7 Quick Facts About the Zika Virus
Jamaicans were recently warned about the Zika virus, another viral illness transmitted by mosquitoes.
Many persons are still struggling to overcome various complications after the island was hit hard by the awful Chikungunya virus last year.
So it’s understandable that any news of another mosquito borne virus that could potentially pose a threat to the island will be unsettling.
Here are a few facts about ZikV:
1. Zika Virus (ZikV) is a member of the Flaviviridae virus family and the flavivirus genus. In humans, it causes a disease known as Zika fever. It is related to dengue, yellow fever, West Nile and Japanese encephalitis.
2. In 1947, scientists researching yellow fever placed a monkey in a cage in the Zika Forest in Uganada. A fever developed in the monkey, and researchers isolated from its serum a transmissible agent that was first described as Zika virus in 1952.
3. Though the incubation period varies, most persons begin to show symptoms 3-12 days after being infected.
4. The main symptoms of Zika virus infection include, a mild though sometimes severe fever, rash, arthralgia, notably of small joints of hands and feet, with possible swollen joints, conjunctivitis (pink eye), myalgia (pain in a muscle or group of muscles), and headache.
5. It has been estimated that only about 20 per cent of individuals carrying the virus actually develop symptoms from Zika virus infection.
6. Like ChikV, there is no there is no specific vaccine or treatment for the Zika virus.
7. Though the Zika virus is transmitted by certain species of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, there is evidence that it can be sexually transmitted between humans.
Professor Brian Foy, a Colorado based malaria researcher, contracted the disease while studying mosquitoes in Senegal. During his visit Foy was bitten numerous times. Days after his return to the US revealed that Foy had fallen ill with Zika, but not before having vaginal intercourse with his wife. His wife soon after showed symptoms of Zika infection, along with extreme sensitivity to light.
