What is Zika Virus: Meaning, Diagnosis and How to Prevent

Zika is not a disease that is caused by an RNA virus. It is a vector-borne disease by the Aedes mosquito which is generally not that serious but can have serious effects on a pregnant mother by inducing congenital deformities of the foetus.

Let’s dive deeper into this article as we have discussed some of the important aspects that one should know, especially if travelling to a Zika-prone area.

What is Zika?

Zika or Zika fever is caused by the bite of an Aedes mosquito during the day, more during the late afternoon and early morning. Generally, people don’t realise that they have this or have very mild symptoms that usually go away independently.

The main effect is seen in pregnant women and their foetuses who are born with microcephaly.

How is Zika Virus Transmitted?

Zika virus can be transmitted in several ways, which include:

Pregnant mother to her foetus: The Zika virus can cross the placental barrier and affect your foetus, and the newborn may have microcephaly.
Sexual intercourse: Zika virus resides in bodily fluids like semen or vaginal fluid and stays there for months after recovery, even if you have no clinical manifestations.
Blood transfusion: There are some instances in France and Brazil where Zika virus transmission occurred through blood transfusion, but not a single case in India.
Mosquitoes: The most common way of transmission of the Zika virus is to get bitten by the Aedes mosquito. This spreads just like any other mosquito-borne disease, such as malaria and dengue.

What are the Symptoms of Zika Virus?

The symptoms of Zika virus include:

Pruritic skin rash
Headache
Sweating
Fever
Joint pain or Arthralgia
Loss of appetite
Chills
Conjunctivitis

What are the Causes of Zika?

Zika virus falls under the category of flavivirus. It is basically an RNA virus that completes its life cycle in a mosquito and causes Zika infections in humans.

What are the Risk Factors of Zika Virus?

The risk factors of the Zika virus are:

Blood transfusions
Unprotected sexual intercourse
Travelling to an area with a Zika outbreak
Having a home in Zika-infected places
Mosquito bites

How is Zika Virus Diagnosed?

Generally, your healthcare provider will first take a proper history of your recent travels, whether you have been to any area with a Zika outbreak or not.
They will also ask if you have noticed any symptoms or not after your return. If yes, then the physician might run some blood and urine tests to confirm the presence of the virus.
If pregnant mothers are infected with Zika, they must undergo ultrasounds each month to look for any kind of anomaly in the development of the foetus, such as intracranial calcifications or microcephaly.

What Is the Treatment for Zika Virus?

The treatment modalities include:

Rehydrate your body with different kinds of fluids such as water, milk, fruit juice, etc.
Adequate rest is required to recover from fever and exhaustion.
Take paracetamol for pain and fever as prescribed by the physician.
Pregnant women should keep themselves under the constant supervision of the treating physician.

As for now, there is no medicine specifically for Zika or any kind of vaccine that can prevent Zika infection. The main goal of the medicines is to relieve the symptoms, and for the rest part, the infected person recovers on his own.

How to Prevent the Zika Virus Infection?

Some of the preventive measures to save yourself from the Zika virus are:

Stay away from mosquitoes: If you have to travel to an area with a Zika outbreak, properly cover your exposed body parts and use EPA-registered insect repellent. Look for rooms with mosquito nets installed, or try to sleep with a mosquito net over your bed. After returning from travel, avoid mosquito bites for at least a month.
Use proper protection or abstain from sexual intercourse: Use a condom or avoid any type of sexual intercourse ( oral, anal, and vaginal) for at least 3 months if you have returned from an area with a Zika outbreak or fall under high risk of Zika infection.
Don’t travel to areas that fall under high Zika infection while pregnant: You always need to take extra care of yourself if you are pregnant. So, never travel to any areas with Zika infection until it is highly required, as Zika virus infection induces birth defects in a newborn.
Take necessary precautions before getting pregnant: If you or your partner have travelled to an area with a Zika virus infection and are trying to get pregnant, wait for some time before you try for the baby. This reduces the chances of the infection getting passed to the foetus, thereby reducing the chances of congenital defects such as microcephaly.

FAQs about What Is Zika Virus

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Is the Zika virus harmful?

Zika virus generally has no severe effect, which gets cured with mild management and death from this virus is very unlikely.

Is Zika virus disease worse than dengue?

Dengue has more severe effects, while the Zika virus can cause complications in pregnancy, inducing birth defects in the newborn.

Which areas are at the highest risk of Zika virus disease?

The areas at high risk of Zika virus disease are:

The Caribbean
Africa
South and Central America
Asia