What exactly is Zika?

So... my internship has been focused on mosquito collections - both ID'ing and trapping, as well as educating the public about preventing breeding of larvae and passing out literature to educate the public about proper precautions. This has been important because we are helping to contribute to data on mosquitoes, especially the species that can carry the Zika virus. The particular species we are looking for is Aedes Aegypti. 

After talking with a couple of people, one being my boss and the other a medical entomologist (who is also tied in with my school) - NC programs for mosquito control used to be funded before 2006. 10 years later, the state started funding again for mosquito control - this time because of Zika. (My boss, C.S. started with mosquito work after West Nile started, and has continued to pursue public education, collections, and control since then).

Mosquitoes carry many diseases - including both viruses and parasitic infections.  The Zika virus is an abrovirus, further classified as a flavivirus - which are commonly carried by mosquitoes (Baylor College of Medicine, 2016). 

Zika has been found all over the world, ranging from Africa, Asia, to North and South America (Baylor College of Medicine, 2016). The US has had cases that stemmed from traveling (Baylor College of Medicine) and now is occurring in Florida (CDC, 2016).

Like with most illnesses, Zika can cause ambiguous symptoms, which include: fever, malaise, rashes, and muscle aches. This leads many healthcare providers to misdiagnose the patient, unless they mention to the doctor that they traveled to another country.  On the other hand, a person can be asymptomatic (many of us carry many different viruses and bacteria on us without having symptoms of an infection - unless our immune system is under any type of stress). (Baylor College of Medicine, 2016; CDC, 2016; WHO, 2016)

The concern with this particular virus, aside from being endemic (or epidemic) - is that like rubella and toxoplasmosis - this virus can cause birth defects.  The most common one is microcephally - which is means a baby will have a smaller than normal head circumference. The other concern is that there is a probable change that Zika can lead to neurological issues, such as Gullian Barre Syndrome. (Baylor College of Medicine, 2016; CDC, 2016; WHO, 2016).

Right now, there are no treatments for these types of viruses. If a person contracts the illness, it is the same process as other viruses, to rest, hydrate, and ease symptoms with NSAIDs. (CDC, 2016; WHO 2016).

Prevention is key with this virus, as well as other vector borne diseases.  In order to prevent mosquito breeding, it is best to get rid of any standing water (tires, plastic bins, kiddie pools and slides, abandoned pools). Through this internship, I have learned there are 3 ways of treating areas with mosquito breeding that aren't able to be tipped over or gotten rid of. They include gambasia (fish), MMF (a spray with a specific molecular formula that prevents breeding), and mosquito dunks (which are Bti - a bacteria that is used to stop the larvae from turning into adults).

Other precautions include wearing long sleeves and pants, certain repellents, and avoiding certain times of day that the mosquitoes are most active.

Sources:

https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/zika

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/intheus/florida-update.html 

http://www.cdc.gov/zika/about/overview.html - What is Zika?

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/zika/en/