A health monitoring tool to assess the risk of contamination at Zika virus. The approach comes from the Institut Pasteur de Lille. The latter carried out a specifically dedicated to the assessment of the risk of having been infected by the Zika virus by informing the country visited in the last nine months. It can be accessed at this link: www.pasteur-lille.fr/zika/
For example, for a woman who is not pregnant but traveled to El Salvador and left the country on January 12, the risk of contracting Zika virusis thin and “does not require further investigation 15 days after leaving the country”. However, the site advises “to avoid any unprotected sexual intercourse with a man who has left an epidemic area for less than a month” pending more precise scientific data).
The information tool also recalls the general recommendations for travelers to protect themselves against the virus.
This information and awareness-raising website is the first to follow in real time the evolution of the Zika disease transmitted by the tiger mosquito. A useful tool for the general public but also for health professionals.
To date, there is no treatment or vaccine to fight this virus even if the Sanofi Pasteur laboratory is mobilizing to develop a vaccine.
“The only possible prevention for those who live or go to areas affected by Zika is to protect themselves from mosquito bites”, recalls the Institut Pasteur de Lille.
While the Zika virus is strongly suspected of causing cases of microcephaly linked to contamination of the mother during pregnancy, the Institut Pasteur recommends that pregnant women or travelers planning a pregnancy, “departing for epidemic areas of Zika to consult a doctor, before their departure”.
A case of infection in Spain
The follow-up of the Zika threat is of great interest as the virus keeps gaining ground. Europe has just announced its first known case of a pregnant woman with the Zika virus. It is a Spanish woman diagnosed “after having traveled to Colombia”, according to the Spanish Ministry of Health.
Brazil is the country most affected by the Zika viral disease with 1.5 million people affected. Even more worrying, 3 to 4 million cases are expected on the American continent in 2016 according to the World Health Organization.
Read also: Our file on the Zika virus
5 questions about the Zika virus
Zika virus: recommendations in case of pregnancy
