Zika is a viral disease primarily transmitted through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. When a mosquito bites a person with Zika, it becomes infected and can then transmit the infection when it bites another person.
This is the same mosquito that transmits other diseases such as Dengue and Chikungunya.
Although less frequent, there is also evidence of other possible forms of transmission: through sexual contact, through blood transfusions, and, during pregnancy, from mother to fetus.
The most common symptoms are low-grade to moderate fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, and headache. These symptoms appear between 3 and 12 days after infection.
The disease is generally mild and it is estimated that in 75-80% of cases it does not cause symptoms and therefore goes unnoticed.
Although it is still under investigation and appears to be very rare, it is suspected that neurological syndromes may occur in some cases of Zika virus infection.
Although most pregnant women with Zika give birth to healthy babies, The association between neurological malformations in newborns, and in particular microcephaly (head circumference at birth less than normal), and a Zika virus infection of the mother during pregnancy is being studied.
Therefore, Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy, or those intending to become pregnant, are advised to postpone non-essential travel to areas with local transmission of the Zika virus.
The exact duration of Zika virus transmission in asymptomatic individuals (up to 80% of those infected) is still unknown. Pending this information, and as a precaution, Women who wish to become pregnant are advised to wait 8 weeks from their return or, if they have symptoms, 8 weeks from their full recovery; this recommendation is extended to 6 months in the case of men.
The virus circulates in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific. Since 2007, the Zika virus has spread widely globally, and especially in the Americas since 2015. The table below shows the countries where active local transmission of the Zika virus has been documented during the last 3 months.
Countries with evidence of active Zika virus transmission 06/02/2017
*Information extracted from Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality of Spain