Latest update April 17th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 07, 2016 AFC Column, Features / Columnists
The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus and its suspected link to birth defects as an international Public Health Emergency. This was a rare move that speaks to the seriousness of the outbreak.
This latest outbreak was detected in Brazil in May 2015. Since then it has moved into more than 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries including two new ones announced last Monday – Costa Rica and Jamaica. Up to Friday 5th February, there are 27 countries in the world where the virus is present.
The main worry is over the virus’s possible (studies have not yet confirmed) link to microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with unusually small, damaged brains in unusually small skulls. Reported cases of microcephaly are rising sharply in Brazil which is ground zero for this outbreak. International Researchers are working at fever pace to do three (3) main things:-
· Establish incontrovertibly that Zika is the cause of microcephaly if a pregnant mother is bitten by the aedes aegypti mosquito before or during her first trimester
· That it can be transmitted through sex
· Develop a vaccine and medication
WHAT IS THE ZIKA VIRUS?
Zika virus is transmitted by daytime-active aedes mosquitoes, such as aegypti and albopictus. Its name comes from the Zika Forest of Uganda, Africa where the virus was first isolated in 1947. The vertebrate hosts of the virus were primarily monkeys in a so-called enzootic mosquito-monkey-mosquito cycle, with only occasional transmission to humans.
Before the current pandemic began in 2007, Zika virus rarely caused recognized ‘spillover’ infections in humans and was not branded as a human disease though it was/is spread in a mosquito–human–mosquito cycle like yellow fever, dengue fever and chikungunya viruses.
The infections, known as Zika fever, often causes no or only mild symptoms. Since the 1950’s it has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia. In 2014 the virus spread eastward across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia, then to Easter Island, and in 2015 to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.
Zika virus is related to dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and the West Nile viruses. The illness it causes is similar to a mild form of dengue fever and is treated by rest. There are also reports of stronger neurological reactions in infected adults including the Guillain–Barré syndrome. The only forms of prevention we currently know of are to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, and to avoid sexual contact with an infected person for at least five days. But even that is not yet proven.
IS ZIKA TRANSMITTED BY SEXUAL ACTIVITY?
Until Tuesday’s case in Dallas, Texas only one case of certain sexual transmission of Zika had ever been documented. A researcher who had returned home to Colorado, USA from Senegal, Africa reportedly infected his wife in 2008/9. He had been in Africa for a protracted period studying mosquitoes and was bitten quite a few times. He fell ill a few days after returning home and his wife subsequently showed some symptoms of Zika infection. Laboratory tests found Zika antibodies in both the Biologist’s and his wife’s blood.
Tests on two other men in the past showed the virus present in semen. So, to be safe, experts advise that men who travel to Zika-affected areas should use condoms for a week after being bitten.
THE GOOD NEWS
Even though Guyana is surrounded by countries where the virus is reportedly spreading, our health providers have so far confronted only one single case of the Zika virus up to the first week of February. This patient lives at both Rose Hall Town, Corentyne and Covent Garden, EBD. She presented with ‘flu-like symptoms. Medical samples were sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in early January and they came back positive. She underwent the recommended treatment but remained under medical supervision for some weeks even after all symptoms had disappeared.
Simultaneously, her family members were all tested and their samples came back from CARPHA as Negative. They have benefited from the direct intervention of the Vector Control Unit whose officers led an on-the-spot education campaign about disposing of every single piece of material in their yards that could collect dew and rain; covering all water barrels and buckets; putting just enough water in house plants so none overflows into puddles; drying dish rack trays frequently; inserting plugs into bathroom drain holes, and generally not leaving water containers uncovered inside or outside the home.
This is to deprive the aedes aegypti mosquitoes of warm, wet places to breed. Take note: they also breed in fresh water, even in trees and plants, and they are most active in the daytime.
One more thing … several batches of samples taken from Guyanese patients presenting with flu-like symptoms have been tested by CARPHA and the results up to Friday 5th February were all returned as Negative.
The government has implemented a slew of initiatives for public education and eradication of these mosquitoes in the city, towns and hinterland. Fortunately, the entire anti-Zika programme only required a giant step up from the ongoing prevention and eradication programmes against the same species of mosquito that carries the Chikungunya, Dengue and Malaria viruses that plague the interior regions of this tropical country.
The really good news is that Zika is not like the AIDS virus, HIV, or Herpes, which both remain in the body for a lifetime – the victim’s, that is. The human immune system can clear out the Zika virus within one week.
For Your Information: The adult lifespan of the aedes aegypti mosquito can range from 2 to 4 weeks depending on environmental conditions. The average Aedes mosquito swarms disperse over relatively short distances. One mosquito can travel no more than 500 metres in its lifetime.
WHAT’S A SAFE INSECT REPELLENT?
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and our Ministry of Public Health say that DEET is safe. DEET (Diethyl-meta-toluamide) is the most common active ingredient in insect repellents. It is a slightly yellow oil intended to be applied to the skin or to clothing, and provides some protection against mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, chiggers, leeches, and many other biting insects.
There is another product called Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE) or para-menthane-diol (PMD) that has been tested and found to be effective for older children and adults. It should NOT be used on children under 3 years of age. Other natural (untested) repellents include citronella oil, cedar oil, geranium oil, peppermint, and soybean oil.
PREGNANT WOMEN ARE AT THE MOST RISK
Zika is suspected of causing microcephaly, a rare birth defect that affects brain development and insufficiency the child of a woman who has been bitten. This has not been proven, but Guyanese mothers-to-be who know they have been infected with Zika are strongly advised to have regular ultrasound tests to keep track of the baby’s development. Researchers are still not sure which trimester is the riskiest.
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