THE World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Zika virus a public emergency of international concern. According to that organization, the virus is transmitted to humans primarily via the bite of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which also carries the dengue and chikungunya viruses; often lives around buildings in urban areas; and is usually active during daylight hours (peak biting activity occurs in early mornings and late afternoons).

This recent outbreak of the Zika virus began in Brazil in April 2015. The most common symptoms of Zika infection are fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis (red eyes), headache, and muscle pain; and these symptoms are known to last from several days to a week.

Conventional scientific knowledge had held that the Zika virus is transmitted only through the bite of this mosquito; but on Wednesday, the United States’ (U.S) Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the claim made by Texas on Tuesday that the virus is also transmitted through sexual contact. One such case was found of a person having sex with someone who had returned from Venezuela.

With the WHO forecasting that Zika is likely to spread to every country in the Americas where the mosquito is found — outside of Canada and Chile, which are not home to the mosquito — Guyanese have to be vigilant. Reuters today reported that Chile has three reported cases of Zika infection, one respectively from persons who had travelled to Colombia, Brazil and Venezuela. These persons are all in recovery. Guyana has reported one case of Zika infection.

While persons should not be unduly alarmed, it does no harm to take all necessary precautions against contracting Zika infection. To this end, persons are asked to pay heed to travel advisories and the Ministry of Public Health’s public education outreach.

The Public Health Ministry on Wednesday issued an advisory that fogging will begin in identified communities; and admonished that persons keep their yards clean by removing all empty containers that can breed mosquitoes, and to always sleep under mosquito nets so as to prevent contracting mosquito-borne diseases.

And in the absence of abstinence, persons are encouraged to practise safe sex by using a condom, in order to avoid contracting the Zika virus through sexual transmission.

There are reportedly more than 3,000 cases of microcephaly, which is suspected to be linked to the Zika virus. Microcephaly is a birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and neurological abnormalities.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has set aside US$9M to educate the Brazilian community about eradicating mosquito breeding sites and how to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes. WHO has also recommended that local health authorities pay close attention to pregnant women who may have contracted the virus. Countries like Colombia and El Salvador are cautioning women to avoid getting pregnant within the next six months to two years. The dichotomy here is that these countries have strict abortion laws and restricted access to contraception.

This week, in response to this dilemma, the United Nations called access to abortion a human right.
According to the WHO, there is no vaccine, cure or specific treatment for the disease, but treatment may help. Treatment instead focuses on relieving symptoms, and includes rest, rehydration, and medications for fever and pain.

The WHO notes that prevention and control of this disease relies on reducing the breeding of the mosquitoes, and minimising contact between mosquito vectors and people by using barriers (such as repellents, insect screens); reducing water-filled habitats supporting mosquito larvae in and close to dwellings, and reducing the adult mosquito populations around at-risk communities.

Thus it is encouraging news that Brazil and the United States are partnering to develop a vaccine against the virus and combat the mosquito that transmits it. The Associated Press reports that, on 20th February, U.S. technicians of the National Institutes of Health and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention will meet in Brazil with technicians of the Brazilian Health Ministry and those of three biomedical and clinical research centres.