Table of Contents
Does the Zika virus have a cure?
There is no specific medicine or vaccine for Zika virus. Treat the symptoms. Get plenty of rest.
What is Zika and specifically what is Zika responsible for?
Zika virus disease is a mosquito-borne disease caused by Zika virus. Most infections are either asymptomatic or cause a mild illness with a transient maculopapular rash. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the main vector but other Aedes species can also transmit the virus.
Who does Zika virus affect?
While anyone can contract Zika, pregnant women are the most at risk due to the potential for fetal microcephaly and other neurologic abnormalities. Sexual transmission of this virus can occur. Transmission has been reported from infected men and women to their sexual partners.
What does Zika do inside the body?
Very rarely, Zika may cause severe disease affecting the brain, causing swelling of the brain or spinal cord or a blood disorder which can result in bleeding, bruising or slow blood clotting.
How long does Zika stay in the body?
Zika virus (ZIKV) has been identified in several body fluids of infected individuals. In most cases, it remained detected in blood from few days to 1 week after the onset of symptoms, and can persist longer in urine and in semen.
What does Zika virus do to babies?
In pregnant women, the virus can cause miscarriages, stillborn babies, or babies with birth defects. One serious birth defect caused by Zika is microcephaly. In microcephaly (the medical word for small head), a baby’s brain and skull don’t grow properly, so the baby will have severe developmental and health problems.
Where can the Zika virus be found in the human body?
Zika virus can also be transmitted through sex and has been detected in semen, blood, urine, amniotic fluids, saliva as well as body fluids found in the brain and spinal cord.
Is Zika permanent in the body?
The body clears the Zika virus eventually. There are some viruses that stay in the body permanently — herpes and the AIDS virus HIV, for example. But Zika virus is one that the immune system eventually gets rid of. Several viruses are known to cause birth defects if the mother is infected during pregnancy.
How long do Zika babies live?
For some babies, the brain may be smooth with no folds or few folds. Some babies with smooth brain don’t have serious health problems, but others stop developing after 3 to 5 months and many die before they’re 2 years old.
What should you do if you have Zika?
What to do if you have Zika. There is no specific medicine or vaccine for Zika virus. Treat the symptoms: Get plenty of rest. Drink fluids to prevent dehydration. Take medicine such as acetaminophen to reduce fever and pain.
What are the real risks of Zika?
Need for more and better data. The belief that Zika might cause microcephaly is largely based on a recent spike in reported numbers of cases in Brazil.
What is Zika virus and how dangerous it is?
Zika is a virus spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects . Zika virus can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Infection during pregnancy can cause a birth defect called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects .
What are the affects of Zika?
The Zika virus causes fever, joint pain, headaches, a rash, conjunctivitis and muscle pain. As with other viruses, it is characterised by spreading via the cells of the body.