Posted on 03/18/2016 10:07:12 AM PDT by Red Badger
Symptoms
Most people infected with Zika virus won’t even know they have the disease because they won’t have symptoms. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week. See your healthcare provider if you are pregnant and develop a fever, rash, joint pain, or red eyes within 2 weeks after traveling to a place where Zika has been reported. Be sure to tell your health care provider where you traveled. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected. Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week but it can be found longer in some people. Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.
Diagnosis
The symptoms of Zika are similar to those of dengue and chikungunya, diseases spread through the same mosquitoes that transmit Zika. See your healthcare provider if you develop the symptoms described above and have visited an area where Zika is found. If you have recently traveled, tell your healthcare provider when and where you traveled. Your healthcare provider may order blood tests to look for Zika or other similar viruses like dengue or chikungunya.
Treatment
There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika virus. Treat the symptoms: Get plenty of rest. Drink fluids to prevent dehydration. Take medicine such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or paracetamol to reduce fever and pain. Do not take aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) until dengue can be ruled out to reduce the risk of bleeding. If you are taking medicine for another medical condition, talk to your healthcare provider before taking additional medication. If you have Zika, prevent mosquito bites for the first week of your illness. 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. An infected mosquito can then spread the virus to other people.
More detailed information can be found on CDC’s Zika virus web page for healthcare providers:
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/hc-providers/index.html
Isn’t Zika already in the US?
The virus has infected people here from sexual contact with people who have traveled overseas, but I don’t think any cases that have been diagnosed were based solely in the US.....................
We’re pathetic. 20,000 per year die of C-Diff. Totally preventable. Ever hear of it?
Many thousands more die of infections picked up in hospitals. Totally preventable.
2,000 people die every year due to CAFE standards.
Who cares???
Some jungle virus infects one American? OMG!!!! We’re all gonna’ die! Quick, name a czar! Quaranteen the kids!
Auto-immune disorders are the pits.
You live with it all your life. On the plus side you generally stay healthy because your immune system kills everything.
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