{"id":463,"date":"2016-07-01T18:18:17","date_gmt":"2016-07-01T18:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mountainhope.wpengine.com\/?p=463"},"modified":"2019-09-24T15:00:20","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T15:00:20","slug":"no-need-to-panic-over-zika-virus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mountainhope.org\/es\/no-need-to-panic-over-zika-virus\/","title":{"rendered":"No Need to Panic over Zika Virus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stinging<\/a>Zika virus is all over the news, but it’s not all over your backyard.<\/p>\n

“If you’re not pregnant, it’s not a problem,” said Dr. Richard Dew, Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic’s medical director.<\/p>\n

The mosquito-borne Zika virus can cause serious birth defects, including microcephaly (an abnormally small brain). It can also cause flu-like symptoms that are so mild they do not require a visit to the doctor. In some cases, you may not even know you have it.<\/p>\n

As of June 15, in the continental United States, there have been no locally acquired mosquito-borne cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s web site. There have been a few hundred Zika cases in the United States, the vast majority of them related to travel outside the States. Tennessee shows between 3 and 6 reported cases of Zika, according to the web site.<\/p>\n

Zika is “not a whole lot different from most other viruses,” said Dr. Dew. Most efforts are aimed at protecting pregnant women. “The main thing is, don’t get bitten by mosquitoes if you’re a woman of childbearing years.”<\/p>\n

That means taking common-sense precautions against the pesky insects and not going to the Olympic Games in Brazil if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.<\/p>\n

Mosquitoes, not just the Zika-carrying Aedes mosquito, may carry viruses such as West Nile anyway, so it’s wise for everyone to take protective action. The Environmental Protection Agency suggests the following:<\/p>\n