By now, you've not only heard about the Zika virus, you've probably:
- Spent many a night Googling said Zika virus, discovering enough information, stories, anecdotes, rumors, and warnings to make you never want to leave your bedroom.
- Realized that some of what you've discovered is probably true, some is probably false, and some you really hope is false.
- Freaked out multiple times.
So here's what we're going to do: Give you the facts about the Zika virus, what happens, who is at risk, and how to protect yourself. The goal being that by the time you're done reading this you might feel a little more at ease. Here goes.
What is the Zika Virus? The Zika virus itself is a disease spread to humans through mosquito bites and usually presents itself via mild symptoms. "In non-pregnant, otherwise healthy individuals, the Zika virus can cause fever, rash, irritation of the eyes, and joint pain lasting several days," Ashwin Jathavedam, MD, infectious disease specialist at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, tells Bergen Mama. "Eighty percent of infected individuals don’t exhibit symptoms." According to the Centers for Disease Control, people usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika.
That doesn't sound all that bad, so what are all of these stories I've been seeing about birth defects? If you're a healthy adult human who isn't pregnant and has no plans to become pregnant, Zika doesn't cause any major health issues. Where Zika becomes a serious problem is if a woman is infected with the virus and passes the disease to her unborn baby. Those are the heartbreaking cases you've probably seen on the news. "Zika virus infection during pregnancy has been associated with microcephaly, a condition where the baby is born with a small brain," says Jathavedam. Babies with microcephaly can have a range of other problems, depending on how severe their microcephaly is, according to the CDC. Those include seizures developmental delay, such as problems with speech or other developmental milestones like sitting, standing, and walking; intellectual disability; feeding problems; hearing loss; and vision problems. This week, CDC director Tom Frieden told a House panel on February 10 that the Zika virus has indeed been identified in the tissue of two babies who died in Brazil from microcephaly, confirming the link yet again between the virus and the birth defect that affects developing fetuses.
What do I do to make sure I prevent infection? "The best method of prevention is avoidance of bites by covering up and using adequate insect repellants such as DEET," according to Jathavedam. "If you are pregnant or planning to be pregnant, travel to affected countries should be postponed until cleared by the CDC. If you are pregnant and traveled to one of the 24 affected countries in the last several weeks, consult with your physician as to appropriate next steps." You can see the entire list of affected countries here, most of which are in South and Central America and the Caribbean (including the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, where a public health emergency has been declared.) Just this week, China reported its first case of Zika, but the infected man had just traveled to Venezuela. So basically, if you're pregnant or might want to get pregnant and have a trip planned to any of the countries on the list, cancel it. Seriously. That's the easiest way to stay safe from the disease, according to the CDC.
How common is Zika in the U.S.? Take comfort in the fact that, as of this month, there have been ZERO locally acquired vector-borne cases reported in the United States, according to the CDC. Just 35 cases have been reported in the entire country, and every single one of them is a travel-associated case, meaning that they've stemmed from the infected person traveling to one of the areas listed above. Nine cases of locally acquired cases have been reported in U.S. territories, eight in Puerto Rico and one in the Virgin Islands, again, all places on the CDC's list.
What about a vaccine or treatments? There currently aren't any.
Is there anything being done to stop the spread of the Zika virus? Earlier this week, President Obama announced that he was seeking $1.8 billion in emergency funding from Congress to be split between supporting Zika virus readiness, research and treatment in the U.S., as well as helping affected countries control mosquitoes, fight transmission, and support international response efforts. The request also includes an additional $250 million in federal assistance in Puerto Rico for women and children who are at risk for or have been diagnosed with microcephaly. Here's hoping the funding comes through and that the Zika virus is soon a thing of the very distant past.
