What disease does Zika cause?
Zika infection during pregnancy can cause a birth defect called microcephaly, as well as other severe fetal brain defects. CDC is investigating the link between Zika virus infection and GBS, an uncommon sickness of the nervous system.
Where did the Zika virus come from?
In 1947, researchers isolated a new virus from a rhesus monkey in a tropical forest near Entebbe, Uganda. The virus, of the Flavivirus genus, was named Zika after the forest in which it was discovered.
What happens if you get the Zika virus?
A: The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, headache, joint pain, red eyes, and muscle pain. Many people infected with Zika won’t have symptoms or will have mild symptoms, which can last for several days to a week.
Will Zika ever go away?
The body clears the Zika virus eventually. There are some viruses that stay in the body permanently — herpes and the AIDS virus HIV, for example. But Zika virus is one that the immune system eventually gets rid of.
Does Zika go away by itself?
What is Zika virus and how dangerous it is?
Zika is a virus spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects . Zika virus can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Infection during pregnancy can cause a birth defect called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects .
What are facts about Zika virus?
Zika is a virus related to the West Nile, yellow fever, and dengue viruses that’s passed on primarily by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. “A person bitten by a mosquito that has the virus then becomes viremic.
What is Zika virus and is it contagious?
“Zika virus is not contagious person to person in any kind of normal sense,” he says. Related: Zika Virus Spreading ‘Explosively’. Zika is a mosquito-borne disease, meaning it’s transferred to people from mosquito bites. “If a mosquito bites someone with Zika, it takes up the virus,” explains Adalja.
How deadly is Zika virus?
The Zika virus is an arbovirus, closely related to yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya. The virus causes mild symptoms and usually does not result in severe illness requiring hospitalization, and it is rarely deadly.
