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[h=4]Zika Q&A: What to know about the mosquito virus[/h]The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern."
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Zika virus, which has been linked to thousands of birth defects in Latin America, has spread rapidly and made its way to North America. Here are five things you need to know about the virus. VPC
An employee of the Health Secretariat fumigates against the Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent the spread of the Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue in Acapulco, Guerrero State, Mexico on February 2, 2016.(Photo: PEDRO PARDO, AFP/Getty Images)
The mosquito-borne Zika virus, linked to an epidemic of birth defects in Brazil, is spreading quickly throughout the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Americas. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a "public health emergency of international concern."
Here is what you need to know:
A:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Zika virus appeared for the first time in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>1947 in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Uganda. For decades, health experts<span style="color: Red;">*</span>considered it a minor-league virus that,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>until recently, was limited to a narrow belt of equatorial Africa and Asia.
A: The Aedes mosquito spreads Zika. Unlike the flu, it<span style="color: Red;">*</span>does not<span style="color: Red;">*</span>spread from person to person. Mosquitoes that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>bite an infected person can spread it to future<span style="color: Red;">*</span>victims.
A: Zika was first detected in Brazil in May.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>?Researchers suspect the virus may have arrived in South America during the 2014 World Cup Games that drew millions of fans to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Brazil.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Zika usually causes no symptoms, which could explain why the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>first cases of illness weren't reported the country until the following year.
A:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Zika is now in at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>least 25 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean.
A. Yes and no.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>More than 30 Americans have been diagnosed with Zika after returning from visits to countries with Zika outbreaks. These<span style="color: Red;">*</span>travel-related cases<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pose a very low risk for spreading. In one case, a resident of the Dallas area contracted Zika virus from a sexual partner who had visited Venezuela.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Health officials aren't including the continental<span style="color: Red;">*</span>USA in their list of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>outbreak countries<span style="color: Red;">*</span>because the virus is not entrenched in local mosquito populations.
A: Brazil's hosting of the Games<span style="color: Red;">*</span>could give mosquitoes a chance to infect people from around the world. Public health officials in Rio de Janeiro downplay<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the risk, saying there will be fewer mosquitoes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>when the sporting event opens<span style="color: Red;">*</span>during the cool month of August. City workers are already destroying mosquito-breeding grounds.
A. Four out of five<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people infected by Zika have no symptoms. Those who<span style="color: Red;">*</span>do usually have mild symptoms lasting two to seven days,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>such as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>fever, rash, headaches, joint pain, muscle pain, lack of energy, weakness and pink eye. It typically takes three to 12 days for illness to develop after a mosquito bite.
A: Not usually, but people with pre-existing health problems can develop fatal complications.
A. Scientists have known since 2008<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Zika can be transmitted through sex, but they say such transmission is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>extremely rare. Doctors aren't sure<span style="color: Red;">*</span>if a person needs<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to be sick<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with obvious symptoms in order to spread the virus through semen.
Health officials<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Texas on Tuesday <span style="color: Red;">*</span>confirmed a case of sexually transmitted Zika. The WHO said the case<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is cause for concern and requires further investigation, but said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>mosquitoes are the most common<span style="color: Red;">*</span>means of transmission and should be<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the primary focus for disease control.
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The Dallas County health department has confirmed two people in the Texas county have tested positive for the Zika virus. One patient had sexual contact with another infected individual; the other patient contracted the virus while in Venezuela. WFAA-TV
A:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Using condoms and practicing safe sex<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reduces the risk of sexual transmission of Zika.
A:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Zika stays in the blood for about a week. Mosquitoes can only pick up the virus if they bite someone during this time. Scientists don't know how long Zika can live in semen.
A:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The virus is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>linked<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to serious birth defects. In October, Brazil's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Ministry of Health<span style="color: Red;">*</span>recorded<span style="color: Red;">*</span>an unusually high number of cases of microcephaly, in which babies are born with small heads and incomplete brain development. Brazil is investigating 3,500 cases of microcephaly.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>It usually<span style="color: Red;">*</span>has 100 to 200 such cases per year, a number that may have missed some infants with the condition.
