After
an emergency meeting in Geneva, the WHO-World Health Organisation has declared Zika virusto be a public health emergency of
international concern.
Zika virus was first isolated in 1947,
in a rhesus monkey at Uganda's Zika Forest.
The
World Health Organisationsays the
symptomsare usually mild and normally last two to seven days.
Symptoms are similar todengueandchikungunyaand include:
--
a mild fever,
--
skin rash,
--
aches and pains,
--
headache, and
--
conjunctivitis
About
one in five people infected with the virus become ill.
Zika
virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week.
HOW
İS İT SPREAD.?
The virus is spread when people arebitten by an
infected Aedes mosquito.One type of Aedes mosquito - Aedes aegypti - is present in
Australia, and is responsible for the spread of dengue fever in far north
Queensland.
Global health experts are also investigating whether the virus
can be transmitted sexually.
"There is one reported case of Zika virus through possible
sexual transmission," US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)principal
deputy director Anne Schuchat said.
"In another case, Zika virus was found in semen about two
weeks after a man had symptoms with Zika virus infection, so that sort of gives
you the biologic plausibility of spread."
But Ms Schuchat added: "The science is very clear to date
that Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an
infected mosquito, so that is really where we are putting the emphasis right
now."
The virus is known to be present in countries acrossAfrica, theAmericas,Asiaand thePacific.
The first outbreak in the Pacific was in Micronesia in 2007 and
there have since been large outbreaks in four other Pacific island nations. The
outbreak in French Polynesia was associated with neurological complications at
a time when Zika was co-circulating with dengue, says the WHO.
But thethe
situationis now
"dramatically different": Zika arrived in the Americas, where people
had no immunity to the disease.
"Last year, the virus was detected in the Americas, where
it is now spreading explosively," the WHO's director-general Margaret Chan
said.
On January 29 2016, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(DFAT) said that areas of Zika transmission were difficult to determine and
likely to change over time. Itissued a listof 25 "key countries of
concern".
HOW
İS İT AFFECTİNG AUSTRALİA.?
The virus has been discovered in Australia in travellers
returning from South America.
"The main mosquito carriers of the virus are not present to
any great degree in Australia, except perhaps up in the top end of
Queensland," he said.
"But we're not entirely sure yet whether some of the
Australian mosquitoes could carry Zika virus."
Professor Dwyer says people in Australia should bealert but not
alarmed.
DFAT issued this advice for overseas travellers on January 29,
2016:
"Until more is
known about Zika virus, and taking a very cautious approach, we advise women
who are pregnant (in any trimester) or those who are actively seeking to get
pregnant to consider postponing travel to any area where Zika virus
transmission is ongoing (see list).
If you do decide to
travel, talk to your doctor first and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito
bites during your trip."
You cansubscribefor further DFAT advice about Zika.
There
is a lot of concern about a potential link between pregnant women getting the
virus and their babies being born with unusually small heads - a condition
called microcephaly.
"While
the evidence is still not conclusive, there is little doubt that the number of
young children born with microcephaly has substantially increased in countries
such as Brazil where over the last year Zika has spread widely,"says population and health expertPeter Curson.
Microcephaly
is the result of the brain developing abnormally while the foetus is in the
womb or after the baby's birth. It is possible for babies born with mild
microcephaly to show no symptoms later in life, apart from small head size.
But
those with more severe microcephaly can experience seizures, intellectual
disability and problems with development of speech, hearing, movement and
feeding. Early intervention with speech, occupation and physical therapies will
often help improve the affected child's abilities.
In
early January, Brazil's Ministry of Health told the WHO that it had found 38
deaths linked to suspected cases of microcephaly.
While
the potential link between this birth defect and the virus is being
investigated, health authorities in several Latin American countriesare advising womento delay getting pregnant for the next
six to eight months.
WHAT
İS THE TREATMENT.?
There is currentlyno vaccineto prevent infection, and there isno medical treatmentfor the disease.
The WHO's preventionadviceis to remove mosquito breeding sites and reduce contact between
mosquitoes and people by:
-- using insect repellent;
-- wearing clothes (preferably light-coloured) that cover as
much of the body as possible;
-- using physical barriers such as screens, closed doors and
windows; and
-- sleeping under mosquito nets.
"It is also important to empty, clean or cover containers
that can hold water such as buckets, flower pots or tyres, so that places where
mosquitoes can breed are removed," the WHO's advice says.
Trabzonlular Birleşiniz. Trabzonlu İşadamları, İşkadınları, Çalışanlar, Genç Kızlar-Erkekler, Okuyan çocuklar Birlik ve Bütünlüğü Sağlamak Sizin Ellerinizde..!
