What is it?
Zika is a virus that causes the infectious disease Zika fever. The Zika virus occurs in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the southern part of North America, the Caribbean and the countries in and around the Indian Ocean. The symptoms of Zika fever have much in common with dengue and chikungunya.
The symptoms of Zika fever are usually short-lived, from a few days to a week, and may include:
- fever
- non-purulent inflammation of the eye
- muscle and joint pain
- skin rash
- less commonly: headache, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain
Complications may include:
- there is a link between infection with the Zika virus during pregnancy and harm to the unborn child
- Zika virus infections are also associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome (a disease affecting the muscles)
How do you catch it?
Anyone can become infected with the Zika virus through a bite from an infected mosquito in an area where the virus occurs. As with dengue, the mosquitoes that spread the virus are active from sunrise to sunset. The Zika virus can also be passed on through sexual contact.
How do you prevent it?
You can reduce the risk of infection with the Zika virus by lowering your chances of being bitten by a mosquito. You can do this by wearing clothing that covers the skin, using mosquito nets and applying mosquito repellent, at least during the daytime, when the mosquitoes that spread the Zika virus are active. There is no vaccine against zika. Safe sex is also recommended. Men who have been in an area where zika occurs are advised to use a condom during sexual contact for a further two months after returning, especially if their partner is pregnant.
Besides the conditions at your destination, your personal circumstances and travel plans are decisive factors in the preparations you may need to make — or are required to make — before you travel. You are welcome to come to us for expert travel health advice.
The above description is only a general, concise and simplified overview and is intended for information purposes only. No rights can be derived from it. Personal advice is given exclusively during a consultation with a specially trained Certified Travel Health Physician or Travel Health Assistant.