Zika virus (ZIKV) is a zoonotic arbovirus infection carried by a specific type of mosquito that lives in the tropical and subtropical zones of the planet. In addition, scientists suggest that the likelihood of sexual infection is not excluded. In this regard, every modern person should have an idea of what symptoms are characteristic of those infected with the virus Zika. In the material you are submitting, the characteristics of the Zick virus are given, and the symptoms and measures for the prevention of the disease are described.
Symptoms of infection with the virus Zika
For the first time, cases of Zick's fever were detected in 1952 in African countries. The last time the outbreak occurred in 2015 in Latin America. It is these cases of infection that are of particular concern to the public in many countries, because it is Brazil that should become the host country of the 2016 Olympics, and according to WHO, the symptoms of the Zick virus are important not only for athletes, but for all guests of the Olympic Games a dangerous disease.
The incubation period for infection with the virus Zika can be from 3 days to 2 weeks. In most cases at this time no manifestations of the disease are observed.
After the end of the incubation period, there is initially little anxiety about the general malaise, but as the disease develops, the following clinical symptoms appear in patients:
- an itchy rash (macular or papular) that spreads over the entire surface of the body;
- headache;
- raising the temperature to 39 degrees;
- chills;
- painful joint and muscle pain;
- swelling in the joint zone;
- inflammation and redness of the conjunctiva;
- sharp response to bright light.
Consequences of infection with the virus Zika
Specialists say that after infection with Zik's fever, the patients recover, the fatal outcome is fixed in exceptional cases. At the same time in some sources it is indicated that sometimes people who have had a fever have neurological complications. But the most dangerous experts consider the emergence of symptoms of infection with Zik's virus in pregnant women, since the consequence of infection is the emergence of infants with microcephaly - a pathology leading to a decrease in the size of the brain and skull. Currently, there are no ways to prevent intrauterine transmission of infection.
Preventing infection with zik fever
To date, methods for the specific prevention of Zik fever have not been developed.
Common methods of prevention mainly concern tourists who visit hot countries. Among the methods of protection from infection with zik fever (as, indeed, from other infectious diseases, characteristic of the tropics and subtropics):
- mosquito nets and screens on windows and entrances to the dwelling;
- wearing clothing that protects the body from insect bites;
- use of repellents;
- the elimination of places of active reproduction of mosquitoes (these are the objects where water accumulates and stagnates - buckets, flower pots, etc.).
During outbreaks of fever, local authorities should handle large water bodies and their surroundings by
Due to the special danger of infection by the virus of pregnant women, they are not recommended to travel to potentially dangerous countries.
In addition, other categories of tourists returning from tourist trips to countries with a humid, hot climate, it is necessary to monitor their health in the first weeks after their return, so that at the first signs of the disease they should immediately seek help from infectious disease doctors.