Last year, in 2015, the zika virus, unfortunately, found it’s way to nine Latin American countries, including Brazil and Mexico. This ended up causing concern for the World Health Organization, which prompted them to immediately issue warnings about the pesky disease and advise people of the consequences of not receiving treatment.
The first signs of zika in South America were in April of 2015. It originated in Brazil and then began quickly circulating throughout the continent and into Central America. The growing number of infections is causing rising concern for medical personnel throughout South America. Fortunately, the virus’s symptoms are more petty and troublesome than they are life-threatening. Dr. Sergio Cortes says that while the virus is rapidly spreading, it is capable of being cured just as rapidly. The most fear-raising aspect of the virus is that the World Health Organization, or WHO, has recently found links between zika and Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Dr. Cortes is a medical expert who concurs with WHO about the correlations between zika and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome is a potentially fatal disease that drastically affects the neurological and autoimmune systems of the human body. According to the recent studies that were done by the World Health Organization and Dr. Sergio Cortes, the zika virus may also be related to microcephaly. This was confirmed last August by the Brazillian Ministry of Health.
Dr. Cortes selected some of the most important issues about the situation at hand in order to educate the public on this outbreak.
Transmission of the Virus
Zika is not a contagious virus, and, therefore, cannot be spread from person-to-person.The only way to get the disease is to get bitten by a specific species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti. This same mosquito is responsible for spreading dengue fever.
For Pregnant Women
Dr. Cortes advises pregnant women and also women planning to get pregnant to take special caution regarding zika. It is crucial that certain places with numerous insects are best avoided by pregnant women. It’s also recommended to keep the body as clothed as possible and to use repellents.