Children with microcephaly may have<span style="color: Red;">*</span>facial distortions,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>developmental disabilities, short stature,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>difficulties with balance and coordination, speech problems and seizures.
A. No one knows for sure.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Doctors don't know why the virus is only now associated with birth defects. It's possible that a second factor<span style="color: Red;">*</span>beyond Zika virus<span style="color: Red;">*</span>influences the risk of microcephaly.
A: There's no treatment for microcephaly.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>At least 38 Brazilian babies have died. Although some children have normal intelligence and development, their heads remain small, according to the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mayo Clinic.
A: The spike in birth defects in Brazil prompted<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>recommend<span style="color: Red;">*</span>women delay pregnancy until doctors understand more about the virus.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>El Salvador issued the strongest warning, urging women not to conceive for two years.
However,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>scientists have no idea how long the Zika virus will<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pose a risk to pregnant women. Health officials in El Salvador believe that people could develop immunity to the virus over time.
Many public health officials have criticized the advice to postpone pregnancy,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>saying it's unrealistic to tell women when to conceive. About half of pregnancies are unplanned.
A. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned pregnant women to avoid<span style="color: Red;">*</span>traveling to areas with Zika outbreaks.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Women who cannot avoid traveling should consult their doctors and take steps to avoid mosquito bites, such as wearing long sleeves and pants. Women thinking of becoming pregnant should also consult their doctors before traveling to outbreak zones. Neither the CDC nor the World Health Organization have issued any statements about postponing pregnancy.
A:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Zika is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>linked to cases of Guillain-Barre, a rare immune system disorder that can cause temporary paralysis.
A:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>There are no approved treatments or vaccines for Zika.
A:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Diagnosing Zika is difficult<span style="color: Red;">*</span>because its symptoms can mimic those of other mosquito-borne diseases, and there are no approved commercially available tests. Only a few labs can perform the tests that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>detect Zika virus in blood samples.
A: Because few people get visibly<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ill from Zika and there are no<span style="color: Red;">*</span>commercial tests for it,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>there is a possibility of contracting the virus through a blood transfusion. However, that risk is extremely low because the virus is not spreading among local mosquitos in the continental USA.
USA TODAY
U.S. Red Cross: Wait 28 days to donate blood after visiting Zika areas
A: Yes. The American Red Cross is asking people to avoid donating blood if they've traveled to Zika-affected areas in the past 28 days. The American Association of Blood Banks issued a similar recommendation. Canadian Blood Services is barring people from giving blood within 21 days of traveling outside Canada, the continental USA and Europe.
A:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>People who live in poverty are at greatest risk<span style="color: Red;">*</span>because they live in environments where mosquitoes thrive: trash-strewn neighborhoods with lots of standing water, where mosquitoes breed, in homes without air conditioning or even window screens to keep the mosquitoes out. Although cities in Latin America and the Caribbean often meet<span style="color: Red;">*</span>these conditions, many impoverished<span style="color: Red;">*</span>communities along the Gulf Coast<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the USA are also at risk,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Peter Hotez,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
A: The only way to prevent infection is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to avoid mosquito bites by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>staying indoors when visiting an area where the virus is present,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and using mosquito repellent. Communities can<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reduce their risk of Zika by eradicating<span style="color: Red;">*</span>mosquitoes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>by removing trash that collects standing water.
