By Michaels Updates
The World Health Organisation has
declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency,
prompted by growing concern that it could cause birth defects. Until
recently, global health officials paid little attention to the Zika
virus that circulated in the same regions as Dengue and Chikungunya
viruses. It is estimated that four million people could be infected by
the end of the year. Pregnant women have been urged not to travel to
about 24 countries, mostly in the Caribbean and Latin America, where the
outbreak is growing. Zika infection appears to be linked to the
development of unusually small heads and brain damage in newborns.
What is the Zika virus?
The Zika virus is a mosquito-transmitted infection related to dengue,
yellow fever and West Nile virus. Although it was discovered in the
Zika forest in Uganda in 1947 and is common in Africa and Asia, it did
not begin spreading widely in the Western Hemisphere until last May,
when an outbreak occurred in Brazil.
Until now, almost no one has had major infections from Zika. Few have
had immune defenses against the virus, so it is spreading
rapidly. Millions of people in tropical regions of the Americas may
have been infected. Scientific concern is focused on women who become
infected while pregnant and those who develop a temporary form of
paralysis after exposure to the Zika virus.
