Department of Arboviruses & Viral

Hemorrhagic Fevers (National Ref Lab)

M.Fazlalipour, Ph.D.

Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention of Zika virus

Zika virus

Transmission

Clinical symptom

• Symptoms are usually experienced three (3) to twelve (12) days after being bitten by the infected mosquito.

• Symptoms will usually last for two (2) to seven(7) days and are self-limiting.

• At risk are:

• Infants

• Travellers

• The elderly

• Pregnant women

• Persons with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, heart diseases, hypertension and Sickle Cell Disease.

Treatment

• Symptom Management

• Get plenty of rest.

• Drink plenty of fluids.

• Take acetaminophen to treat fever, headache, and body aches.

• Seek medical care if symptoms worsen.

• Not take aspirin or any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as

naproxen or ibuprofen, as this can cause bleeding problems.

• Antibiotics should never be used.

Avoid Infecting Others

• Any person who has been exposed to the Zika virus will need to take strict

precautions to avoid spreading the disease to others, especially to pregnant

women.

Prevention

• Recommendations for Travellers:

• There is no medicine or vaccine available

• Mosquito bite avoidance is strongly recommended for all

travelers

• To help prevent others from getting sick, avoid mosquito bites

during the first week of illness.

• Cannot donate blood for 4 weeks after return if you had no

symptoms, or 6 months if you had symptoms of Zika.

• Cover tightly with a lid all water tanks, cisterns, barrels, rubbish containers, etc.

• Remove or empty water in old tyres, tin cans, bottles, trays, etc.

• Check and clean out clogged gutters and flat roofs where water may have settled.

• Change water regularly in pet water dishes, birdbaths and plant trays.

• Introduce larvivorous fish (e.g., guppy) to ornamental water features as these eat the mosquito larvae.

• Trim weeds and tall grasses as adult mosquitoes seek these for shade on hot days.

Prevention

(Vector control)

• Determine presence or absence of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in a geographic area

• Identify what types of containers are producing the most mosquitoes for targeting vector control efforts

• Develop detailed maps to track larval sites if Ae. aegypti or Ae. albopictus are detected in an area

• Collect mosquito population data and identify geographic areas of high abundance (high-risk)

• Monitor the effectiveness of vector control efforts

Prevention

(Vector control)

Prevention

(Vector control)

Prevention

(Vector control)

• Using sterile insects for population control

• The basic technique is to dose male insects with radiation,

which makes them sterile. The sterile males are then released

into the environment, where they mate with wild females.

Females usually only mate once, so a female which mates with

a sterile male doesn’t produce any offspring.

• Genetic engineering of sterile insects

• But when the male mosquitoes mate with females in the wild,

their children inherit the lethal gene.

Prevention

(Vector control)

Prevention

(Sexual control) • Sexual activity or consistently and correctly use condoms during sex (i.e., vaginal intercourse,

anal intercourse) for the duration of the pregnancy.

• Sexual precautions (Women who are not pregnant) should consider using contraception during travel and for 28 days on return to avoid an unplanned pregnancy occurring.

– Men should consider using barrier contraception during travel and for 28 days on return to avoid the risk of sexual transmission of Zika virus and unplanned pregnancy.

• If symptoms of Zika develop in a man, barrier contraception should be used for 6 months after the infection has resolved to avoid the risk of sexual transmission of Zika virus and unplanned pregnancy.

• If you think your male partner may have or had Zika, tell your healthcare provider about:

• His travel history

• How long he stayed

• If he took steps to prevent mosquito bites

• If you had sex without a condom

Prevention

(Pregnant women)

Testing can be offered between 2 and 12 weeks after pregnant women return from

travel to areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission.

Prevention

(Pregnant women)

+ -

• Acute Zika virus disease should be suspected in an infant or child aged <18 years who

• (1) Traveled to or resided in an area with ongoing transmission of Zika virus within the past 2 weeks

• (2) Has ≥2 of the following manifestations: fever, rash, conjunctivitis, or arthralgia.

• Because transmission of Zika virus from mother to infant during delivery is possible, acute Zika virus disease should also be suspected in an infant during the first 2 weeks of life

• (1) Whose mother traveled to or resided in an affected area within 2 weeks of delivery

• (2) Who has ≥2 of the following manifestations: fever, rash, conjunctivitis, or arthralgia.

• Healthcare providers should notify their local, state or territorial health departments to arrange testing.

Prevention

(Baby or child)

Prevention

(Baby or child)

• SynCon® technology

• In this pre-clinical study, DNA vaccine constructs targeting multiple Zika

virus antigens were synthetically generated using Inovio's SynCon vaccine

technology.

• Inovio's Zika DNA vaccine resulted in seroconversion, or the development

of detectable specific antibodies in the blood, in all vaccinated mice.

• Broad T cell responses as analyzed by the standardized T cell assay. These

findings are vital given the potential importance of neutralizing antibodies

in preventing infection and the role T cells play in clearing infection by

killing cells that harbor the virus.

Prevention

(New developing vaccine)

Prevention

(New developing vaccine)

• Sanofi Pasteur's expertise and established R&D for the newly licensed

vaccine for dengue, Dengvaxia (ChimeriVax flavivirus platform)

Prevention

(New developing vaccine)

Ministry of Health

• The Ministry has heightened its preparedness and response in the following areas:

• Surveillance

• Public Education

• Clinical Management

• Vector Control

• Laboratory Strengthening

• Training

• Social Mobilization

• Intersectoral Collaboration

• International Corporation

• Resource Mobilization