Q.what is a
zika virus??
Zika virus is an emerging mosquito-borne
virus that was first identified in Uganda in
1947 in rhesus monkeys through a monitoring network of sylvatic yellow
fever.
It was subsequently identified in humans in
1952 in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Q.why it is called as zika virus??
It was first isolated from Rhesus monkeys in
ZIKA FOREST near Lake Victoria in Uganda.This is the reason it is called as
zika virus.
-western countries mostly affected by this
virus.
-Microcephaly is the problem caused by it.
-Its
not adults who have the most to lose but their unborn babies. As it
affects their unborn babies.
Q.what is microcephaly??
-Microcephaly is a condition where a baby is born with an abnormally small
head and brain defects.
-Microcephaly
is a rare condition where a baby has an abnormally small head.
-This is due to abnormal brain
development of the baby in the womb or during
infancy.
-Babies and children with microcephaly often
have challenges with their brain development as they grow older.
-Microcephaly can be caused by a variety of
environmental and genetic factors such as Down’s syndrome; exposure
to drugs, alcohol or other toxins in the womb; and rubella infection during
pregnancy.
Q.How does it spread??
-Zika virus is transmitted to people through
the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes
aegypti in tropical regions.
-This is the same mosquito that transmits dengue,
chikungunya and yellow fever.
-Zika virus disease outbreaks were reported
for the first time from the Pacific in 2007 and 2013(Yap
and French Polynesia, respectively), and in 2015 from the Americas (Brazil and
Colombia) and Africa (Cape Verde)
Q. How bad
is it now?
-As of January 23, 2016, the Zika virus has
spread to 21 countries and territories of the American
continent.
-It’s speculated that the virus must have
arrived in Brazil along with the throngs that swept in during the 2014 FIFA
World Cup.
-Things look so grim that governments of
4 South American countries are now advising women to not get
pregnant until the situation is brought under control.
-The WHO has predicted that the virus is
likely to spread all over North and South America ,except for Chile and
Canada where the Aedes aegypti mosquito is not present
-The reason that the WHO thinks these
countries are so susceptible is that their populations have not been exposed to
the virus before and hence have no immunity.
Q.Is there any cure for it??
-No, there
isn’t. There exists medication for temporary relief but these
are quite useless without any permanent relief.
-Research on the Zika virus is still quite primitive.
-Given its generic symptoms in adults, it’s
very easy to miss or misdiagnose
-Moreover, the virus doesn’t seem to show affects
in common lab animals like mice and rats.
-Vaccine development and antiviral drug
discovery efforts are on but this takes time.
Q. What
about India?
-India is one of the Aedes aegyptis’s
many homes but the Zika virus itself has not ever been detected in our
country so far.
-However, in a study in the 1950s, healthy
individuals from 6 Indian states showed passive immunity to the virus
-This means that though their blood contained antibodies against
the virus, this was not because they were exposed to the virus
-Usually passive immunity is
acquired through vaccines, from mother-to-child transmissions or breast milk
-In the case of India, where the Zika virus is
not known to exist, the antibodies probably arose from exposure to similar
viruses
-Nevertheless, theoretically, Zika can spread
anywhere that the mosquito exists
·
That means India, too. Indians are just as
susceptible if they travel to high-risk countries
-But, Indian government is making all possible
efforts to restrict zika virus’s entry to India and protect its people from it.
