Let's start with the urgent: if you are pregnant DO NOT travel before checking the health advisories from the CDC. Seriously, there is an outbreak of the Zika Virus going around, and it presents a serious threat to unborn babies. Here's information to protect yourself and your loved ones.
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Image via Corbis Images
What is the Zika virus?
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the Zika virus is transmited by the mosquito Aedes, the same one that can give you dengue and chinkungunya. A specific characteristic of this mosquito is that has white stripes on its legs and white spots on its back.
Is there a person to person transmission?
The Zika virus is transmitted through the blood. The most common way of transmission is when a mosquito bites somebody with the illness and then bites somebody else. There is only one confirmed case of transmission through sexual contact.
Can a mother give it to her child?
The problem hasn't been a mother transmitting it to a child, but a fetus getting infected while in the uterus.
Thousands of sick newborns
Almost 3,000 babies have been born in Brazil with neurological damage, mainly microcephaly, a birth defect that includes babies born with a brain way smaller than normal. As of December 2015, 40 had died. Their mothers had the Zika virus. Health authorities are asking pregnant women in the Americas to wait to get pregnant until the outbreak has been controlled.
What are the Zika symptoms?
The CDC says that the Zika virus symptoms are: fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache.
What is the treatment for Zika?
The bad news is that there is no vaccine treatment for Zika. Once you have it there is nothing to do but manage the symptoms. However, the experts recommend to only take acetaminophen (Tylenol) for fever and pain until a doctor can confirm whether it's Zika and not dengue.
Is there Zika virus in the US?
There are reported cases of Zika virus in Hawaii, Texas and Florida, but all have been among people that travelled to countries where there is a big problem.
Is it a problem in the rest of the world?
This map shows you where there was an active problem by January 2016, but the experts are warning that there will be much more purple in the image, once the spring starts in the Northern Hemisphere.
Are there prevention measures?
The only thing that you can actually do to not get the Zika Virus is to avoid being bitten by the Aedes mosquito, or all mosquitoes for that matter. For that, you need to take very seriously the tips to prevent mosquitoes breeding near you: get rid of any stagnant water, use bug spray and stay indoors at dawn at dusk. Also, don't forget to install the insect screen in doors and windows once winter is over.
And if you suspect that you may have the Zika virus
If you think that you or somebody you know has the Zika virus, keep away from mosquitoes. If the sick person doesn't get bitten again, it won't give the virus to anybody else! In most people, it will feel similar to the flu, plus pink eye, but for unborn babies it can mean an awful life, or even death.
