If you were alive in 1976 and were of reading age, you would have heard about the Ebola virus outbreak that was detected as beginning in the Zaire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That year there were 318 cases diagnosed and of those cases, 280 people died. While it was determined that these individuals caught the disease from dirty needles and equipment used in hospitals, the virus spread throughout the region and following were outbreaks of three different strains: Zaire, Sudan and Reston. This viral attack was the last time the World Health Organization issued Global Health Warning – until Zika.
Zika is a cute name however the Aedes mosquito can do some real damage. It is the same mosquito that can cause yellow fever. There were reports of Zika as far back as 1947 when the virus was detected in rhesus monkeys (bloodwork) in Uganda. The first reported human case was in Uganda in and United Republic of Tanzania during 1952. Now it has worked its way through Africa, Central and South America, Asia and the Pacific.
This blood-sucking and biting little monster likes its meals during the early morning sunlight and close to sundown. This is time period it is most active.
The results of this virus on humans were actually found by chance. Brazil was having a large number of new babies being born with microcephaly. This is a disastrous birth defect in which babies’ heads are unusually small and thus their brains do not grow to full dimensions. The only link among all the children was that their mothers had the Zika virus. To accompany the babies, research is in its infancy and new updates are posted almost every day.
As updates come in it is now being reported that the Zika virus can cause Guillain-Barre syndrome. In this medical condition the body’s immune system actually attacks the central nervous system. It may begin with numbness of the extremities and work its way in towards the heart and lungs. While it can cause total paralysis, it can be cured in most cases. This is not a birth defect and can happen to anyone of any age. It has been a rare disease with no known cause – until a person was diagnosed in the US who was infected by Zika. As with any of the illnesses, more study and research will be done – and very quickly.
Up to this point everything has been blamed on the mosquito. Now there is a fly in the ointment. Zika can be and has been spread by sexual intercourse. The few original cases in the UK and US were spread by men who had returned from a trip to one of the highly infectious regions. Do not assume they were fooling around on their spouses. Unbeknownst to these men the Zika virus was in their bloodstream and was introduced to their partners through sperm.
According to NOW the first line of defense is not to be bitten by one of these miscreants. If someone is returning from an infested area, he should use a condom for 28 days to ensure that if he is infected, it cannot be passed on. They recommend that if a man did have the infection and was cured to still use a condom for up to six months just to be sure there is no reinfection.
These are all good ideas but somewhere along the way someone forgot that there is another way for sperm to come in contact with a woman other than vaginal intercourse. Millions of people believe that cannot get pregnant through oral sex. This is true. But you can get an STD/HIV from oral sex. Therefore, you can be infected by the Zika virus via oral sex.
Those in charge of handing out advice should also consider encouraging the use of a condom or dam for oral sex. If a partner does not like the taste of plain latex, there are always flavoured versions which are more palatable.
It’s a cliché, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!
