There are no vaccines, specific treatments or rapid diagnostic tests for the zika virus – which causes a fever, joint pain, itching, rash, bloodshot eyes, headaches, muscle pain and eye pain.
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The Zika virus is spreading like wildfire, says the World Health Organization, putting millions of people at risk. Until the recent outbreaks in Latin America and apparent links to birth defects, Zika virus had received much less research attention than the other two viruses because it had caused relatively few outbreaks of human disease.
Authorities in Piracicaba turned to Oxitec’s services as an alternative to the “failure” of traditional methods of combating female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which bite and can transmit dengue and zika.
Before this outbreak, the virus was found mainly in tropical settings in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
The rapid spread of the Zika virus has raised interest in a British company that’s developed a genetically modified mosquito.
“The mosquito is here”, says Tim Phillips with the Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District, “The threat is any of these diseases being brought back to this area and the mosquitos picking it up from an infected person”.
This is the first reported, laboratory-confirmed case in a traveler returning to Virginia, sometimes referred to as an “imported” case, according to health officials. Another senior physician also pointed out how a crucial difference between the spread of dengue and Zika is that the latter can also spread through sexual transmission.
Zika is a mosquito-borne disease which can cause infected mothers to give birth to babies with severe deformities.
“Short answer, yes, we could potentially host Zika here”, assistant professor at UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Lark Coffey said. When genetically modified mosquitoes are released and mate in the wild, they produce offspring that die in the larval stage. “People are traveling all the time, so being aware of the travel advisories in terms of the Zika virus and what the CDC put out is our main concern”.
There are fears that large-scale extermination of mosquitoes could have adverse effects on the world’s environment and eco-systems, however Dr Webb was more optimistic than that. “So the best way to prevent would be to completely eliminate the vehicles of transmission-the mosquito”, said Rajan Naringrekar, BMC’s insecticide officer.
There are no vaccines for either the West Nile or Zika viruses.
You can also protect yourself from mosquitoes by wearing insect repellent and using a mosquito net.
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Slade said there is “intense interest” from Brazilian cities for Oxitec’s mosquito projects, and he’s fielding calls from private sector players like condos and airports.
