The Zika Virus

The Zika Virus — page 3 — Soon de Miranda's father also became sick A Zika carrying mosquito had bitten him too but his illness was not limited to the common Zika symptoms For him the CASES LIKE MY DAD S WORRY ME THE MOST AS ZIKA HAS A DIFFERENT EFFECT ON EACH PERSON SOME PEOPLE MIGHT DEVELOP A RARE SYNDROME LIKE HE DID Zika virus led to Guillain Barré syndrome a rare disorder in which the body's own immune system attacks the nerves He JADE COELHO DE MIRANDA SPEAKING ABOUT THE GUILLAIN BARRÉ SYNDROME HER FATHER DEVELOPED AS A RESULT OF HAVING THE ZIKA VIRUS experienced extreme weakness and tingling in his fingers toes ankles and wrists that lasted for three months MOSQUITOES AND DISEASE Both de Miranda and her father recovered but they were far from the only victims of the Zika virus It did not stop in Brazil By 2016 the Mosquitoes bite because they feed on blood The protein in blood is necessary for many female mosquitoes to produce eggs A mosquito can pick up viruses or other disease carrying organisms from the blood of the animal on which it is feeding It can then transmit the disease to another animal or even to another species Mosquitoes transmit a variety of diseases including Zika malaria yellow fever chikungunya and dengue fever Different types of mosquitoes transmit different diseases virus had spread worldwide As it appeared in one country after another scientists began noticing disturbing trends Some pregnant women who

The Zika Virus — page 4 — became infected with Zika were giving birth to children with major medical problems Researchers scrambled to learn more about the link between the virus and these serious birth defects FROM UGANDA TO THE REST OF THE WORLD The virus was discovered in 1945 in the Zika Forest of Uganda a country in east Africa In the Zika Forest mosquitoes carrying the virus bit and infected local monkeys Only rarely did the mosquitoes bite and infect humans Over the following decades health care providers The Zika Forest has been a site of virus research for decades ZUIKA FOREST PROPERTY OF GANDA WIRUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE UVRI P O BOX 49 ENTEBBE TEL 0454 32053

The Zika Virus — page 5 — and scientists found the virus in animals in other parts of Africa and in South and Southeast Asia Before 2007 there had been only 14 confirmed cases of Zika in humans Between 2007 and 2013 infected mosquitoes and infected people were found on one island after another throughout the Pacific Ocean These islands included Yap island in the Federated States of Micronesia and various islands in French Polynesia As the virus moved across the Pacific more and more people got sick Some such as de Miranda's father developed Guillain Barré syndrome Many others had only the typical Zika symptoms fever headache and a variety of aches and pains Doctors and scientists realized how serious the Zika virus could be in early 2015 when it was confirmed to have reached the Americas Between 3 and 4 million people in the Americas contracted the virus in just nine months Many cases of the illness were mild and most people recovered from them But because there were now so many infections overall the risk of birth defects and other neurological complications became apparent It was estimated that among women who develop the virus during the first three months of their pregnancies 1 in 100

The Zika Virus — page 6 — will give birth to a baby with these issues By January 2016 approximately 4 000 children in the Americas had been born with Zika related birth defects PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY VIRUSES AND BIRTH DEFECTS The Zika virus is one of several viruses that can affect the brain of a developing infant A fetus or a developing embryo does not have a fully formed immune system to fight off the Zika virus As the virus grows and spreads it interferes with the growth of cells in the fetus It often affects the complex process of brain development Virologist Kristen Bernard of the University of Wisconsin Madison notes There are a lot of sensitive cells there that have to get to the right places at the right time 5 Disruptions to this process including those caused by the Zika virus can lead to severe problems with the brain On February 1 2016 the World Health Organization WHO declared the spread of the Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern WHO director general Dr Margaret Chan announced this state of emergency Local transmission has now been reported in 31 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean said Chan Before making this announcement she met with a committee of experts to assess whether the Zika outbreak met all the criteria for an emergency of international concern Such an emergency must involve a problem that

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