Contents:
- Medical Video: Zika Virus and Birth Defects
- What are the signs and symptoms of the zika virus?
- What complications can occur due to the zika virus?
- What should be done if you experience symptoms of the zika virus?
Medical Video: Zika Virus and Birth Defects
Some time ago the world was shocked by news of an outbreak of disease caused by the zika virus. Just like dengue fever, zika virus infection occurs as a result of being transmitted through mosquito bites. The type of mosquito that mediates the zika virus is the Aedes mosquito which is spread in various parts of the world. For tropical regions such as Indonesia, the mosquitoes that transmit the zika virus are mosquitoes Aedes aegypti. Then what are the signs and symptoms of the zika virus? How can mosquitoes transmit this virus? And what will happen if someone has a zika virus infection?
What are the signs and symptoms of the zika virus?
According to the Ministry of Health, only 1 in 5 infected people show symptoms of the zika virus. Although most people who experience the zika virus do not feel any symptoms, the following are the most common signs and symptoms of the zika virus:
- Feel itchy in almost all parts of the body
- Fever
- Headache and dizziness
- Having joint pain and swelling in the joints
- Muscle ache
- The eyes turn red
- Feeling pain in the back
- Pain in the back of the eye
- Red spots appear on the surface of the skin
In some cases, it was reported that there was a nervous and autoimmune disorder in patients with zika virus. Usually the symptoms of the zika virus will last for two to 7 days. Because it is not too dangerous, healing zika virus infection can occur on its own without medical treatment.
A person who is symptomatic of the zika virus will generally recover within 7-12 days. Symptoms of the zika virus are also known to be the same as the symptoms of dengue fever or cikungunya which are also transmitted through mosquito bites.
What complications can occur due to the zika virus?
Although it is not too dangerous and rarely causes symptoms, this zika virus can have fatal consequences if it is experienced by pregnant women. Pregnant women affected by zika infection will risk giving birth to children who experience it microcephaly or the size of the head that is too small. This has been proven in several studies conducted in the area of the zika virus outbreak in 2015.
Microchepaly in infants can cause the baby to experience complications such as, can not grow and develop normally, have a disability in his face, experience mental retardation, hyperactivity, and seizures.
The zika virus can be detected in pregnant women by doing RT-PCR examination, when the pregnant woman has a fever in the first week of the symptoms of the zika virus appears. Therefore, women who are pregnant are advised not to travel to a place where the zika virus is out prevent infection.
In rare cases, the zika virus is also known to make a person experience Guillane Bare syndrome, a syndrome characterized by a serious disturbance in the central nervous system. However, this complication is very rare.
What should be done if you experience symptoms of the zika virus?
If you experience the symptoms mentioned above, here are things you can do at home to relieve symptoms that arise:
- Get enough rest
- Drink plenty of mineral water to prevent dehydration and excessive fluid loss
- Take painkillers, such as paracetamol to relieve pain and fever that occurs.
- It is not recommended to take other types of aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- See a doctor.
