With over 123 cases of Zika virus registered in Rajasthan & no vaccinations, the need of the hour is to take preventive measures to protest yourself, says PIONEER HEALTH
Symptoms
The incubation period is three to 14 days. Some of the symptoms are:
— Dr Aruna Kalra, gynaecologist & obstetrics surgeon, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram
The Virus
Zika virus reaches to people mainly through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which is also responsible for the spread of chikungunya and dengue. The infection is also a trigger for Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuropathy and myelitis, particularly in adults and older children.
It can also spread during sexual intercourse with an infected person, from a pregnant woman to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth, and through blood transfusion. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern last year.
—Dr RK Singal, principal consultant & director and coordinator of medical & allied services, internal medicine, BLK Super Speciality Hospital
Diagnosis
Since symptoms are similar to Dengue, diagnosed can be done through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and virus isolation from blood samples.
Treatment
If the symptoms appear, it is preferable to get plenty of rest, drink fluids, and treat pain and fever with common medicines. People usually do not get sick enough to visit the hospital. If the condition does worsen, you should seek medical care and advice. Zika virus is also transferable through sex, pregnancy and blood transfusion.
At time with no vaccine to prevent Zika virus, the best way to keep this diseases from spreading is by protecting yourself from mosquito bites with the help of repellents, wearing full clothes and avoiding sexual activity when infected with the virus. — Dr Kalra
Medicines to take
Patients should be advised to take paracetamol to relieve fever and pain. Avoid aspirin, products containing aspirin, or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen.
— Dr KK Aggarwal, president, Heart Care Foundation of India
Women at higher risk
Zika infection in pregnancy might also affect the baby’s growth or increase the chance of miscarriage or stillbirth. Sometimes, a baby can be born with no apparent effects from Zika infection but can later have slowed head and brain growth as a result of the infection (called postnatal microcephaly).
Women who have had symptoms of the virus or tested positive for it should wait at least eight weeks after their symptoms first appeared before trying to get pregnant. It is recommended that men who had symptoms should wait three months before having unprotected sex. Condoms can reduce the chance of getting Zika from sex.
Mosquito bands don’t have any proven efficacy, hence, one must use a proven product containing DEET (chemical) even in children (after two months and avoiding hands, mouth and cuts).
— Dr Sanjay Wazir, director, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals
Prevention
Over 123 cases have been reported so far out of which 25 per cent are pregnant women. As there are no vaccinations for Zika, the best way to prevent is to protect oneself from mosquito bites. Here are a few tips:
For newborn & kids
— Dr SN Basu, senior director & HOD, gynaecology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi
Recent research
Researchers are developing an integrated biosensing platform aimed at detecting and monitoring mosquito-borne diseases faster and cheaper than current methods, to aid in preventing virus outbreaks and their devastating effects.
Lia A Stanciu, a Purdue professor of materials engineering, is leading the research and development of the technology. Additional researchers are Ernesto Marinero, professor of materials engineering and electrical and computing engineering; and Richard Kuhn, professor and department head of biological sciences and director of the Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases.
Kuhn also led the research team that were the first to determine the structure of the Zika virus. Stanciu, Marinero and Kuhn have developed an amperometric biosensor that utilises functionalized nanoparticles that specifically bind to the target viruses’ DNA or RNA.
When the binding occurs there is a change in the device resistance, which the sensor employs to unambiguously detect the presence of the virus. The sensor can then determine whether or not a blood or mosquito sample has the virus and how much of the virus is present. The sensor relies on an agent that will only respond to the intended virus to be detected.
“We’ve used mosquito samples on our laboratory scale sensor and we’ve been able to detect the virus showing a high sensitivity rate to low concentrations of the virus. We’ve been especially interested in the dengue and Zika virus because it’s the same mosquito that transmits both diseases, so our technology would be able to quickly detect one of those diseases using the same platform,” Stanciu said.
The device will operate through a low-power wireless network and will use thin-film rechargeable batteries combined with thin-film photovoltaics to power and harvest energy from the environment to maintain functionality and performance without human intervention. When a disease is detected in a mosquito sample it will send an alert to health control officials about the potential threat.
Marinero said there are many ways in which they plan to further develop their device. “Our first and foremost goal is to have a point of care, potentially a personal device, which is simple to use. This would allow people to detect the virus promptly without having to go to a hospital, which would have significant impacts in developing countries. However, we’re also working on an autonomous device that is deployable in remote field areas that are difficult to access or difficult to perform in-site detection, to monitor outbreaks in these areas,” he said.