Zika Virus Has Made It To Australia

Australian virologists have revealed that the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness with no cure, has found its way into Australia already.

They believe that travellers returning from South America, where there has been a recent outbreak, are behind its arrival.

Until quite recently, the Zika virus was considered pretty harmless, as well as very rare. It was spread between people through mosquito bites, and commonly presented with a fever, rash, pain in the joints and conjunctivitis. In the same family as dengue fever, the symptoms, which were most often mild, lasted for a few days to just over a week, with severe cases that required hospitalisation considered very uncommon.

However, in the last year Zika has gone from a rarely seen condition to one that is sweeping across the globe, and causing a number of unexpected consequences. Of particular note is the recent connection between the Zika virus and thousands of cases of birth defects in babies and neurological conditions in adults.

Warnings From Brazil

It is in Brazil that doctors started to draw these connections. The Zika virus arrived there around 2014, possibly with travellers who came to the region for the World Cup. In 2015 more than 1.5 million people fell ill with Zika, and the surge continues. During that same period Brazilian officials noticed that the rate of a birth defect called microcephaly had also skyrocketed. Microcephaly is a congenital condition that presents with a small head and incomplete brain development. The usual number of microcephaly cases in Brazil per year is a few hundred, but in 2015 they recorded more than 3,500 cases.

Now, although the CDC has yet to confirm that Zika is the reason behind these birth defects (they have not yet undertaken comprehensive studies), the early suggestions are that it may be the cause. Brazilian researchers looking into the condition found that in the amniotic fluid of mothers carrying babies with microcephaly, the Zika virus was present. They also found Zika in the brains of two microcephaly babies that died shortly after being born, and in two pregnancies that ended in miscarriage.

Other Concerns

Another condition that is also experiencing an unexpectedly large number of cases lately, particularly in countries suffering from a Zika virus outbreak is Guillain-Barre. This was a once rare disorder that caused muscle weakness, starting at the legs and spreading to the arms and face, trouble walking and even total limb paralysis. Some people recover from the condition over weeks and months, while others never do. The condition affects people of all ages, and is thought to be triggered by an infection that causes the body’s immune system to attack its own nervous system.

Like the microcephaly, there’s no certainly that the outbreak of Guillain-Barre is caused by the Zika virus, but there are indicators that it might be. During Zika outbreaks in French Polynesia doctors noted a rise in Guillain-Barre, and in El Salvador a whopping 46 cases of Guillain-Barre were recorded in just five weeks from the start of December to the first week of January. However it’s difficult to properly track the number of cases, as the condition was once so rare that the Brazilian Health Ministry did not keep records.

What Does Zika Mean For Australia?

The effects of the Zika virus, and the potential for damage in the future, are not yet fully understood, but women in hard-hit areas have been warned to fall pregnant at their own risk for now. El Salvador has done as far as to recommend that women avoid falling pregnant for two years, advice that some are happy to take.

In Australia authorities are already taking action to prevent more people bringing the virus to Australia, and to stop Australian travellers at risk. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has issued a new warning to Australians, with a particular focus on pregnant women, to reconsider travelling to the 22 countries confirmed as being affected by the virus.

Now experts are concerned about the potential spread of Zika in Australia. Although travellers have returned from infected countries with the condition, there is yet to be any evidence that the condition has spread from one person to another. Virologist Professor Dominic Dwyer noted that:

“The main mosquito carriers of the virus are not present to any great degree in Australia, except perhaps up in the top end of Queensland.”

However, he cautioned that experts were still not sure whether common Australian mosquitos could also transmit the infection. As such he recommended that, although there is yet no cause for alarm, the Australian population should remain alert and heed Government warnings relating to travel.

“The outbreaks can be so rapid and so large, that if you travel into that sort of outbreak scenario, then there is a reasonably high risk you could get infected,” he said.

“So I think if you were pregnant, it would be foolish to go there at this stage, until we know a little bit more about what is going on.”