What is Zika virus?

• Aedes mosquitoes (AM), particularly Aedes aegypti, are the principal vectors of the virus that causes ZVD.
  • The same  mosquito spreads dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever
• Additionally, the zika virus can be passed from mother to foetus during pregnancy, through sexual contact, blood and blood product transfusions, and organ transplants.
• First identified in Uganda in 1947 in monkeys, Zika was detected in humans five years later.
• In 2015, a major outbreak in Brazil led to the revelation that Zika can be associated with microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with small and underdeveloped brains.
• Several countries that have experienced Zika outbreaks recently have reported increases in people who have Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Guillain-Barre syndrome is a rare disorder in which your body’s immune system attacks your nerves.

What are the symptoms of Zika virus?

• Most people infected with the virus do not develop symptoms.

• When they are manifested, the symptoms are similar to those of flu, including fever, bodyache, headache etc. 

• Additional symptoms can include the occasional rash like in dengue, while some patients also have conjunctivitis.

• The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) of Zika virus disease is estimated to be 3-14 days.

Treatment

• Zika has no treatment or vaccine. The symptoms of Zika virus are mild and usually require rest, consumption of plenty of fluids, and common pain and fever medicines, according to the WHO.

Zika virus in India

• In India, Zika virus was first recorded in 1952-53.

Initiatives

• Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme: To maintain/strengthen decentralised laboratory-based disease surveillance networks for illnesses that are prone to epidemics in order to track disease trends.
• Under the National Health Mission, Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) maintains a surveillance programme for microcephaly
• The National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme is India’s main nodal organisation for the prevention and management of six vector-borne illnesses, including Chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, Kala-azar, Lymphatic filariasis, and Malaria.

Why in News:

• Scientists at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, have raised an alarm about the spread of the Zika virus, along with dengue and chikungunya, across several States and Union Territories

Dengue

• Several mosquito species belonging to the genus Aedes are responsible for transmitting dengue.
• Fever, headaches, joint and muscular problems, and a distinctive skin rash like the measles are among the symptoms.

Chikungunya

• Mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus species spread it.
• Its symptoms include sudden fever, excruciating joint pain, frequently in the hands and feet, headache, muscular soreness, joint swelling, and rash.
• Chikungunya does not have a particular antiviral medication therapy and no commercially available vaccine.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/scientists-warn-of-zika-spread-in-newer-areas-call-for-better-surveillance/article65564238.ece