Zika virus, the next big pandemic?

Recently, there has been a lot of talk in the media about the new disease, Zika. Words seen in association with Zika tend to be “deformed brain in babies”, “mosquitos”, “south America” and “pregnant women”. But how does this all connect and with illness causing symptoms that seem very mild why is it becoming such a big deal recently?

Transmission & Symptoms

Zika virus is transmitted through mosquitos that are active during the day time. Specifically, the type of mosquitos that carry the disease are the Aedes genus of mosquitos that are known to carry other viruses such as dengue. The mosquito gets infected with the virus from biting an infected person and begins to spread the disease. Other methods of transmission include from mother to child during pregnancy, and through sexual contact.

Mosquito in genus Aedes– transmitter of Zika virus. Image from wikipedia

When a person gets infected with the virus, he or she may show symptoms such as fever, joint pain, rash or redness of the eyes. Other common symptoms include headache and muscle pain, but most people show no symptoms at all. Studies show that only 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus will become ill so it is very hard to prevent the spread of disease since it is likely that infected people will not seek medical attention.

So why is this such a big problem?

With such mild symptoms and cases rarely resulting in deaths, why is this illness becoming such a big deal? To most people it may not be a big concern but the threat it poses on pregnant woman is worrisome. Although not proven, Zika is thought to be linked to a birth defect called microcephaly, which is when the infant is born with an unusually small head. This irregular development leads to problems after birth such as seizure, developmental delay and even death. Brazil previously reported 150 cases per year but since October 2015 to January 2016, there has been a dramatic increase in microcephaly reported. An alarming number of 4,000 cases just in those 4 months.

Baby with microcephaly (left) compared to typical baby head size. Image from wikipedia

What now?

To prevent this virus from spreading further, WHO has declared Zika virus a Global Health Emergency. This means that resources will be put into more research for vaccine against this virus, for prevention of infections especially for pregnant women and for mosquito control to stop the virus from spreading. In addition, people should exercise caution when travelling to the countries where Zika has been reported by wearing long sleeves and pants outside. Also women who are pregnant or are considering getting pregnant sometime in the near future should postpone their travel to South America since no vaccine has been discovered. With the Brazil Olympics coming up, WHO estimates that up to four million cases of Zika virus are to be expected by the end of this year and there is a high chance that transmission could be happening in the Unites States very soon.

video by World Health Organization

Alana Lee