Michelle Tejada, staff reporter

Mosquitoes outbreaks with the Zika virus has been reported in many countries, especially in the Americas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contacted Emergency Operation Center (EOC) for monitoring and coordinating public health threats on January 22, 2016.

Symptoms that may occur if one has Zika virus are fever, rashes, joint pain and red eyes. Zika is similar to the disease Dengue and Chikungunya which are also spread through the same mosquitoes.

“I think that this virus is absolutely terrible but what can you really do. Somebody high in the government in South America should try to stop it from spreading,” junior Jackie Catalano said.

It is possible for woman to pass this virus to their babies while pregnant; it can give the baby a major birth defect called Microcephaly. This occurs when a baby’s brain has stopped growing during pregnancy or after birth. There have been reports of birth defects from mothers who had the Zika virus during pregnancy.

“Pregnant woman should be as careful as possible because you never know what could affect your baby. Nobody knows how it spreads to the baby but it did and the important thing to do right now is to not travel to those countries with the virus,” paraprofessional Mrs.Virginia said.

It is advised to not travel to where the Zika virus is spreading. This will prevent any contact with the virus and thus containing the amount of people with the virus.

“The most important thing during the whole pregnancy period is for woman to take care of their health from anything outside. Then the babies would be healthy babies,” teaching assistant Mrs. Das said.
Zika is currently being studied to see how it affects pregnancies. In the meantime, those who have traveled to countries with the Zika virus are advised to see their health care provider for treatment. There is no vaccine but there are treatments for the symptoms.