The only good thing about yet another virus is that this is not as bad as some of the others with the exception of small head baby issues:
Common symptoms of infection with the virus include mild headaches, maculopapular rash, fever, malaise, pink eye (e.g. light sensitivity), and joint pains. The first well-documented case of Zika virus was described in 1964, began with a mild headache, and progressed to a maculopapular rash, fever, and back pain. Within two days, the rash was fading, and within three days, the fever resolved and only the rash remained. Thus far, Zika fever has been a relatively mild disease with limited scope, with only one in five persons developing symptoms, with no fatalities, but its true potential as a viral agent of disease is unknown.[8]
As of 2016, no vaccine or preventive drug is available. Symptoms can be treated with acetaminophen or paracetamol, while aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should only be used when dengue has been ruled out to reduce the risk of bleeding.[15]
In a French Polynesian epidemic, 73 cases of Guillain?Barr? syndrome and other neurologic conditions occurred in a population of 270,000, which may be complications of Zika virus.[10] The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control issued in December 2015 a comprehensive update on the possible association of Zika virus with congenital microcephaly and Guillain?Barr? syndrome.[16]
Microcephaly
Data suggest that newborns of mothers who had Zika virus infection during pregnancy are at an increased risk for microcephaly. Since December 2015, it has been suspected (but not proven) that a transplacental infection of the fetus may lead to microcephaly and brain damage.[17]
In November 2015, Zika virus was isolated in a newborn from the northeastern state of Cear?, Brazil, with microcephaly and other congenital issues. In 2015, 2,782 cases of microcephaly occurred compared with 147 in 2014 and 167 in 2013.[18][19] The Lancet reported in January 2016 that the Brazilian Ministry of Health had only "confirmed 134 cases of microcephaly believed to be associated with Zika virus infection ? a further 2,165 cases in 549 counties in 20 states are under investigation".[20]
In January 2016, a baby in Oahu was born with microcephaly, the first case in the United States of brain damage linked to the virus. The baby and mother tested positive for a past Zika virus infection. The mother, who likely had acquired the virus while traveling in Brazil in May 2015 during the early stages of her pregnancy, had reported her bout of Zika. She recovered before relocating to Hawaii. Although her pregnancy had progressed normally, the baby's condition was not known until birth.[21]
