Zika Virus No. (2) - WHO and Clinical Features

The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency.

The infection is suspected of leading to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains.
Some areas have declared a state of emergency, doctors have described it as "a pandemic in progress" and some are even advising women in affected countries to delay getting pregnant.
But there is much we do not know in this emerging infection.

What are the symptoms?
Deaths are rare and only one-in-five people infected is thought to develop symptoms.

These include:

• mild fever
• conjunctivitis (red, sore eyes)
• headache
• joint pain
• a rash

A rare nervous system disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome, that can cause temporary paralysis has been linked to the infection.
There is no vaccine or drug treatment so patients are advised to rest and drink plenty of fluids.
But the biggest concern is the impact it could have on babies developing in the womb and the surge in microcephaly.
Zika virus: Special report
 What is microcephaly?

It is when a baby is born with an abnormally small head, as their brain has not developed properly.
The severity varies, but it can be deadly if the brain is so underdeveloped that it cannot regulate the functions vital to life.
Children that do survive face intellectual disability and development delays.
It can be caused by infections such as rubella, substance abuse during pregnancy or genetic abnormalities.
Case study: 'It's not the end of the world'
Brazil had fewer than 150 cases of microcephaly in the whole of 2014.
But more than 4,700 cases have been reported since 22 October 2015, with 404 confirmed and 3,670 still being investigated.
The link with Zika has not been confirmed, but the WHO says it is "strongly suspected".
Some babies who died had the virus in their brain and it has been detected in placenta and amniotic fluid too.

             

Clinical features and neuroimaging findings in presumed Zika virus related congenital infection and microcephaly     

The authors reporting this retrospective study describe the cases of 23 children with a diagnosis of congenital infection presumably associated with the Zika virus during the Brazilian microcephaly epidemic. Severe cerebral damage was found on imaging (CT or MRI) in most of the children.