Health Matters: Getting the Facts Straight on the Zika Virus

The Zika Virus has been dominating news headlines since the start of the year.

The Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 but just recently did it explode in south and central America.

While there are still many questions surrounding the disease, experts have a few precautions they want to make clear.
 
 While the Zika Virus has been around for the past 50 years, never has it dominated headlines like this.
 
While questions are still surrounding the virus, Dr. Alonto wants to make one thing clear:
 
“Pregnant women delay travel to Zika prone areas if they can,” says Essentia Health Infectious Disease Physician, Dr. Augusto Alonto.
 
It is believed pregnant women getting infected with Zika can develop a birth defect called microcephaly, that results in small heads and incomplete brain development.
 
“We don’t know if there is a direct link or not but it seems like as every day goes by there is a link,” says Dr. Alonto.
 
But not only do pregnant women have to be careful, their male partners can also put them at risk.
 
“And the male partners of the pregnant women because it’s also been shown that Zika can be transmitted through sex,” says Dr. Alonto.
 
The Aedes mosquito carries the virus.
 
“Aedes mosquitoes are urban mosquitoes which meaning that they live in garbage and they breed in stagnant water.”
 
The mosquito also bites the most in the daytime, but not all Aedes mosquitoes carry the disease and worse, they can also transmit other viral infections.
 
“Like dengue for example which can cause severe fever and severe muscle aches,” says Dr. Alonto.
 
Dr. Alonto says for the general population who get infected with Zika most will develop mild symptoms and they generally only last about a week.

In fact, only 20% of people who are infected will show any kinds of symptoms.