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWS5 things to know about Zika virus | 01:00Zika virus, which has been linked to thousands of birth defects in Latin America, has spread rapidly and made its way to North America. Here are five things you need to know about the virus. VPC
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSGenetically modified mosquitoes released to take on Zika Virus | 02:07Feb. 3 -- A small British biotech firm is taking a leading role in the fight against the Zika virus - by releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into affected areas. Bloomberg's Tom Mackenzie visited their breeding lab near Oxford to find out more Bloomberg
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSDallas County Patient Gets Zika Virus From Sex | 01:19Health officials say a patient in Dallas County, Texas, has acquired the Zika virus through sex. Officials confirm the patient was infected after having sexual contact with an ill person who returned from a country where Zika was present. (Feb. 3) AP
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSWHO Expert says Zika Vaccine Likely "Years Away" | 01:22A senior World Health Oranization (WHO) doctor on Tuesday told journalists that a vaccine for the Zika virus "may be years not months away." Dr. Antony Costello said it depends on the biology of the virus. (Feb. 2) AP
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSBrevard Prepared to Fend Off Zika Virus | 00:30The World Health Organization announced on Monday that the explosive spread of the Zika virus in the Americas is an "extraordinary event" that merits being declared an international emergency. (Feb. 1) AP The same type of mosquito spreading the Zik Wochit
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSSexually transmitted Zika virus reported in Texas | 02:38The Dallas County health department has confirmed two people in the Texas county have tested positive for the Zika virus. One patient had sexual contact with another infected individual; the other patient contracted the virus while in Venezuela.
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSWHO declares Zika outbreak a global emergency | 01:55The World Health Organization announced on Monday that the explosive spread of the Zika virus in the Americas is an "extraordinary event" that merits being declared an international emergency. (Feb. 1) AP
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSZika virus: 5 things you need to know | 01:00Zika, a virus transmitted through mosquito bites, is affecting multiple countries in Latin America, and is expected to spread to the U.S. VPC
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSZika virus prompts Brazilian petition For more legal abortion access | 01:09The Zika virus outbreak in Brazil prompted a petition for more access to legal abortion.
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ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSWHO Holds Crisis Meeting on Zika Virus | 01:28The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun a crisis meeting considering whether the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which is linked to birth defects in the Americas, should be declared a global health emergency. (Feb. 1) AP
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSExpert Says Zika Outbreak Not Likely in the U.S. | 01:45Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the chances of a Zika outbreak in the United States is not likely. Fauci spoke at a luncheon event in Washington, DC on Friday. (Jan. 29) AP
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSHeat, Poverty, Fuel Brazil Zika Outbreak | 01:29In Recife, Brazil, the epicenter of the country's Zika outbreak, authorities struggle to control the mosquitoes that spread the virus, while families struggle with birth defects that may be linked to the disease. (Jan. 29) AP
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSMosquitoes are spreading a rare virus | 00:44In the past year, Zika has spread from Africa and Asia through the Americas. In Brazil, the number of infants born with shrunken, malformed brains has gone up by a factor of 10 since Zika entered the country. USA TODAY
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSCDC: Pregnant Women at Greatest Risk for Zika | 03:34Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning pregnant women to postpone travel plans to areas where Zika virus has been reported in the hopes of reducing risks of birth defects and spread of virus. (Jan. 28) AP
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSConcerns Zika Virus Could Spread Through Americas | 02:33The Zika virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, has been found in nearly two dozen Latin American countries. The virus is suspected of causing birth defects. Health officials are concerned it could spread to the US and Canada. (Jan. 28) AP
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSRio Olympics monitoring spread of Zika virus | 00:35With the Rio Olympics seven months away, daily inspections of stagnant water in Brazil are ongoing where mosquitoes spread the Zika virus.
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSWHO To Hold Emergency Session on Zika Virus | 02:14The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday said it was convening an emergency committee on Monday to decide if the Zika virus outbreak should be declared an international health emergency. (Jan. 28) AP
ZIKA VIRUS IN THE NEWSCDC Discusses Rise in Emerging Zika Virus | 02:09The CDC says there is growing concern about the emerging, mosquito-borne Zika virus after a surge in cases of a rare brain defect among babies in Brazil. Although cases of the Zika virus are still rare in the U.S., they're on the rise. (Jan. 20) AP
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