There has been an emerging mosquito-borne virus called Zika. The virus which is said to have no vaccines or treatment has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil.
A Virginia resident who traveled outside the United States has tested positive for Zika virus. Although the Virginia Health Commissioner Dr. Marissa Levine said this person poses no risk to other residents, because it is not mosquito season in Virginia, Associated Press reported.
This mosquito-borne virus which was first identified in Uganda in 1947, is being identified in the past week in various continents and geographies, says the World Health Organization (WHO) officials. People catch Zika virus by being bitten by an infected Aedes mosquito, the same type that spreads yellow fever.
Reports say that the outbreaks of this virus had been circulating through the Americas, Asia and Africa, and now is spreading.
Pregnant women are specially warned not to travel to areas considered to be high-risk for this infection, as the disease is suspected of causing birth defects.
Thank God though, Zika “is not spread directly from person to person,” according to official guidance issued by Public Health England. The symptoms therefore are mild fever, skin rash (exanthema), headaches and conjunctivitis and normally last for two to seven days. And since there is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available, health officials recommend that people use insect repellent; cover as much of the body as possible with long, light-colored clothing; keep environments clean so as not to breed mosquitoes; and sleep under mosquito nets.
God shield us from all these end-time diseases. Amen!