ZIKA VIRUS: 6 Facts You Should Know About The Disease

 

Recently the federal government of Nigeria warned Nigerians especially pregnant women to avoid going to Latin America because of the recent outbreak of the Zika virus. A lot of Nigerians might worry less about the virus because it can not to be contracted from the kind of mosquitoes we have here, however, there is a reason why Nigerians should also be concerned, because recent report claim the virus can now be contracted through sex. Based on this new development, INFORMATION NIGERIA has put together the 6 things you need to know about Zika virus…

– The Zika virus is carried by mosquitoes and people, but usually spread by mosquitoes. Zika virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in tropical regions. This is the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

– A mosquito can give it to you and then another mosquito could get it from you — and that second mosquito could pass it on to others.

– In adults, the virus can cause a mild rash and a slight fever—but evidence suggests that if a pregnant woman is infected, her child could be born with a devastating birth defect: a shrunken head and brain, called microcephaly.

– Currently, the Zika virus is circulating in more than 20 countries, and can be found in the following locations: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint-Martin, Samoa, Suriname, United States Virgin Islands and Venezuela. Now you know which countries not to travel to.

– Between 2010 and 2014, the average in Brazil was 163 cases per year. As of the beginning of 2016, Brazil had reported 3,530 cases, including 46 deaths

– A Dallas County resident has become the first Zika patient to contract the virus in the U.S. without traveling abroad, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A person who recently traveled to an area with Zika virus transmission returned to the United States and developed Zika-like symptoms. The person later tested positive for Zika, along with their sexual partner, who had not traveled to the area, the CDC said in a statement.

There’s no vaccine to protect against the Zika virus!!!