BrainPOP
  • 3 months ago
Transcript
00:00Man, the mosquitoes are out in droves today.
00:28That seems like overkill, but thanks?
00:34Dear Tim and Moby,
00:36What is the Zika virus?
00:38I heard it is a very bad disease.
00:41From Nathan.
00:42Hi Nathan.
00:43The Zika virus isn't a new discovery.
00:47In fact, we've known about it for around 70 years.
00:51It was first identified in Uganda's Zika forest.
00:56Up until recently, the virus was confined to Africa and Asia.
01:00But in 2015, Zika cases started to pop up closer to home.
01:05It started with an outbreak in Brazil.
01:08That's when a disease suddenly spreads across a population.
01:12Within a year, there were thousands of Zika cases across Latin America and the Caribbean.
01:18Enough of a spread to call the outbreak an epidemic.
01:22Fortunately, Zika is not a serious danger for most people.
01:26Four out of five people who get the virus don't become sick.
01:30For those who do, the symptoms are usually mild.
01:33The most common is an itchy, red rash.
01:37Sometimes there's fever, joint pain, or stingy eyes.
01:41Most people are back to normal in about a week.
01:45It's true, Zika has been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome.
01:49The body's immune system goes haywire and attacks its own nerves.
01:53It can be serious, but it's also extremely rare.
01:57The much bigger concern with Zika is in pregnant women.
02:01Infected mothers are more likely to have babies with microcephaly, which means small head.
02:06Usually it's a result of the brain not developing properly.
02:10That leads to issues with speech, coordination, and reasoning skills.
02:14Which makes it difficult to lead an independent life.
02:18Zika isn't usually passed from person to person.
02:22It spreads most often through mosquito bites.
02:24Only a few species are capable of carrying Zika.
02:29And they live mainly in tropical climates.
02:33Well, Zika doesn't spread only from mosquitoes to humans.
02:37It can go from humans to mosquitoes, too.
02:41An infected tourist might visit a place that has no history of the virus.
02:45If the right kind of mosquito bites him, it can get infected.
02:49And spread the virus to anyone else it bites.
02:53The mosquito species behind most transmissions can't live very far north.
02:58So while there have been a few Zika cases in the United States,
03:02almost all of them were travelers who'd been infected overseas.
03:06And the number of cases in America is nowhere near what we'd call an epidemic.
03:11And like I said, most people don't even get sick.
03:15Though, in some cases, that can help Zika's spread.
03:19People who don't feel sick usually don't know they're infected.
03:22So they may not take precautions against spreading the virus.
03:27Even though it's rare, they can pass Zika to another person through bodily fluids.
03:32If that person is pregnant or gets pregnant soon after, the child is at serious risk.
03:38In early 2016, the World Health Organization declared Zika a public health emergency.
03:44But by the end of that year, the outbreak was under control and the emergency was over.
03:49There are still concerns, so doctors around the world are keeping close tabs on reported cases.
03:55Researchers are studying the virus in hopes of creating a vaccine
03:59and developing new ways to control mosquito populations.
04:04If Zika cases are reported where you live or in a place you might travel,
04:08you can do a lot to avoid mosquitoes.
04:10Use insect repellent on your skin and clothes.
04:14And make sure those clothes cover as much of your body as possible.
04:18But since we're not in a hot spot, and neither of us is planning on having a baby...
04:35Is that... Jell-O?
04:39Okay, that's just weird.
04:44Zika is a viral disease.
04:46It's a viral disease that can be transmitted from person to person.
04:50It can be transmitted from person to person.
04:52It can be transmitted from person to person.
04:54It can be transmitted from person to person.
04:56It can be transmitted from person to person.
04:58It can be transmitted from person to person.
05:00It can be transmitted from person to person.
05:02It can be transmitted from person to person.
05:04It can be transmitted from person to person.
05:06It can be transmitted from person to person.
05:08It can be transmitted from person to person.
05:10It can be transmitted from person to person.