Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)
Academic Term
2016
Document Type
Project
Course Number
NURS 5330 - OL1
Course Name
Advanced Pathophysiology
Professor’s Name
John D Chovan
Keywords
Zika Virus, Aedes Mosquito, Microcephaly, Guillain-Barre syndrome
Subject Categories
Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing
Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the Spondweni serocomplex within the genus Flavivovirus, family flaviviridae (Weaver et. al, 2012). ZIKV is related to dengue, West Nile, and yellow fever viruses (Lazear et. al, 2016). ZIKV was first discovered in Uganda, but since then outbreaks have been reported in Africa and Southeast Asia. In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil, where it began to rapidly spread throughout the region (CDC, 2016). Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the ongoing outbreak of Zika virus and associated complications in the Americas, the Caribbean, and the Pacific a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (Coyle, 2016, p. 22). It is believed that the Zika virus will likely continue to spread to new areas (CDC, 2016). ZIKV outbreak is very concerning, due to the fact that there currently is not a vaccine or antiviral treatment and it has been linked to fetal mortality, Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), and encephalopathy (Johnson, 2016). This is also a growing concern since many individuals will be traveling from all over the world to Brazil, who had their first case of ZIKV last May, for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Recommended Citation
Hanneken, Abigail, "Zika Virus" (2016). Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN). 154.
https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/stu_msn/154