Clinical Description
According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zika disease is a condition whose causative agent is a virus carried by Aedes mosquitoes which bite humans during day time. The mosquito borne viral infection is primarily prevalent in subtropical and tropical regions of the world ( Weaver et al., 2016) . The disease has an estimated incubation period of 3 to 14 days from the first exposure to surfacing of its symptoms. The virus is spread only by an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus family. A Zika virus infection often presents mild symptoms or no signs at all. The commonly reported symptoms that fit description of the virus include rash, itching all over the body, high body temperature and headache. Additional clinical manifestations include red eyes or conjunctivitis, joint pain with a swelling on hands and feet joints, pain behind eyes, muscle pain and lower back ache ( Kauffman & Kramer, 2017) . Zika virus leads to nerve related complications and nerve damage caused by a person’s immune response to the virus.
Zika disease moves via blood circulation into a person’s brain consequently making the CD8 T cells to surround a person’s brain. The host cells respond by sharply limiting the nerve cells infection eventually leading to a paralysis that is Zika related. The infection generates immune boosting cells which launch an attack on a person’s neurons. The damage therefore results from an immune triggered response to the Zika virus ( Kauffman & Kramer, 2017) . The nerve damage triggers the host body to attack itself thereby increasing the risk of developing Guillan-Barre syndrome. The virus is also spread through blood transfusion and from mother to foetus.
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Population affected by Zika Virus Disease
Zika disease mostly affects the population of pregnant women who according to World Health Organization are at a higher risk of its injurious effects. As Kauffman and Kramer (2017) explain, 42,000 to 1.4 million in the 70% transmission model are expectant women. Additionally, persons who are between age 20 and 29 years represent 1,150 Zika virus cases per 100,000 whereas those who are 10 to 19 years report 1,111 per 100,000 incidences.
Underlying Biology
Zika is in the same category with a carder of viruses termed as flaviviruses. The disease is single stranded and its constituents include protein, cell lipid membrane and an accompanying RNA. As Wang et al., (2017) explain, the disease genome is usually tucked in a capsid, a protein shell surrounded by an envelope which is an external membrane sphere. The Zika disease is an icosahedral flavivirus whose structure and function is akin to that of human flavivirus pathogens. The virus has a high homologous and recombination activity which enables it to adapt to the Aedes vector ( Wang et al., 2017) . The disease become attached to the same group of proteins in a similar sequence. The Zika proteins carried by the virus particle enables cell entry into host leading to further reproduction. The disease virus does not replicate on its own but first infects host cells and reprogram them to become reproducing centers. The proteins carried on the virus outer membrane bind to cell receptors consequently making the host cells to take up the viral particle.
Treatment
Prior to treatment, a physician performs an ultrasound test to detect any brain abnormalities or microcephaly. A sample of amniotic fluid is drawn and screened for Zika virus disease. Treatment of Zika virus disease has no specific medication regimen. Uptake of plenty of water paracetamol can be prescribed to alleviate symptoms ( Mcneil, Louis & Fleur , 2016). Medications such as acetaminophen such as Tylenol can be given to treat joint pain and fever.
References
Kauffman, E. B., & Kramer, L. D. (2017). Zika virus mosquito vectors: competence, biology, and vector control. The Journal of infectious diseases , 216 (suppl_10), S976-S990.
Mcneil J. , Louis , C. S., and Fleur , N., (2016). Short Answers to Hard Questions about Zika Virus, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/health/what-is-zika-virus.html
Wang, A., Thurmond, S., Islas, L., Hui, K., & Hai, R. (2017). Zika virus genome biology and molecular pathogenesis. Emerging microbes & infections , 6 (1), 1-6.
Weaver, S. C., Costa, F., Garcia-Blanco, M. A., Ko, A. I., Ribeiro, G. S., Saade, G., & Vasilakis, N. (2016). Zika virus: History, emergence, biology, and prospects for control. Antiviral research , 130 , 69-80.
