Before researching
Zika I really did not know much about it. According to the CDC the most common
symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or red eyes, muscle pain and headache.
The symptoms last for several days to a week and people very rarely die of
Zika. To prevent Zika, unfortunately there is no specific vaccine to treat it
yet. The CDC website states, that during the first week of infection, Zika
virus can be found in the blood and passed from an infected person to a
mosquito through mosquito bites. Prevention steps to avoid Zika include avoid mosquito
bites, (mosquitoes that spread Zika virus bite mostly during the daytime). If
one is traveling to countries where Zika virus or other viruses spread by
mosquitoes are found, people should; wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, stay
in places with air conditioning or that use window and door screens to keep
mosquitoes outside, sleep under a mosquito bed net if you are overseas or
outside and are not able to protect yourself from mosquito bites, and use insect
repellents.
What are we
doing to control the spread of Zika? Considering Zika virus is seen in travelers
returning from places where Zika is spreading, there will be travelers
returning to the United States with Zika. The CDC has laboratories that have
developed a test that can confirm Zika in the first week of illness or in a
sample from an affected child. The government is supporting laboratories in
Puerto Rico and around the United States to provide testing, also working with
Puerto Rico and other places at risk around the country to improve mosquito
control efforts. Mosquito control is a difficult task, states and cities that
invest in mosquito control can track and fix many places where mosquitoes can
breed to drive down mosquito populations. “The CDC is focusing on protecting
the health, safety and security of Americans; learning more about Zika and
fighting it is a top priority.”
