Wanna prevent your baby from having a small head? Maybe Zika virus vaccine will solve the problem.
During an outbreak in the Spring of 2015 that spread through North, South, and Central America, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a Public Health Emergency and began to push for more understanding on how to prevent the spread of Zika infections.
Zika was discovered in 1947 and until 2015 was known to exist in various places along the equator with relatively minor impact. This changed in 2015 when an estimated 1.5 million people were infected with Zika virus in Brazil from the summer of 2015 to January 2016.
Permanent damage by Zika
In general Zika virus is a relatively mild viral infection for healthy, non-pregnant adults and often times the individual does not even know they are infected. However, when a woman who is pregnant contracts the Zika virus, it can be spread from the mother to the fetus, causing serious birth defects such as severe brain malformations. These birth defects are permanent and cause life-long disability to the unborn child.
During the outbreak seen in the fall of 2015, about 3,500 cases of microcephaly were confirmed clinically, a severe underdevelopment of the brain and skull. There was a direct correlation between the spike in cases of microcephaly and the incidence of Zika virus infections. This dramatic increase of such a severe birth defects has caused the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to begin to work toward preventing Zika infections all together.
Global reach of Zika
While Zika is currently primarily in equatorial regions, the Aedes mosquito that carries the virus is found on all continents besides Antarctica, and is very prevalent in the South Eastern United States. Current methods for preventing the contraction of Zika are similar to the methods used to prevent other mosquito borne illnesses.
Preventing Zika virus transmission
Wearing long sleeve shirts and pants, using insect repellent, remaining indoors during the day/evening as much as possible limit the chances on encountering and being bitten by an infected mosquito. Reducing items such as buckets or tires that can collect stagnant water limit places for mosquitoes to breed.
Avoiding unprotected sex or abstaining in areas with known Zika virus is also a strong form of prevention for not only transmission from person-to-person, but also mother-to-baby.
More recently, Zika vaccines are being developed to further prevent the spread of Zika.
Vaccines in the Works
As of now, June 2018, no Zika vaccines have been approved for use by the FDA, however several teams are working their way through clinical trials with promising results.
Inactivated vaccines have shown the ability to safely stimulate the body to make antibodies to fight the Zika virus should it be encountered. These findings have been demonstrated in mice as well as humans with positive and promising results.
Encouraged to prevent small heads
Encouraging facts that have emerged from the early research models such as findings from a recent Annals of Internal Medicine published study demonstrates that even if the Zika virus vaccine is only 75% effective, if given to 90% of females from ages 9 to 49, it would result in a 94% reduction in prenatal Zika virus infections.
If given to both males and females, it would result in a 99% reduction in prenatal Zika infections. That is a 99% reduction in the cases of severe permanent birth defects caused by the Zika virus. This study only gave the Zika vaccine a 75% effectiveness rate which is low in comparison to many other vaccines such as Hepatitis at 95% effective and Varicella vaccine at 98% effective. Current Zika vaccine studies suggest the effectiveness rate of a vaccine will be higher than 75%.
While the Zika vaccine is expected to be available in the next few years, it is important to be aware of Zika virus and work to prevent the spread and transmission of the disease. The various studies being performed on Zika vaccine development are showing to be very promising and may ultimately lead to the eradication of pre-natal Zika virus infections. Zika vaccines are proving to be safe and effective at producing the desired immune response, while studies reviewing the implementation of the vaccines into the population are showing they would dramatically reduce the worse possible outcomes of a Zika infection, permanent birth defects, by up to 99%.
{The author is an FNP Student rotating through Omega Pediatrics}
What do you think the prospects are for a Zika vaccine?
Leave a comment below. Please share!
Omega Pediatrics Difference: At Omega Pediatrics in Roswell, Georgia we understand the challenges that parents face when their children develop symptoms late in the day or after hours. Many pediatric offices are closed after 4 pm however we are open every weekday up to 9 pm for walk-ins and we have telemedicine via evisits for our known patients. Our clinic is one of the easily accessible pediatric primary care clinics in the Roswell area, serving Alpharetta, Roswell, Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, Woodstock and surrounding cities. We provide pediatric primary care to families in the North Fulton area and we have families that live in Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Duluth and Cumming.
Immunizations after-hours: One advantage of switching to Omega Pediatrics for your child’s primary care is that you can bring your child in for immunization after regular business hours. We provide this service because we have the passion for what we do and we want to be a comfortable and convenient service not the ordinary pediatric doctor’s office.
