Mosquito's Spread Of The Zika Virus

Based on the statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 23,000 people in the mainland U.S. and Puerto Rico have contracted the Zika virus. Especially, there are more than 2,000 pregnant women, which is especially troubling because the virus can cause birth defects. The CDC estimates that 20 babies in the mainland U.S. and 1 baby in Puerto Rica have been born with birth defects related to Zika. The Zika virus can cause microcephaly – a condition where a baby's head and brain are undersized and underdeveloped – in as many as 13 percent of babies born to women who get infected while pregnant. It is also linked to several other types of birth defects, and to Guillain-Barre syndrome in adults. As the result, the deal reached in Congress includes $394 million to help control Zika-carrying mosquitoes and another $397 million to help develop a vaccine against the virus and better tests to help diagnose cases of Zika. There is also $66 million allocated to health care for people affected by Zika in Puerto Rico and other U.S.

This result has been 30 times higher than pre-Zika virus years and there has been more birth defect within the first trimester. The result of the study indicated that 15% of women with confirmed Zika infection during the first trimester had babies with birth defects and that almost every state reported one woman with suspected Zika infection during pregnancy. Based on the report, infants born to women with evidence of possible Zika virus infection should follow-up and routine development assessment that will help identify for future outcomes associated with the Zika virus. Neuroimaging test is needed to detect these abnormalities. The report also indicates that the study has at least four limitations and that there was limited data about the maternal risk factors such as genetic or other infectious causes, which could has been the reason for some of the birth defects reported in the study. Overall, the result of this study is important because it gives more information about the Zika virus and how is affecting pregnant women in U.S.

“This study marks a turning point in the Zika outbreak. It is now clear that the virus causes microcephaly”( Tom Frieden). Microcephaly is an abnormal smallness of the head, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development. With the Olympics being held in Brazil, there is much cause to attention the potential disease being brought back to the U.S. by female athletes bringing an epidemic to carry havoc on the citizens of the United States. It can be spread very easily through mosquito bites of the yellow fever mosquito. From the mosquitoes, the virus does not cause many symptoms to its victims generating unknown awareness of the virus. “ Only one in five people who become infected with Zika virus will feel sick. Symptoms of Zika virus infection include fever, rash, pink eye, pains in joints, pain behind the eyes, headache, and muscle pains”( Levison, Matthew). The symptoms, if any, last 4-7 days in most cases. The Zika Virus is an easily spread disease with few symptoms.

Zika virus creates a trepidation among people as it is spreading across South and Central America. We hear it every day as it is procuring Ebola-level awareness. In her article, “An Illustrated Guide To The Zika Outbreak, published in February 3rd of 2016, Anna Almendrala enumerates the effects of Zika virus and the alarming fear it causes among the people. “Brazilian health authorities notified the World Health Organization that an alarming number of Brazilian babies had been born with microcephaly, a rare, debilitating birth defect with lifelong consequences. Researchers quickly linked the spike in birth defects to the outbreak of a little-known tropical disease called Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes” (Almendrala). The author expounds the fatal consequence to babies born with birth defects such as microcephaly: the condition where infants born with undersized heads. The author emphasizes the relation between Zika virus and microcephaly. Microcephaly is the condition where infants born with undersized heads. Almendrala’s purpose is to convey the idea of how the Zika virus is spread across the countries through mosquitoes and she informs the audience to take special care of pregnant women as they are more prone to the Zika virus and always be vigilant while traveling to countries that are affected by Zika virus, especially African, Central and South America where more people are affected by Zika virus and more babies are born with undersized heads caused by

McNeil, Donald G., and Pam Belluck. "Extensive Brain Defects seen in Babies of Mothers with Zika." New York Times, 14 Dec, 2016, pp. A.3, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Marsha- As we know, the Zika virus can be passed from the mother to the fetus and can cause congenital microcephaly and other severe brain defects to the fetus. If you have a confirmed case of the Zika virus, does your department have a protocol in place for scanning these patients? Have you performed a case that there was a confirmed case of the Zika virus? If so, can you tell us what the physicians plan was for the patient and fetus?

