Zika virus infection usually does not cause serious symptoms. However, when it is passed from mother to baby during pregnancy, the baby may have a small head (microcephaly).
Pregnant women who have traveled to areas with Zika should tell their healthcare provider and use condoms during sex. Zika may also be a cause of Guillain-Barre syndrome in adults, which causes muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.
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Fever is the most common symptom of Zika infection. It may be mild or severe, but it’s usually short-lived. It’s important to get plenty of rest while your fever is low, as this will help you recover faster. You should also drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated. Over-the-counter medicines, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), can help to relieve fever and pain.
Zika is an arbovirus, and like dengue, chikungunya, and urban yellow fever, it’s spread by Aedes mosquitoes that breed in stagnant water. These mosquitoes bite aggressively during the day, indoors and outdoors near people. They can also transfer the virus from a mother to her fetus during pregnancy, and this causes a serious birth defect called microcephaly.
A few days after being bitten by infected mosquitoes, many people develop symptoms, including a bumpy, red rash, joint and muscle aches, pain behind the eyes, and a fever. The symptoms typically last for 4 to 7 days. Zika virus is mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas. There is no vaccine or medicine to treat Zika, so treatment focuses on easing symptoms. Getting plenty of rest, drinking lots of fluids, and taking over-the-counter medicines, such as
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The joints of the body may ache or feel warm. The aches can be mild or severe, but the pain usually goes away after a few days.
Joint pain can also be a sign of some diseases and infections, such as arthritis or fibromyalgia. It can be difficult to diagnose, because it can be hard to tell the difference between Zika-related joint pain and other conditions. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, can help relieve the pain. But talk to your doctor before taking these medications if you have stomach ulcers or kidney or liver disease. Your provider may recommend topical treatments, such as ointments or gels you rub on the skin over the affected area, to ease the pain.
Zika virus is in the blood of an infected mosquito and can be passed to other people when that mosquito bites them. This can happen in a sexual relationship, even if the partner doesn’t have symptoms of Zika.
Infection with the Zika virus during pregnancy increases the risk of having a baby with microcephaly, where the head is smaller than expected. It also increases the risk of other birth defects. The virus can also cause Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological condition that causes muscle weakness and paralysis. It happens most often in children but can occur in adults, too.
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The Zika virus spread quickly during its outbreak in the Americas, and many people suffered from conjunctivitis (redness of the eyes with a clear watery discharge). Some people developed a rash that’s a mix of raised and flat red areas (maculopapular) and some had itchy skin. Others experienced joint pain.
One of the more serious complications of Zika virus is the potential for a birth defect called microcephaly, which results in an abnormally small head and brain. Zika virus infection during pregnancy can also lead to a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome, which causes muscle weakness and a pins-and-needles feeling in the arms and legs.
A recent study found that Zika virus can be detected in tears. Researchers used a non-invasive method of sampling the conjunctiva, using swabs that are gently placed in the corner of each eyelid. They found that Zika RNA can be directly isolated from conjunctival samples. They also found that Zika RNA can persist in the tears up to late convalescence.
Tears are a “privileged site” for infection, because the immune system is less active in this area to avoid damaging the delicate tissues around the eyes. Zika RNA was found in the tears of infected mice, but not the infectious virus, which raises the possibility that humans could acquire Zika from contact with their own tears.
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Infection with the Zika virus, which is transmitted through bites from Aedes mosquitoes, can cause serious problems for some people. In addition to pregnancy complications and birth defects, it has been linked to a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS).
GBS is an immune system disease that can cause weakness or paralysis in the arms and legs. It usually starts a few days or weeks after the person gets sick with a viral infection. Most people recover from GBS, but in some cases it can lead to permanent disability.
Researchers have been watching for a possible link between the Zika outbreak and GBS spikes. They found that as Zika cases rose, so did the number of people diagnosed with GBS. The research team led by epidemiologists and virologists at Institut Pasteur / Cnam in France were able to confirm a link between Zika and GBS using publicly available data from 11 countries that have a GBS surveillance system.
The scientists used blood samples, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva and urine collected by hospital neurologists from patients with GBS who came from states with documented ZIKV infection and met Brighton Collaboration criteria level 1. They were tested for the presence of Zika virus nucleic acid in the sample. All the patients had been transiently ill with symptoms similar to GBS, and 88% of them reported having Zika virus antibodies in their blood at the time of their diagnosis.