The Zika virus doesn't yet pose a threat to people in the United States, but some would be wise to take precautions, two LSU Health Sciences Center - Shreveport doctors say.


Dr. John VanChiere of LSU Health explains the three things people need to know about the Zika virus during a public forum at Sci-Port Discovery Center.

Rapid spreading of the virus in South America, particularly in northeast Brazil, led the World Health Organization to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern a month ago. Dr. John Vanchiere and Dr. Michelle Arnold told a small audience at a free public forum hosted by SciPort Thursday night the virus appears to be most dangerous for pregnant women, since evidence continues to point toward a link between the Zika virus and microcephaly, a birth defect causing a small head and brain in infants.

Vanchiere said at least 20 states, including Louisiana, have reported cases of Zika, all of which have been imported from elsewhere. The virus' symptoms of fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis only show up in one of five people who become infected and it generally disappears within a week.

"There's no established evidence of local transmission," Vanchiere said. "We expect that that may change over time. Whether it will stay resident as West Nile virus did or simply visit and go away, we don't know yet."

A specific set of mosquitoes endemic to much of the southern United States and even a large portion of the eastern half of the country can carry and transmit the virus, which was discovered in Uganda's Zika forest region in 1947. Travelers to Central and South America, as well as those locally who may be concerned, should take precautions such as insect repellent and eliminating standing water where mosquitoes can breed.

Early indications show the virus can be most harmful early in the first and second trimester of pregnancy, Vanchiere said, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant to delay travel to areas with the Zika virus. Microcephaly in infants can be found in one out of 1,000 or one out of 2,000 infected mothers, Zika could be connected to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare and dangerous immune disorder that can cause temporary paralysis.

"We're going to be learning a lot more about it and my hope is that it won't be as common as we think it will be," Vanchiere said. "Right now the link is there, much like it is for many, many other viruses, and it's probably on the order of one in 5-10,000 cases of Zika will result in Guillain-Barre syndrome."

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