Zika: A new public health threat for Bangladesh

In 1947, scientists routine surveillance programme for yellow fever in the Zika forest of Uganda incidentally isolatedthe Zika virus from a rhesus monkey, an arthropod-borne RNA virus belongs to family Flaviviridae. ZIKV becamea potential pathogen in Asian-continent in 1969, Malaysia is the first country in Asia to encounter ZIKV and wasisolated from Aedes mosquitoes in and human cases were confirmed in Indonesia and Pakistan in the early 1980s.WHO declared Zika a public health emergency of international concern in February 2016. Bangladesh experiencedZika virus infection in 2014 for first time; Zika virus exists in two distinct strains: African and Asian. Zika (ZIKV)and dengue (DENV) co-transmission during the 2023 dengue outbreak in Bangladesh, necessitates attention to thisimportant public health and epidemiological issues. Although Zika virus is a vector borne (Mosquito borne) disease,ZIKV can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, mother-to-child horizontal transmissionorgan/tissue transplantation or even by secondary non-sexual physical contact. Among the persons suffering from Zikavirus infection, symptoms typically start 3–14 days after infection, and include rash, fever, conjunctivitis, myalgia,arthralgia, malaise and headache; usually for 2–7 days. Infection occurs during pregnancy, can cause congenitalanomaly - microcephaly and can be associated with other complications including fetal loss, stillbirth and pretermbirth.Control measures of Zika infection include mobilizing house-to-house visits and the elimination of potentialAedes breeding sites, spraying insecticide, drainage of standing water, waste management and health education andpersonal protection measures.