Symptoms, Diagnosis, & Treatment Of Zika Virus

 Symptoms

·        About 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus become ill (i.e., develop Zika).

·        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 (the time from exposure to symptoms) for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week.

·        The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.

·        People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika.

·        Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week but it can be found longer in some people.

Diagnosis

·        The symptoms of Zika are similar to those of dengue and chikungunya, diseases spread through the same mosquitoes that transmit Zika.

·        Your healthcare provider may order specialized blood tests to look for Zika or other similar viruses like dengue or chikungunya.

Treatment

·        There is no vaccine to prevent or specific medicine to treat Zika infections.

·        Treat the symptoms:Get plenty of rest.

·        Drink fluids to prevent dehydration.

·        Take medicine such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®) to relieve fever and pain.

·        Do not take aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

·        If you are taking medicine for another medical condition, talk to your healthcare provider before taking additional medication.

·        If you have Zika, prevent mosquito bites for the first week of your illness.

·        During the first week of infection, Zika virus can be found in the blood and passed from an infected person to a mosquito through mosquito bites.

·        An infected mosquito can then spread the virus to other people.

More detailed information can be found on CDC’s Zika virus web page for healthcare providers