Emerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases

A low-grade fever in pregnant women is most of the time a normal thing since the body is undergoing a lot o hormonal changes and imbalances which alters the normal functioning of the body. Though so, if the fever stays up for a prolonged time it could signify an underlying condition hence it’s advisable to get it checked by a professional doctor. Zika virus disease can have serious health problems in the human body. The health issues can become chronic if the Zika virus disease is contracted by a pregnant woman (Brasil, 2016). Also, a pregnant woman can pass the virus to the baby which can cause birth defects known as microcephaly, brain damage, and reduced brain tissue as well as reduces body movement.

The signs and symptoms of the Zinka virus disease include a low-grade fever, headache, joint pain, conjunctivitis abdominal pain, and fatigue (Baud, 2017). To my knowledge, I would say that my neighbor has been exposed to the Zika virus disease. This is because she had traveled and has the signs and symptoms of the disease. The exposure could have occurred due to the recent travel she had. Zika Virus disease is transmitted from one person to another through a bite from an infected Aedes species mosquito (Roundy, 2017). These mosquitoes are found all over the world and that’s why mainly pregnant women are not advised to travel to avoid exposure.

When the mosquito bites an infected person, the like virus infects the mosquito which will, in turn, bite a non-infected person and transmit the virus. Zika virus disease can also be transmitted by having unprotected sex. In the case that the husband travels, gets infected with the Zika virus disease, he can transmit it to his pregnant wife who will then pass it to the baby and cause complications to the unborn baby (Brooks, 2016). In this light, women are advised to practice safe sex with their spouses if they had traveled. There is no known treatment for the virus. I would encourage my neighbor to drink plenty of water to reduce dehydration, have plenty of rest, treat the symptoms by taking medicines that reduce pain and fever.

References

Brasil, P., Pereira Jr, J. P., Moreira, M. E., Ribeiro Nogueira, R. M., Damasceno, L., Wakimoto, M., … & Nielsen-Saines, K. (2016). Zika virus infection in pregnant women in Rio de Janeiro. New England Journal of Medicine, 375(24), 2321-2334.

Baud, D., Gubler, D. J., Schaub, B., Lanteri, M. C., &Musso, D. (2017). An update on Zika virus infection. The Lancet, 390(10107), 2099-2109.

Roundy, C. M., Azar, S. R., Rossi, S. L., Huang, J. H., Leal, G., Yun, R., … &Vasilakis, N. (2017). Variation in Aedes aegypti mosquito competence for Zika virus transmission. Emerging infectious diseases, 23(4), 625.

Brooks, R. B. (2016). Likely sexual transmission of Zika virus from a man with Emerging Infectious Diseases