Zika Virus: What PMCs Need to Know

The map above showing the reported active transmission of the Zika virus is from the CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index.html), and updated January 26, 2016. Countries where Zika has been reported are also listed. CDC’s site has extensive information on the emerging health concerns regarding the Zika virus, and continually updates it. On the heels of hearing that Ebola has mostly been eradicated, the Zika virus emerges as a worldwide health concern with rapid onslaught. The landscape and news is rapidly changing, so PMCs will want to keep abreast of news regarding Zika.

Why is Zika a concern for the PMCs? Zika, a flavivirus, has thus been found in approximately 20 countries where it is spread by infected Aedes mosquitoes to humans, its only means of transmission, not human to human. There is no vaccine for protection against the virus. Zika virus is asymptomatic for 80% of people infected, yet it is linked to serious effects on the unborn. The Aedes mosquitoes are actually found on the Gulf Coast of the US.

The CDC urges information to be shared widely from their blog “Zika 101,” January 28, 2016, By: Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director, CDC: http://www.hhs.gov/blog/2016/01/28/zika-101.html.

• No locally transmitted Zika cases have been reported in the continental United States, but cases have been reported in returning travelers, and will likely increase.

• These imported cases could result in local spread of the virus in some areas of the United States.

Of concern for PMCs and the pregnant women they serve, therefore, is the possible association between Zika virus and microcephaly, as increased incidence of microcephaly has been found in Brazil among women who were in areas of active Zika virus during their pregnancies. Microcephaly usually results from abnormal brain development, and the long-term consequences of microcephaly may range from mild developmental delays to sever motor and intellectual deficit, like cerebral palsy. (CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, January 29, 2016, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6503e2.htm).

CDC Recommendations regarding Zika:

1. Health care providers should ask all pregnant women about recent travel.

2. Pregnant women with a history of travel to an area with Zika virus transmission and who report two or more symptoms consistent with Zika virus disease (acute onset of fever, maculopapular rash, arthralgia, or conjunctivitis) during or within 2 weeks of travel, or who have ultrasound findings of fetal microcephaly or intracranial calcifications, should be tested for Zika virus infection in consultation with their state or local health department.

PMCs are urged to be alert to announcements regarding the spread and/or healthcare provider recommendations from CDC on Zika, as it is an evolving phenomenon, deserving of careful attention. Another source of health information on protection from Zika is available at: http://video.foxnews.com/v/4726003553001/what-you-need-to-know-to-stay-safe-from-the-zika-virus/#.VqqYYWRATao.gmail

Pro-Life and Parental Reflections:

I am a parent of an adopted son who has experienced lifelong manifestations of microcephaly with developmental disabilities, which are likely due to his birth mother’s sniffing glue (toluene exposure in utero). Therefore any disease that could cause microcephaly weighs heavy on my heart. I urge PMCs to make diligent effort to protect women and their unborn from the possibilities of contracting Zika virus, which could result in microcephaly. Knowing also, once an unborn baby is diagnosed with microcephaly via sonography, in all likelihood, she will be offered if not pressured to abort that child. Abortion would truly be the most devastating result of the unborn being infected with Zika. I pray for protection of those we serve from Zika and their unborn.

Audrey Stout, RN, RDMS, NIFLA Vice President for Medical Services