The Harmful Effects Of The Zika Virus In Brazil

Zika virus was discovered by scientists in the Zika rainforest in a remote part of Uganda in 1947, in the serum of an infected rheseus monkey. With five thousand two hundred thirty- four known cases of the infectious virus documented in the United States. There is currently no vaccination for the flu like virus. The chief concern of the healthcare administration is to continue to take preventive measures to prevent contracting the virus. Within the same flavivirus family

Brazil has been impacted the most by the Zika virus, and knowing microcephaly might be linked to Zika. It is affecting mothers and babies more than adults because babies are born with small heads with a disorder and/or die during or after birth. There are many rumors going around as Zika spreads. Many people react to it differently; some care about this a lot whereas others do not care at all.

As of now, there is no official vaccine for Zika. Instead, a patient that has the contagion must undergo certain treatments. Fortunately, the remedies for the virus are simple and cheap. If infection occurs, it is vital to get an abundance of rest and liquids; medication is also advised to assist in alleviating pain. The treatments for Zika are straightforward because the disease itself is rather mild. In fact, in most reported cases of the virus in the United States, the illness only lasted approximately two to seven days prior to the first set of symptoms (“World Health Organization”). It is evident that the fear associated with the Zika Virus is slightly exaggerated. Currently, there is only one recorded fatality in the United States that is directly related to Zika (“The Washington Post”). This is mainly because first world countries’ medical programs are advanced enough to effectively treat the virus. The standard of living in these countries are also higher compared to third world countries. That is why Zika has claimed a significant amount of lives worldwide; the poor conditions in these countries make it difficult for infected individuals to get proper

The appearance and spread of the Zika virus inside the United States has recently made a huge impact on our society and healthcare professionals. The virus is being passed from an infected mother to her unborn child causing severe, life-altering disabilities and defects. More and more cases of the virus are being reported, with the biggest impact on the development of unborn babies. With no vaccine to protect against Zika, it is especially critical for pregnant women to take precautions when being exposed to mosquitoes, the primary vector for Zika.

February 1, 2016 the World Health announced a PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern) that declared the Zika virus was a global health emergency. Brazil being the most affected country in the world right now has cases where pregnant women with the virus have given birth to children with smaller heads causing their brains to not develop correctly.The Zika virus is a flavivirus (Karimi) that is related to the common dengue virus and West Nile disease. A flavivirus is a group of RNA (a ribonucleic acid), that are mostly carried by mosquitoes, flies, fleas, etc. The virus carried causes severe human diseases, that are most commonly related to the Dengue and West Nile disease. The disease

April 2015, small but deadly outbreaks began in Brazil, South America. Hundreds of Brazilian women infected by the Zika virus, endanger their unborn children to develop a form of brain damage called, Microcephaly. In the early months of 2016, South America’s CDCP (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) announced the Zika virus has taken full effect, and called for a state of emergency. Researchers today, study the effects of the Zika virus, where it comes/evolved from, and if there is a cure.

In the article, “Local Transmission of Zika Virus is reported in Texas”, it stated that on November 28th, 2016 health officials announced Zika has been reported in Texas. In the United States, the virus has only been in Florida. In Florida, it was believed to be carried by mosquitoes from person to person. But this case in Texas is carried by a women. Medical Investigators are trying to found out if the infection is spreading.

Shortly after giving birth in a Brazilian hospital, Penelope nervously awaits to see her newborn. Fear fills her body as her newborn, Natalia, is handed to her with an abnormally small head. Her newborn has the same condition as the majority of the other newborns in Brazil. It is estimated, more than 2,400 children are born in Brazil with the same condition known as microcephaly. The leading cause is believed to be the rise of the mysterious Zika virus (“Brazil warns”).

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.

The Zika Virus is a condition that initially started in Brazil and has now made its way around the world by transmission of mosquitos.The symtoms of Zika virus are typically last only a week or so and include fever, rash, and aching joints. Many adults contract the virus with no symptoms, which makes it easy to spread to their partners through sexual transmission and even onto their fetus if they are pregnant (Jin). Women began bearing children that were born with microcephaly, which is a condition that causes the head and brain to be smaller than normal. It is thought that the Zika virus starts to delay the growth of the skull from the beginning of fetal development (Teixeira). Serology tests are used to detect the virus in the mother, and

What is the Zika virus? “For most people, the Zika virus causes only a brief, mild flu-like illness.” It may also affect pregnant women. “In pregnant women it has been linked to alarming increase in the rate of the birth defect known as microcephaly-- a debilitatingly small head and brain size.” It is so devastating to hear of children being born with abnormal heads (Brown).

For a couple of weeks now, a so-called epidemic of the Zika virus has been plastered all over the media’s health sections. Many people have ascribed the rise in the Zika virus as the leading cause to rise in the cases of Microcephaly (a condition where babies are born with abnormally small heads). This belief has become so strong that the WHO has even recommended that pregnant women not travel to areas affected with the Zika virus. As a result of these recent events, the question “ Does Zika actually cause microcephaly?” begs to be asked. The unfortunate answer to this question is that we don’t know. The article which I chose to read dealt with why it is so hard to ascribe microcephaly to the Zika virus and what we should do about it. In short, the reason why it is so hard to prove is

Zika Virus swept the media in 2016. It reminded everyone of the 1999 West Nile virus because of the similarities amongst the symptoms of the two viruses. Contrastingly, Zika Virus has a slightly different mode of transmission. The virus is a member of the flaviviridae family and flavivirus genus and is a positive, single stranded, RNA virus (Kuno, 1). Zika Virus has been known to severely affect pregnant women. In pregnant women, Zika Virus causes a birth defect resulting in abnormally small brain sizes in babies called microcephaly. Mosquito born Zika Virus transmission has been reported in 68 countries and 14 of those countries have reported microcephaly associated with Zika Virus (Kelley,1). A mosquito infected with Zika Virus that bites

Zika virus emerges in America and all over the world causing severe brain damage in newborn babies. Brazil is the most affected country. Specialists in Brazil and Dr. William Dobyns believe there is a definite link between brain birth defects and Zika infections in Brazil, even though it has not been yet established. Particularly, babies born with abnormally small heads and at least two standard deviations below the mean age and sex, have the condition called microcephaly. Most of the time, microcephaly is linked with factors like chromosomal abnormalities, malnutrition, and exposure to drugs during pregnancy. In the case of Brazil, Dr. Dobyns considers the outbreak of Zika to cause the worst case of the brain damage. As the result, Brazil’s

The devastating effects of the Zika virus on the brains of fetuses go beyond microcephaly, which is a condition that is present at birth in which the baby's head is much smaller than normal for an infant of that age. The horrible outcomes that are occurring due to Zika is fetal death, tiny heads as small as an orange, shrunken placentas and nerve damage that could cause