ZIKA VIRUS; ORIGIN AND ITS FUTURE (PART2)

MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH ZIKV.

Whilst the outbreak was still going on, the doctors noticed an increase of new-born babies with a condition called microcephaly. Microcephaly is the condition of having a small head or having reduced space for the brain in the skull, often associated with learning disabilities, seizures, growth retardation and neurological problems such as difficulty in eating and walking. The problems are often lifelong, and the severest forms of microcephaly can result in death.

(Source: Google images)

An estimate was than in February 2016 and it showed about 4 700 cases of babies born with microcephaly. Consequently the World Health Organization (WHO) International Health Emergency Committee announced a state of Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). It is also possible that the relation between an increase in ZIKV and an increase in microcephaly is a correlative relationship rather than a causative one. When the ZIKV was kept in the peritoneum of the mouse it didn’t cause any illness but when it was injected into their brains the mice developed an illness as described earlier.
There is an association between ZIKV infection and the development of a neurological condition known as Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a relatively rare disease of unknown cause affecting the peripheral nervous system, especially the ventral roots of the spinal cord, and characterized by a flaccid paralysis.

(Source: from Google images too)

TRANSMISSION, TREATMENT AND PROPHYLAXIS.

It is not only the mosquito that can transmit ZIKV. There can be a transmission between an expecting mother and her unborn baby. Another mode of transmission is through childbirth and sexual intercourse, ZIKV has been detected in semen even 62 days post-infection. It has however not being confirmed that blood transfusion may be a factor for transmission.
No vaccines exist for the prevention of ZIKV infection, therefore, treatment for ZIKV is the same as most Flavivirus infection.

THE FUTURE OF ZIKV

Why the number of cases and outbreaks of ZIKV infections have increased in the past decade is unknown, but it follows the pattern of dengue fever and other arboviral infections. One postulate is that genetic modification, which occurs randomly in all organisms, have led to a form of ZIKV that is particularly potent to cause disease. This means we can expect to see more of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) as well as microcephaly. Focus must be in bridging the gap in finding a vaccine, such as the one that exists for yellow fever.
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