High taxes, high cost of living, better education for our children are a summary of our most common concerns. In the last decade, after passing through the crises of HIV and Ebola, for which, fortunately, treatments and/or antidotes were found, suddenly the Zika virus for which there is no vaccine, appears.
Zika virus is “spreading explosively” throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the World Health Organization. No less than 4 million people could become infected over the next year, and scientists are competing to determine whether the virus is causing an increase of microcephaly, a condition in which the baby’s head is smaller than usual compared to other babies of the same sex and age.
Although known since 1947, sporadic cases were reported in a narrow corridor between Africa and Asia, but it was not until 2015 that Zika was known on this side of the Atlantic when it suddenly made its appearance in Central and South America and the Caribbean. In May 2015, Brazil reported its first case of Zika. In October of the same year, Brazil reported that at least 4,000 babies have been born with microcephaly, so now Brazil is considered the epicenter of the epidemic.
The most common symptoms of Zika disease are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. Symptoms begin between 2 and 7 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. According to reports, about 1 person in 5 infected with Zika will fall sick; the disease is usually benign, so many do not even know that they are sick. The danger is that if the person is a pregnant woman, she can pass the virus to her unborn child.
Anyone living in or planning to travel to an area where the Zika virus is present and has not been infected with the virus is at risk of infection. If you are traveling, especially if you are a pregnant woman, it is recommended that you get informed before leaving. It is therefore recommended to visit the CDC Travelers’ Health Center page site and/or also www.cdc.gov/zika.
It is in our hands to protect the health of those who cannot do it for themselves, the unborn baby.
