Yellow Fever: The Zika Virus

In 1947, researchers were conducting a study for yellow fever. They did many tests on insects and other wildlife to find signs of yellow fever. While they were doing tests, they stumbled upon a rhesus monkey that had a fever. They ran tests on the money, and the blood samples told them that there was this new virus. Because the scientists were in the Zika forest in Uganda, they decided to name the virus Zika. The Zika virus usually isn’t that harmful. It is like other insect-borne diseases. The Zika Virus mostly results in fever, muscle and joint pain, rash, and conjunctivitis, which just means red eyes. Most of the time people will only get these mild symptoms, and the infection will go away in two to seven days. People rarely die from this, and they usually aren’t sick enough to go to the hospital. Some people don’t even realize they have the virus. It sometimes takes a couple of days for you to get the symptoms of the Zika virus, so it’s easy to go on a few days not realizing you have it. …show more content…
The most common way it is transferred is through Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes. Other species of mosquitoes can have the virus, even though the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes have it more commonly. When the mosquito hass the virus and bites other people, the virus is transmitted to whatever it bites. Although a mosquito bite is the most common, there are other ways it can be transmitted. There have been cases where the virus was transmitted sexually. However, the cases that have been found resulted in the male passing it to his female partner. It is not known if females can pass it on to men. Another way the virus can be transmitted is through blood transfusions. In Brazil, there were several cases where the Zika virus was transmitted. These reports are being investigated. Meanwhile, a person who has been infected with the Zika virus is protected from it and probably won’t get it