This guide is for Rio de Janeiro travelers this summer on how to stay healthy in a place the Zika infection is common. My worry is that after the Olympics, the Americans will stop worrying about the virus. A Miami hospital treated an American infected with Zika virus locally last month. Also, a cluster of Zika infection was located in Miami Beach last Thursday. 

The transmission mode for Zika

The most worrying and scariest thing raised by Zika virus Nightmare is that Zika can be transmitted by any form of sex; anal, oral and vaginal as well as by mosquito. Zika can infect a lot of people even after the insect vector goes away. Therefore, it needs a comprehensive STD test panel that can detect it at early stages.The millennial generation should be cautious because the birth defects caused by Zika are devastating and deprives the ability to bear healthy children. This disease should be of much concern as it was difficult to curb. Men and women can carry the virus for months without detection since 80% of the infection causes no symptoms.

Zika virus Nightmare brings difficulties in understanding as it is transmitted both by an insect vector and sexually. A recent study in Colombia indicated the basic reproduction number of Zika ranging between 3 and 6.6.  It is hard to identify the number of cases transmitted through sex as the study was carried out in a mosquito infested area. A mathematical model, however, has indicated that 3% of Zika infections result from sex.  Contrary to HIV and other STDs, Zika symptoms are mild and will primarily affect the future children. Zika virus is capable of causing severe neurological defects in fetuses at any time of the pregnancy, particularly on the skull and brain. An expert who studied the brain scans of infants whose mothers had Zika said the babies had limited chances if living and even recognizing their parents.

Millennial’s effort to fight Zika

Some of my friends have fears due to the places they stay. One bought a house in New York and didn't know if she should try and get pregnant for fear of Zika outbreak. Another is hesitant to go to Florida for a family vacation for same concerns. These concerns are built on the assumptions that nothing can be done to fight the spread of Zika.  The Food and Drug Administration in the Florida Keys has approved the use of male mosquitoes, which are modified genetically to carry a deadly gene, but the local mosquito board is yet to agree its release.  A first human trial to develop Zika vaccines is being done by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases, but the vaccine will be available probably in the next two years.

 

Our primary focus as the millennial generation should be control measures. It is appropriate to use a condom when having sex, probably consider not having babies until the Zika vaccine is available later in the years or wear bug spray anytime we go outside our local places. Zika is not any tropical infection; it should be viewed as an STD that anyone can contract. Therefore, the millennial generation should be in the front line in deliberating about what can be done if Zika persists for the next few years to come.

 

Contributor: admin