A diffrend child born in nepal

Kathmandu

Due to its link to thousands of birth defects in Brazil, the World Health Organization (WHO) on February 1 declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus an international public health emergency. WHO estimates three to four million people across the Latin American nations will be infected with the virus in the next year. And with the rapid spread of virus within Brazil and 22 other countries in its region posing serious threat to human health, you must be worried about the Zika. As precaution is better than cure, here’s how you can avoid the virus while understanding more about it.

How do you get Zika virus?

Zika virus is spread to people through mosquito bite. People catch Zika virus when they are bitten by an infected Aedes Aegypti mosquito — the same type of mosquito that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

Zika virus usually causes mild fever, skin rashes, red spots in skin, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, headache and conjunctivitis. As the symptoms of aforementioned diseases are similar, “blood test in necessary to find out if they are symptoms of Zika virus” as per Dr Babu Ram Marasini, Director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division.

Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and then subsequently identified in humans
in 1952.

Zika virus disease outbreaks were reported for the first time from the Pacific in 2007 and 2013 (Yap and French Polynesia, respectively), and in 2015 from the Americas (Brazil and Colombia) and Africa (Cape Verde) as per the WHO.

Health risks

According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in five people infected with Zika will get sick. For people who get sick, the illness is usually mild. For this reason, many people might not realise they have been infected. People sick with Zika virus should get plenty of rest, drink enough fluids, and treat pain and fever with common medicines. If symptoms worsen, they should seek medical care and advice. There is currently no vaccine available as
per WHO.

But in pregnant women, it has been linked to an alarming increase in the rate of microcephaly. “There have been reports of a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly (a condition in which a baby’s head is smaller than expected when compared to babies of the same sex and age) and other poor pregnancy outcomes in babies of mothers who were
infected with Zika virus while pregnant,” mentions the CDC website.

Local health authorities in Brazil have observed an increase babies born with microcephaly in northeast Brazil. Agencies investigating the Zika outbreaks are finding an increasing body of evidence about the link between Zika virus and microcephaly. However, more investigation is needed before understanding the relationship between microcephaly in babies and the Zika virus as per WHO.

There is also risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome — a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of peripheral nervous system leading to weakness in legs and hands. Neurological syndromes too are visible as per