Zika Virus Facts

Much fear-mongering has recently been spread about the Zika virus, but here are a few facts to keep things in perspective. It is not all that bad, certainly is not life threatening, and most people will not even know if they get it.

Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 and is named after the Zika forest in Uganda. In 1952, the first human cases of Zika were detected. Since then, outbreaks of Zika have been reported in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Brazil.

Eighty percent of Zika cases will not be diagnosed. Most people infected with Zika virus will not even know they have the disease, because they will not have symptoms. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period, from exposure to symptoms for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week.

There is no vaccine to treat or prevent Zika virus.

Zika in the U.S. as of March 23, 2016:
Locally acquired vector-borne cases reported: 0
Travel-associated Zika virus disease cases reported: 273 (of the 273 travel-associated infections, 19 are in pregnant women and 6 were sexually transmitted.)

It may be "on occasion" spread through sexual contact or blood transfusions. The CDC has received 15 reports of possible spread of Zika through sex, meaning a person traveled to an area where Zika has broken out, acquired the virus, and gave the virus to a sexual partner who did not travel. Brazilian scientists have found the virus in saliva and urine of infected people.

The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week, but it can be found longer in some people.

Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.

There have been reports of congenital microcephaly in babies of mothers who were infected with Zika virus while pregnant. Zika virus infections have been confirmed in several infants with microcephaly. It is not known how many of the microcephaly cases are associated with Zika virus infection. A pregnant woman can pass Zika virus to her fetus during pregnancy. There is no evidence that prior Zika virus infection poses a risk of birth defects in future pregnancies.