There is growing concern around the world that pregnant women infected with the Zika virus can transmit the virus to their unborn babies, leading to severe clinical consequences for them. So, what is this virus and who is it threatening?

Zika virus and the precautions to be taken to protect against this virus have been explained by our gynecology specialists.

This virus, which was only found in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islands before 2015, started to be seen in France, America, and El Salvador outside of Brazil after May 2015. These days, when the infection is feared to spread further, especially due to travel, expectant mothers need to postpone their travels to these regions a little. Because reports from various countries of the world, especially Brazil, draw attention to the fact that pregnant women who are infected with the Zika virus may have serious fetal birth defects and bad pregnancy results in their babies.

The Biggest Risk is 'Severe Intelligence Retardation'

Gynecology and Obstetrics specialists stated that the biggest expected risk in the babies of women who had Zika virus infection during pregnancy was Microcephaly and that microcephaly had a significantly smaller head circumference measurement than expected according to the age and gender of the individual, and therefore caused severe mental retardation. In the cases of microcephaly due to the Zika virus reported so far, it is known that the Zika virus infection during pregnancy lags far behind that the baby should have brain development as a result of the infection. There is no case of secondary microcephaly due to Zika virus infection received by the newborn during or after birth. Since the baby's brain development continues during pregnancy, the developing brain can be affected by Zika virus infection at any time during pregnancy. Therefore, the current risks are more expected in pregnant women who have a Zika virus infection while they are already pregnant. For non-pregnant people, having had the virus in the past does not pose a risk to the pregnancy. The incubation period of the virus is usually 3-1 days, and the virus is eliminated from the body within 1 week after infection, and immunity to the virus is obtained following infection.

Change Your Travel Route to Protect yourself from the Zika Virus

Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant must delay travel to areas with mosquito species carrying the Zika virus. If you still have to travel to these areas, do the following:

• Wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants.
• Use mosquito repellents containing DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), or IR3535! (Mosquito repellents containing DEET, Picaridin, and IR3535 are safe to use in pregnant and breastfeeding women and children older than 2 months. Only repellents containing oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) are not recommended for use in children < 3 years of age.
• If you are going to use sun and insect repellent together, first apply sunscreen and mosquito repellent to it.
• Use nets if possible.
• Stay in air-conditioned rooms with specially wired windows for mosquitoes.
• If you develop a rash, redness of the eyes, fever, or joint pain within 14 days of traveling to a country where Zika is found while pregnant, contact your healthcare provider and let them know about your travel history.