*”IT IS MORE THAN JUST A HEADACHE”*
🧬 The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus that was first identified in monkeys in the Zika forest of Uganda in 1947. It was later identified in humans in the 1950s in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. The virus is primarily spread by the bite of the Aedes mosquito 🦟 and can also be transmitted through sexual contact, blood transfusions, and from mother to fetus during pregnancy. 🔹 The most common symptoms of the Zika virus are fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes. In some cases, the virus can cause more severe complications such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and birth defects in newborns, such as microcephaly. 🔹 The Zika virus gained widespread attention in 2015-2016 when there was a large outbreak in the Americas, particularly in Brazil. This outbreak raised concerns about the potential link between Zika virus infection in pregnant women and microcephaly in newborns. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika outbreak a Public Health