What is in news : Kerala is on alert of the Zika virus.

What is Zika :

• Viral infection
• Host – Aedes aegypti mosquito
• Symptoms – Skin rashes, Muscle pain, Joint pain, Headache, Fever, temperature around 102 degrees and others resembling Dengue
• Transmission
• Other health effects caused by Zika –
  • Guillain-Barré syndrome — a neurological disorder that could lead to paralysis and death
  • Microcephaly – Babies from infected mother who are born with small head
• Treatment – No specific treatment / Vaccine, Clinically treated
• Protocols followed by government on Zika outbreak
  • Mosquito control measures
  • Focus on contraceptives
• MAHITI FOR PRELIMS : Zika was first identified in 1947 in Zika Forest, Uganda from where it derives its name.