The Zika virus is very serious business, but am I the only person who when they hear the word "Zika" think of the vile tasting clear adult beverage "Zima" that was popular during the wine cooler craze of the 80's? Perhaps I'm just old.

Be that as it may, one thing is for certain. For pregnant females, being infected with the Zika virus does run a serious risk of causing birth defects of very specific types. Microcephaly, a neurological condition in which the head of an infant is significantly smaller than what is expected of children of the same age and sex, is perhaps the most serious of these. There is no specific treatment for this condition, but early intervention with speech and occupational therapies may help increase quality of life for the patient.

As we find with many emerging infectious diseases, plenty of rumors, myths and just plain misinformation are mixed in with actual medical facts. One prevalent myth is that a personcan become infected with Zika through drinking contaminated water. This is not true. However, there are a host of other maladies that can be picked up by drinkingnon-purified water. As of this writing, the Zika virus is known to be transmitted through the bites ofinfected femaleAedesaegypti mosquitoes, through sexual contact, blood transfusions and accidental laboratory exposure to those investigating the virus. That's it.

A dangerous misconception being spread in some parts of the world is that the whole Zika epidemic is much ado about nothing, and the virus is not truly tied to an increased incidence of birth defects in children of infected mothers. Simply not true. A recent article published in The Lancet Infectious Disease Reportstates that "Zika virus infection in pregnancy does cause microcephaly and should be added to the list of known congenital infections such as toxoplasmosis and rubella.". The research behind that study is ongoing, and scientistsare waiting on a full analysis of 200 active cases and 400 controls before they will comment further on the true extentof the effect.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a web page dedicated to dispelling rumors surrounding the Zika virus. http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/articles/rumours/en/ On it, you can find information dispensing with the idea that any one kind of insect repellent is better than another in keeping the biting mosquitoes at bay. I found it interesting to discover the fact that "there is no evidence forany restriction of the use of these repellents by pregnant women if they are used in accordance with the instructions on the product label." Of course, you'll always want to keep as much skin as possible covered by clothing in areas whereAedesaegyptiare prevalent.

There have been genetically modified mosquitoes released into the wild in Brazil, causing concern in more than a few people worldwide. Rumors abound that these genetically modified organisms are in some way linked to the Zika virus and therefore the increased incidence of microcephaly in their nation. This cannot be the case, however, because only modified male mosquitoes are beingreleased and only females bite humans.

Some of the techniques being developed to control the mosquitoes would have just a couple years ago been look at as the stuff of science fiction. For example, a technique is being developed to sterilize massive numbers of male mosquitoes using low doses of radiation. After being radiologicallysterilized, they will be releasedinto the wild. No, I'm not kidding. The science behind this is that when a sterile male mosquito breeds with a female, her eggs do not survive. When the male population outnumbers the female population in a given ecosystem, the entire species eventually dies out. This is not a new idea and has been used against other organisms (fruit flies for example) in the wild.

The good news about Zika is that the majority of those infected will have no symptoms at all or only very mild symptoms such as joint and muscle pains and perhaps running a small fever. These symptoms seldom last longer than a week and resolve themselves without any special treatment.

My guess is that we will be learning more and more about this emerging infectious disease and high-tech ways to prevent its spread for years to come. In the meantime, if you find yourself in a Zika zone, be sure to stay covered from head to toe and don't be stingy with the DEET.

Sources:

Medical News Today: Zika does cause microcephaly, but questions remain http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/312938.php

World Health Organization: Dispelling rumours around Zika and complications

Business Insider: 5 of the biggest myths and misconceptions about Zika, debunkedhttp://www.businessinsider.com/false-myths-about-zika-debunked-by-science-2016-8