For a long time, the "explosive spread" of Zika virus is a "public health emergency that has attracted international attention", but there is no effective vaccine or drug to prevent and treat Zika virus infection in the world. After two years' efforts, the team of experts from China has recently made important progress in the research of anti-Zika drugs. ?
Schematic diagram of Zika virus research results (from Sino-Singapore. com)？
It is reported that the "polypeptide virus inactivator" designed by the research teams of Lu Lu badminton and Jiang Shibo of Fudan University School of Basic Medicine, Public Health Clinical Center affiliated to Fudan University and Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology of Academy of Military Medical Sciences can effectively kill Zika virus and prevent it from infecting pregnant mice and their fetuses, which is of great significance to the research and development of drugs to prevent Zika virus infection and has attracted worldwide attention. ?
So, what exactly is Zika virus? How does it spread? What are the ways to prevent procrastination in our daily life? ?
What is Zika virus disease? ?
Zika virus disease is caused by Zika virus. ?
Figure: At 37℃, the morphology of ZIKV was observed by electron microscope (Kostyuchenko et al. 20 16).
As shown above, at 37 degrees Celsius, Zika virus is spherical, with a diameter of 40-70 nm and an envelope. The envelope wraps a genome composed of a positive strand RNA, and the size is about 10.8 Kb. ?
Zika virus has several close relatives, such as dengue virus, yellow fever virus and West Nile virus, all of which belong to flavivirus in flaviviridae. ?
How does Zika virus spread? ?
So, how does this virus spread? ?
At present, there is no evidence that Zika virus will spread from person to person and will not be infected by contact with patients. ?
Zika virus is mainly transmitted by mosquito vectors (Aedes mosquitoes). Aedes mosquitoes were infected after biting Zika virus, and the virus spread to others through another bite. Several close relatives of Zika virus mentioned above are also spread through mosquito vectors. ?
Zika virus is mainly transmitted by mosquito vectors (Aedes mosquitoes) (image source network)?
There are many kinds of Aedes mosquitoes, and Zika virus is mainly transmitted by Aedes aegypti. ?
Aedes aegypti is widely distributed in tropical areas all over the world, including Hainan Province, Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong Province, border areas of Yunnan Province and southern Taiwan Province Province. ?
In addition to the transmission of Aedes mosquitoes, Zika virus can be transmitted through other ways, but they are relatively rare, such as sexual contact and blood transmission. It has also been reported that Zika virus can be transmitted to babies through the placenta. Although Zika virus RNA can be detected in milk, there is no report of neonatal infection through breastfeeding. ?
What are the symptoms after being infected with Zika virus? ?
Although people are generally susceptible to Zika virus, 80% of them are recessive infections, that is, they do not produce symptoms, and 20% will have clinical symptoms, such as fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis, etc., which generally last less than 7 days and do not need special treatment. Treatment is mainly symptomatic treatment. A few patients may have neurological and autoimmune complications, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome, but this is rare. ?
Symptoms of Zika virus infection?
However, pregnant women infected with Zika virus may lead to fetal microcephaly. ?
Since Zika virus broke out in Brazil in the first half of 20 15, the incidence of neonatal microcephaly has increased by nearly 20 times. Mouse experiments also show that Zika virus can cause a large number of embryonic "brain" neurons to die, resulting in a larger brain cavity and a thinner cerebral cortex, which is a typical microcephaly. ?
Figure: Schematic diagram of neonatal microcephaly (www.cdc.gov)?
However, there is no evidence that pregnant women are more susceptible to the virus than others. Moreover, in Zika virus-infected areas, most women can still give birth normally. ?
Therefore, there is no need to panic when pregnant or pregnant, and microcephaly can be screened by B-ultrasound during pregnancy. Therefore, it is suggested that pregnant women who have been to or lived in Zika virus-infected areas should have routine prenatal examination and consult medical staff, and strengthen fetal detection according to the doctor's advice. ?
How to prevent Zika virus in daily life? ?
Since Zika virus is spread through mosquito vectors, it is most important to control the bite of Aedes mosquitoes in prevention! ?
Aedes mosquitoes like to lay eggs and breed in clean little stagnant water. Regular cleaning of indoor and outdoor breeding grounds such as buckets, flowerpots and tires can eliminate virus carriers from the source. ?
Female mosquitoes suck human blood and generally bite people during the day. The peak of activity is at dawn and dusk, so try to avoid staying in outdoor green spaces and other places with more Aedes mosquitoes. Families can use mosquito nets, screen windows, mosquito-repellent incense and other means to prevent mosquitoes, thus cutting off the transmission route of Aedes mosquito bites. ?