Questions about Zika Zika virus disease is caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito (
Aedes aegypti and
Aedes albopictus). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting up to a week, and many people do not have symptoms or will have only mild symptoms. However, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly and other severe brain defects.
Prevent Mosquito Bites Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents with one of the active ingredients below. When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Identified the seven most harmful proteins in zika virus A group of US scientists has been able to identify the 7 most harmful proteins of the Zika virus, a finding that may help better understand how that disease attacks the cells of the human body, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome Zika and Guillain-Barré Syndrome: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an uncommon sickness of the nervous system in which a person’s own immune system damages the nerve cells, causing muscle weakness, and sometimes, paralysis.
Starts human trial of zika vaccine Sinergium Biotech has been investigating a safe immunization against zika virus. It is expected that this year will begin tests in humans, after obtaining good results in mice in the preclinical stage. The zika virus expands throughout the region, and in the summer the countries seek to limit the circulation of the disease, transmitted by the same mosquito as dengue.
Zika Brings Multiple Inequalities to Light While Zika really can affect anyone, we also know that women who are faced with multiple inequalities are likely to be affected disproportionately…. We know how to try to reduce risk of Zika [at] multiple levels—it’s wearing bug repellent, it’s using screens on your windows, using air conditioning.
Pregnant During the Zika Outbreak My pregnancy began in March 2016, just a month after the World Health Organization declared Zika an international public health emergency. Although I work in health care as a nurse, I have felt uncertain about the course of this epidemic.
Temperatures could accelerate the success of a Zika vaccine As warmer temperatures herald annoying mosquitoes, the researchers are feverishly working on several promising vaccines against zika, a virus known to infect humans through the bite of this insect. The speed and debilitating effects of last year's zika outbreak in the Western Hemisphere generated a race to develop a vaccine. Just over a year after this pandemic was declared a global health emergency, a group of volunteers are undergoing preliminary testing.
Best repellents against mosquitoes Experts recommendations to protect us from zika and other diseases like dengue or chikungunya, which affect most of our region, is to use mosquito repellent. This, in addition to other precautions (wear clothes that cover our arms and legs, cover water tanks or swimming pools and leave no water remaining when watering the pots), will help us to keep the Aeades aegypti, the main transmitter of these diseases , at bay.