A resident of Texas who had traveled to El Salvador has been diagnosed with carrying the Zika virus. The virus does not appear threatening or harmful when it first infects a person, but in light of the virus' link to serious birth deformities in newborn babies reported in Brazil, Harris County officials are taking all the preventive measures they can.
The Zika virus is similar to a number of other topical viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. In that respect, it is similar to chikungunya and dengue. What Zika does to a person first does not appear to be very dangerous or harmful. Typically, when a person is first infected, the person will suffer from pain in the joints and fever. Currently, there is neither a medical cure nor a vaccine for Zika. However, upon taking rest for two or three days - and a maximum period of up to a week - the person recovers, according to Fox News.
However, the harm from Zika appears to take place almost in an unnoticed manner. Brazil is facing an epidemic of this infection with a conservative estimate of 500,000 infections. Experts there see a link between the presence of the virus in mothers and a condition afflicting newborn children called microcephaly. This condition results in malformed tiny heads in newborn babies. This is a result of the brain and head sections of the fetus not developing correctly. Brazil is investigating and trying to cope with the cases of this condition being reported in that country, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Harris County, where the woman who was diagnosed with Zika is located, is taking measures to ensure all mosquito populations that could potentially carry the Zika virus are monitored and neutralized. Umair Shah, the executive director of the county's Public Health and Environmental Services Department, said that the county is taking all possible measures to identify and eliminate any threats of the virus being transmitted by the mosquitoes. Director of Mosquito Control in Harris County, Mustapha Debboun, said his team has now added Zika to the list of viruses (that already includes the viruses causing chikungunya and dengue) it tracks, monitors and neutralizes in the county, according to Reuters.
