chikungunya, this can be done by using insect repellent regularly such as :
- Wearing clothes (preferably light-coloured) that cover as much of the body as possible.
- Using physical barriers such as window screens, closed doors and windows.
- Additional personal protection, such as sleeping under mosquito nets during the day, if needed.
- Extremely important to empty, clean or cover containers regularly that can store water, such as buckets, drums, pots etc.
- Other mosquito breeding sites should be cleaned or removed including flower pots, used tyres and roof gutters.
- Communities must support the efforts of the local government to reduce the density of mosquitoes in their locality.
Special attention and help should be given to those who may not be able to protect themselves adequately, such as young children, the sick or elderly. During outbreaks, health authorities may advise that spraying of insecticides be carried out. Insecticides recommended by the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme may also be used as larvicides to treat relatively large water containers. Travellers should take the basic precautions described above to protect themselves.
Sign and Symptoms
Most people infected with Zika virus won’t have symptoms this is why they won’t even know they have the disease. Zika most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) for Zika disease is not known, but is probably to be a few days to a week. Go to your healthcare provider if you are pregnant and develop a fever, rash, joint pain, or red eyes within 2 weeks after traveling to a place where Zika has been reported. Be sure to tell your health care provider when and where you traveled. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
People usually don’t get sick enough to see their healthcare provider to the hospital, they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected. Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week but it can be found longer in some people. Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.
Diagnosis
The symptoms of Zika virus spread through the same mosquitoes that transmit those of dengue and chikungunya. If you develop the symptoms described above and have visited an area where Zika is found, ask your healthcare provider about it. If you have recently traveled, tell your healthcare provider when and where you traveled. Your healthcare provider may order blood tests because Zika virus diagnosis can only be confirmed by laboratory testing for example RNA in the blood or other body fluids such as urine or saliva.
Treatment
There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika virus this far. so, this is what you should do to treat the symptomsPrevent dehydration by drink more fluids.
- Don't force yourself to do some of hard job, get plenty of rest.
- Take medicine to reduce fever and pain, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or paracetamol.
- Do not take aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) until dengue can be ruled out to reduce the risk of bleeding.
- If you want to take any medicine for another medical condition, you should talk to your healthcare provider before taking additional medication.
If you confirmed to have Zika disease, you should prevent other mosquito bites for the first week of your illness. Zika virus can be found in the blood during the first week of infection and passed from an infected person to a mosquito through mosquito bites. Then an infected mosquito can spread the virus to other people.
This is the information about zika virus that I got so far. I hope we could be aware more about mosquitoes. Repeatly cleaning their place and larvae at home. so, we could prevent by them.
Thank you.
Reference :
.jpg)
0 komentar:
Post a Comment