The virus is spreading through two different types of Aedes mosquitoes. Adults with the virus may only experience mild symptoms including pain, rash, or a slight fever (Partlow). The virus can often go unnoticed (Romero). The problems arise within the children born to women who have the virus. It is speculated that the Zika virus is causing infants to be born with microcephaly. This causes the child to be born with an abnormally small head and incomplete brain development. Brazil has been hit hardest with the virus and has seen over 4,000 cases of microcephaly

The Zika virus has had a constant presence in the news for the past few months. This article describes Ana Gabriela do Prado Paschoal's struggles. She contracted the Zika virus while pregnant with her now three month old daughter Maria. Maria now suffers from brain lesions, stiff muscles, and brain damage. With the help of scans, imaging, and autopsies doctors learned that the Zika virus eats away at the fetal brain. It is responsible for shrinking or destroying the part of the brain that controls vision, thought process, and other basic functions.

Stein also reports that microcephaly in infants due to the Zika virus is rare, but the risk has been increased in Brazil, due to the endemic status of the infection (Stein, 2016). This article mainly focuses on pregnant women and their children,

Since then, the Zika virus has been rapidly spreading in Brazil and other Latin American and Caribbean countries. On Feb. 1, 2016, the Zika virus was announced as a public health urgency by the World Health Organization (WHO), and the virus was linked to the microcephaly in which babies are born with a brain defect (Tavernise, 2016). The Zika is not a deadly disease, and the symptoms are: fever, rash, inflamed eyes, and joint pain (Ramzy, 2016). However, one significant effect of the Zika virus is the microcephaly because a baby with microcephaly has abnormally small head which includes brain, eyes, and ears, damages (CDC, 2016). It is not only the baby’s life that is effected but also the parent’s lives will be changed because the parents have to take care of the baby for the rest of their lives. More than 3,800 infants in Brazil have recently been found to have microcephaly (Romero, 2016). The Zika epidemic has spread 25 countries (Jacob, 2016); however, why is the Zika epidemic growing more serious in Brazil? The Zika epidemic has been attributed to some factors, including: the Aedes aegypi mosquitoes’ habitats, the

ABSTRACT: This paper will demonstrate how ultrasound has been a key tool in aiding the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in diagnosing how the outbreak of Zika virus has led pregnant women to develop fetal abnormalities such as microcephaly among others. An ultrasound is used to determine microcephaly by measuring the fetal head circumference (HC). If the HC is more than 2 standard deviations (SD) below the mean compared to other fetuses that same age and gender then this indicates microcephaly. A condition such as microcephaly usually doesn’t present itself until the second or third trimester. It is important for the sonographer to be proficient and to have time on their side in hopes for an early detection, thus recommending regular ultrasounds every few weeks to monitor the progress of the fetus.

While Zika can cause new borns to be born with astringent brain affliction, there may be an opportunity to tame the virus to fight brain tumors in adults. The Zika virus, which landed in South America from Polynesia about four years back, is most hazardous in pregnant ladies. It can cause microcephaly and related neurological issues in the children of ladies who were contaminated while pregnant, also with a higher rate of a miscarriage.

Causes of obtaining the Zika virus include the exposure to the female mosquito Aedes and sexual contact. Such expose to Zika leads to horrible effects, but the most horrible effect is found within pregnant women. Apparently, if a pregnant woman is exposed to the Zika virus, then the unborn baby can also get infected with Zika. From the nine cases of pregnant women in the United States with the Zika virus five of them have suffered severe consequences from this virus. Two pregnant women of the nine ended up having miscarriages after presenting symptoms of the Zika virus. Other two women decided to abort their unborn baby after “an ultrasound showed the fetus had severe brain damage” and the last women, from the five out of the nine pregnant women where the child was affected, gave birth to a baby “with severe microcephaly.” The rest of the women either gave birth to a healthy baby or the ultrasound has not revealed any abnormalities found in the baby, allowing them to continue with their pregnancy

With the outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) from 2013 to 2015, although there were clinical evidence regarding pregnant patients with ZIKV gives birth to birth defected infants, there weren’t experimental evidence of how this virus causes birth defects. Therefore to understand whether a specific type of ZIKV affects the embryo this research dig deep into how the ZIKV strain causes birth defects. Due to previous research, it was already known out of all the different strains of ZIKV, the Brazilian ZIKV strain causes the most severe congenital malformations.

Once again it is summer. It’s time for vacations, family barbecues, and long afternoons at the local lake or river. This summer, there is something that may put a damper on your fun under the sun. The Zika Virus. Carried by two species of mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, the Zika Virus is easily transmitted. Zika is also transmitted through the sharing of bodily fluids. The symptoms of Zika are minor to nonexistent for adults. Minor symptoms include red eyes, joint pain, rash, and fever. Zika has been linked to brain defects such as microcephaly, a defect characterized by a small brain and head size. Microcephaly often interferes with a child’s developmental growth, and those who suffer from microcephaly may also suffer from