by Dr. Janet Matuszek
Well, a new virus is among us. This one is called the Zika Virus and it is transmitted by a certain type of mosquito. If you are infected, the most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes). Headaches and muscle pain are also symptoms you could have. A rarer disorder is Guillain-Barre’ (which is a rare neurological condition where your body attacks your nervous system. You start feeling weakness and tingling in your extremities. This can spread rapidly causing paralysis).
The Pan American Health Organization first confirmed this virus in Brazil in May 2015. Since then there have been reported cases in the Caribbean, Mexico, Latin America and now the United States. This virus is self-limiting to a normal person and is thought to live in the blood stream for up to 2 weeks. Most people do not seek care since the symptoms go away. Rarely does the Zika virus cause death.
The problem comes with pregnant women. Right now Brazil is reporting an increased incidence of babies born with microcephaly ( an abnormally small head which is associated with delayed motor and speech functions, mental retardation, seizures, as well as balance and coordination problems; although, normal intelligence is also reported in babies with microcephalus). Unfortunately, there are no treatments to change a baby’s head size. The Center for Disease Control (CDC)in the United States currently does not confirm an association between the Zika Virus and microcephaly. This may be because there isn’t an association or because it is too early for them to definitively link the two together.
So what do you do….As of Feb 7, 2016, the CDC has issued a Level 2 Practice Enhanced precaution travel advisory. This states that you should avoid travel to areas affected by the Zika virus if possible. The CDC continually updates the regions involved. If you have to travel to these area, you need to protect yourself from mosquito bites. Yes…..if you are pregnant, use DEET mosquito repellant that is EPA-tested (not natural repellants) and apply every couple of hours. If you are wearing sunscreen, apply the sunscreen first and then the mosquito repellant. In addition, wear clothes that have long sleeves and long pants. Clothing treated with permethrin are preferred (either treat them yourself or buy pretreated clothing) but do not apply this to your skin directly.
Right now, there are no commercially available tests offered in the United States for the diagnosis of Zika virus. This means if you think you could have the Zika Virus, please inform us so we can send you to the health department to see if you qualify for testing by the CDC. Currently there is no treatment other than symptomatic treatment (like Tylenol for muscle aches and fever). In addition, there is no known vaccine for preventing the Zika virus.
If you are not pregnant, this is not an issue. If you are planning pregnancy and have had recent infection with the Zika virus, it is recommended to wait until you clear the virus (about 1-2 weeks). The virus has not been shown to cause birth defects in future pregnancies once the virus is cleared from the blood.
A good place to start is looking at the CDC website: CDC.gov…..for additional information.
Addendum added 5/12/16 :
CDC now states that all pregnant women returning from travel to areas where the virus is being transmitted be screened for the virus within 2 weeks, regardless of whether they experience symptoms. Previously you only had to have testing if you experienced symptoms. Also, did you know that mosquitoes are the deadliest animals in the world because of the diseases they spread. A female mosquito infected with Zika can continue biting people over its lifespan of about 30 days. Only 2 known species of mosquitoes spread Zika out of 176 species of mosquitoes identified in the U.S., therefore not all mosquito bites are dangerous.
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