A medical researcher, Dr Bamidele Iwalokun, on Thursday advised pregnant women to embrace the use of insecticide-treated nets to reduce the risk of Zika virus infection in the country.
Iwalokun, also a molecular biologist at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that parents and guardians should also provide treated nets for their children below five years.
He said this would also prevent them from contracting the virus.
He urged government at all levels to put in place proactive measures in ensuring a healthy environment that would eliminate the breeding sites of Aedes aegypti.
“Zika virus is being transmitted by an important species of mosquitoes, called Aedes aegypti, and can also be found in Nigeria.
“Although presently, no index case of Zika virus has been reported in Nigeria, but you never can tell since the vector of the virus is still circulating in Nigeria,” he said.
The researcher advised that “Government should help in repairing all the potholes on the roads, removing used tyres from the canals and other water holding waste materials.
“It will reduce exposure and the risk of transmission of Zika virus infection in our environment.”
According to him, Zika virus is a Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) virus that is transmitted to human through the bite of a genre of mosquitoes called Aedes Mosquitoes.
“In fact, both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the U.S. have warned that the local transmission of Zika virus may change over time.
“CDC has also reported the first case of Zika virus infection through sexual intercourse
“We have to be vigilant and get prepared for this possibility.
“As a matter of fact, Zika virus is currently transmitted in Africa, Asia, Pacific and Latin America.
“Awareness should be created and strengthened about Zika virus and the usefulness of sleeping under treated nets.
“It is also important for a person who has mild symptoms of Zika virus infection to inform their health providers for immediate action to avoid complications,’’ he said.
Iwalokun said that symptoms of Zika virus would occur few days after infection of a person.
“The symptoms which include fever, skin rash, joint pain, malaise, headache and conjunctivitis when mild, can last for between two and seven years.
“However, the major complication of Zika called microcephaly occurs in foetus and newborn baby.
“This is a clinical condition in which a newborn baby has a smaller head compared to other parts of his or her body and a poorly developed brain.
“This leads to intellectual disability and poor cognitive person during childhood and the complication of Zika virus in adult is called Guillain-Barre,” he said.
According to the researcher, Zika virus can be transmitted from an infected pregnant woman to her foetus and through sexual intercourse.
“As a matter of fact, Zika virus has been reported to stay in the blood for one week and in semen for longer than one week.
“Currently, there are no specific treatments for Zika virus infection. No vaccines are available against Zika.
“Physicians can only manage Zika virus symptoms by placing its victims on bed rest, giving him or her fluids, analgesic and anti-pyretics to treat headache and fever.
“There is no specific cure for microcephaly or Guillain-Barre syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome can resolve after administering these medications, but a few patients may likely be unlucky.
“In an environment where Zika virus exists, everybody is at the risk of contracting the virus. But a large percentage of people will only have mild symptoms and recover afterwards.
“However, people that have a high risk of complications include newborn babies, pregnant women and children with existing acute limb weaknesses.
“Both physical and chemical methods are available to prevent Zika virus transmission to humans,” he said. (NAN)