5 Compelling Facts You Need To Know About the Zika Virus

The Zika virus has drawn quite the attention from other countries and now in the United States. Not many are aware of the Zika virus or what kind of damage it can cause to one’s body. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been cases of this emerging infectious disease soaring in the Americas. How much of a threat can this Zika virus be towards women’s health?

Zika-related birth defects are known to be as an international public health emergency by the WHO. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) posted a travel alert advising pregnant women to delay traveling to areas where Zika is most active. The travel alert list continues to expand each day and now includes 45 countries or territories in the Americas, the Pacific Islands, Africa, and possibly more.

The CDC guidelines recommends that pregnant women coming back from these Zika hot zone areas to get tested for Zika. As of May 26, there has been 168 U.S. cases of Zika in pregnant women and an additional 142 in U.S territories.

This disease could not have arrived at a worse time than now with the 2016 summer Olympic Games coming up in Rio de Janeiro. Health experts fear the Zika virus could spread far beyond Latin America. The World Health Organization is already expecting Zika to spread in all but two countries in the Americas: Canada and Chile. This kind of situation leaves the athletes who are competing to consider skipping the games for their own good. The U.S. Olympic Committee believes that preventing the spread of Zika is critical, especially for women in their childbearing years.

Here are the facts about the Zika virus:

1. Although usually spread by mosquito’s bites, the Zika virus is also transmitted through sex. As a matter of fact, there have been cases of sexual transmission confirmed in Texas and others wonder where else it could be spreading. Zika is an RNA virus related to the West Nile, yellow fever, and dengue viruses, and eventually passed on by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. For example, if a person were to be bitten by a mosquito that has the virus then that person becomes viremic. More than likely the person’s initial bite will attract other mosquitoes, which then passes the virus along.

As mentioned earlier, the Zika virus can also be sexually transmitted, which leaves intimate partners at risk. The CDC advises if you’re pregnant and your partner had or has Zika, you should speak with your doctor and consider using condoms or abstaining from sex throughout pregnancy. As a safety measure to protect others from receiving Zika, the FDA recommends not donating blood, tissue, or organs. This only applies if within the last six months you have been diagnosed with the Zika virus, been in an area with active Zika virus or had sex with a man who’s had the virus.

2. Unborn babies are most at risk from Zika virus complications due to their mothers being exposed to the virus. The Zika virus affects pregnant women by producing illnesses and horrific effects of microcephaly. Fortunately, doctors have not found that the Zika virus can cause breast cancer, or menopause issues. However, not even some of the best women's health doctors cannot predict when in pregnancy the consequences are greatest. There have been cases where up to nine pregnant U.S. travelers have consumed the Zika virus. The CDC has established a registry to track pregnant U.S. women who have a lab-confirmed Zika virus infection.

As of now, there’s no vaccine to protect against the Zika virus, those who have the virus can only rely on the rubella vaccination in order to avoid birth defects. This certain vaccine is recommended for adults and it helps prevent miscarriages in pregnant women, heart problems, and hearing loss in newborns.

3. The Zika virus began in Africa and is only spreading rapidly as people continue to travel to Zika active areas and take the virus back to their homes. The virus was originally named ZIKV, and first discovered in 1947 in a rhesus macaque in the Zika forest in Uganda.

There were outbreaks reported from 1951 to 1981 throughout Africa and Asia. In 2007, 73 percent of the Polynesian population was infected by the Zika virus. In December 2015, the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (PAN/WHO) recommended Latin American countries to demand healthcare systems to provide medications.

4. Travelers probably won’t bring infected mosquitoes along with them due to the fact that mosquitoes are not capable of traveling long distances. Mosquitoes have been known to be fragile insects and only a fraction of the total mosquito population are in Zika-endemic areas. The bigger concern people should have is that someone else who is infected is more capable of passing the virus along by having sex.

In addition, if the person infected with the virus is exposed to mosquito populations, those mosquitoes will carry the virus themselves and spread it to other people. It’s a continuous cycle that doesn’t end well for many people, especially women who are pregnant.

5. Mosquito control can help prevent the Zika virus from spreading towards others. One of the best things to do is control the insect vector by cutting down on mosquito breeding and other mosquito-borne viruses. One thing to take notice is that breeding sites include water-filled habitats like plant containers. toilets inside the home, puddles, and pooled water outdoors. However, chemical pesticides have the ability to kill mosquitoes, but use them carefully in order to prevent contamination that could be harmful to your health.

If you are pregnant and are concerned that you may have been exposed to the Zika virus, please visit the Institute For Women’s Health for evaluation.