Zika virus – still a very prevailing health challenge

Jul 10, 2016 News

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By Sharmain Grainger

I have written a number of articles over the months about the Zika virus. But towards the end of last week, for the first time, I was actually confronted with the symptoms of the virus.
I wasn’t the one infected, but a close friend of mine. And believe me, although I have written about the symptoms over and over, I never really believed that persons inflicted with the virus developed them so conspicuously.
My friend had rashes everywhere that itched, muscle and joint pains, fever of course and the very distinctive conjunctivitis (which we all know very well as “red eye”) complete with the burning and itching.
Zika usually manifests with rash, fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, conjunctivitis and vomiting or nausea. It is safe to say my friend developed the majority of the symptoms.
And they were enough to leave this usually vibrant and energetic individual bedridden, at least for a day.
Benadryl was recommended for the rash, Panadol for the pain, and Visine eye drops for the “red eyes”.
Zika, like so many other mosquito-borne infections, literally has no cure. And preventing it is perhaps impossible. What usually happens is that the symptoms that are manifested are treated individually. And they don’t go away overnight, even with treatment.
According to a doctor friend of mine, the symptoms in some cases get worse, even with treatment, and additional intervention is required.
On the other hand, some persons may become infected, but symptoms might be mild or never even manifest. These thankfully are the majority of the cases. Can you imagine a nation with the majority of people severely inflicted with the Zika virus? I certainly did for a brief moment.
Last year Guyana was plagued with a similar mosquito-borne infection – the Chikungunya virus. This, much like Zika, is not new to those in the medical profession, but seems rather novel to us in this part of the world. Their names alone have been peculiar to us as much as the symptoms.
While Chikungunya has been scary enough – since its worse effect could be leaving a person inflicted contorted – reports about Zika have been a tad more frightening. This not only includes the fact that it was found that an infected person could transmit it during sexual intercourse, but that an infected pregnant woman could transfer it to her unborn child.
If a child is infected in the womb, according to medical experts, this could cause that child to be born with microcephaly. This condition is where a newborn has an abnormally small head. A number of such cases have been reported on in Brazil, our neighbour to the south.
It is for this very reason that the Minister of Public Health advised that women opt to delay becoming pregnant at this point.
This of course is not a mandate, but rather, a recommendation. Since the first report of the outbreak there have been no cases of microcephaly in Guyana.
But the fear of Zika doesn’t stop there, as it has been associated with the Guillain Barré syndrome, a neurological condition that essentially shuts the body down.
It is especially worrying to many I’m sure, that a little tiny mosquito has the capability of causing such debilitating conditions. But really it shouldn’t be. Just think about dengue and malaria – these are caused by mosquitoes too – and manifest with very debilitating symptoms.
While we may not be able to prevent the infiltration of these mosquitoes altogether, we have to remember that there are little things we can do to help protect ourselves.
The Zika virus, which is the mosquito-borne virus currently gaining a great deal of attention, is transmitted by Aedes-type mosquitoes that are said to bite mainly during the day.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during the first week of infection, the Zika Virus can be found in the blood and passed from one infected person to another through mosquito bites. An infected mosquito can then spread the virus to other people.
But reducing the transmission of the virus is possible. Persons can protect themselves by wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants and staying in air conditioned rooms or rooms with windows and doors with screens that can keep out mosquitoes. Added to this, the CDC has outlined that other steps that can be taken to control mosquitoes can include sleeping under mosquito nets and using environmentally-friendly insect repellants.
These recommendations have all been endorsed by the Ministry of Public Health and adhering to them could certainly help to reduce the prevalence of the virus.

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