Finding the Solution for Zika Virus Outbreak

The Zika virus has been all over the news lately as concerns about the spread of the mosquito-borne virus move towards full-blown panic, as the virus has been linked anecdotally to microcephaly, a frightening birth defect. Symptoms of the Zika virus are mild and last for a few days to week and include fever, rash, joint pain or conjunctivitis (red eyes), muscle pain and headache. Death from Zika is rare, and the virus remains in the blood for a week or slightly longer according to the Centers for Disease Control, CDC. The Zika virus is spread via the same mosquitoes that transmit dengue. The Zika virus can now be found in 23 countries in the Americas with most cases in Brazil.

Although it was one of the top news stories of 2016, news of the Zika virus has slipped from the headlines as the fall and winter season ended the scare. With the return of warmer weather and mosquito season, it is important to know that the dangers of Zika have not disappeared. There are still locations where Zika is spreading (with 4,000 new cases between last November and January) and posing a threat to human health even though the World Health Organization (WHO) has removed Zika from the “public health emergency of international concern” status. The CDC reports that Florida and Texas are the only two states in the United States to have suffered local outbreaks. The CDC and the WHO still advise pregnant women to be cautious about traveling to countries which have had locally acquired Zika infections.

A creative “solution” to the problem

There is no vaccine available yet to prevent Zika infection, but there is a possible “solution” to the Zika problem that has been developed by a British laboratory called Oxitec. Oxitec has created the only genetically modified (GM) insects in the world. The OX513A mosquitoes look exactly like the Aedis aegypti, the Zika-bearing mosquitoes; however, Oxitec has engineered GM male mosquitoes who seek out female mosquitoes – the ones who bite humans, draw blood and infect them with the virus. The female will then lay a batch of eggs that will hatch and die before reaching adulthood. Rather than trying to spread insecticide through the streets, Oxitec instead sprays hundreds of thousands of male mosquitoes, which do not bite, into the air. These males seek out the available females thereby halting the spread of Zika-carrying mosquitoes in a single generation.

Zika virus may be linked to devastating birth defects

Given that the virus does not make those infected particularly sick, the primary concern with Zika is the apparent link between the virus and microcephaly. Dr. Adrianna Melo, an obstetrician in northern Brazil connected the surge in babies born with microcephaly with the Zika virus. Babies born with microcephaly have heads that are misshapen, and smaller than normal, they have development delays or disabilities and visual impairments, and severe learning disabilities as their brains do not develop normally. In Brazil there have been 3,700 cases of microcephaly. More than 4 million may become affected with Zika according to Reuters.

The CDC has reported that there is about a 20-30-fold higher risk of microcephaly and other serious birth defects associated with Zika virus, and they have been tracking pregnancy outcomes for women infected with Zika through the Zika Pregnancy Registry. The agency uses the information that they gather to understand the various birth defects associated with Zika virus.

Women of childbearing age in the affected countries are being advised to wait until 2018 to get pregnant. Those who live in Zika-infected areas and who are pregnant now must wait until their babies are born to see if they have been affected by the virus.

Fighting the Zika virus

While there have not yet been any accurate Zika diagnostic tests made available yet, there is good news regarding the development of a vaccine. There are a few Zika vaccines in Phase 1 trials, which means that they are being tested on small groups of human subjects, and one of these has made it to Phase II trials with larger groups of human subjects, but it could take several years before a Zika vaccine is commercially available according to Consumer Reports.

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