Is Zika something that you should be aware of? Yes. Do you need to drape yourself in a mosquito net and slather yourself in bug spray?
Probably not, and I’m understating it there.
That’s the message that we tried to get across this week on Viewpoints on WVPT. Our guests this week were Dr. Laura Kornegay, the director of the Central Shenandoah Health District, and district epidemiologist Jonathan Falk, and they took us through what folks need to know about Zika.
The biggest thing is that Zika is not yet an issue in the U.S. for those who don’t travel internationally. Local cases in the States have been confined to a slice of the Miami area, and at last count, according to the CDC, we’re talking six – yes, six – local cases there.
More numbers:
- 80 percent of people who contract Zika don’t develop noticeable symptoms.
- The other 20 percent experience mild symptoms like a fever, rash, joint pain and reddening of the eyes. Symptoms can last for several days up to a week.
In light of what you now know, what’s the big deal, right?
According to the CDC, Zika infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly, basically a birth brain defect, along with defects of the eye, hearing deficits, and impaired growth.
Adults with other, unrelated medical conditions, and senior adults, can also be at risk from Zika infection, as they would be from a bout with the flu or another virus.
And there is no vaccine for Zika, so the best defense – right now, the only defense – is to prevent mosquito bites.
Seems pretty simple, but preventing mosquito bites can be easier said than done, of course.
Zika isn’t something that is going to be a pandemic. If you travel to countries where the virus has taken hold, you need to take precautions, particularly if you are a woman thinking about having a child, or the family member of a woman thinking about having a child.
Outside of that, it’s headlines that probably don’t have much to do with your life.
More information on Zika
- Virginia Department of Health
www.vdh.virginia.gov - Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
www.cdc.gov - Central Shenandoah Health District on Facebook
www.facebook.com/TheHealthDepartment
Column by Chris Graham
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