Andrew Barton

Upcoming out of country trips, like seniors Megan Barton and Corrine Schillizzi’s trip to the British Virgin Islands last year, will be impacted by the spreading of the Zika Virus.

A recent virus outbreak called Zika is spreading throughout the Americas, some main areas affected by the outbreak include Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. It is not a deadly virus but it can cause fever, joint pain, rash and other symptoms. It spreads through blood contact but mostly mosquitoes are the cause of the spread. It can also be spread through sexual contact, and occasionally during pregnancy.

“I think the virus will spread to the states but people shouldn’t be too worried about it because it’s not as bad as people think it is,” Katie Watson, nurse said.

There is no vaccine for this virus yet, but prevention tactics include wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, applying insect repellent regularly, and staying in air conditioned areas.

“The fear that it can cause birth defects to babies is mainly why people are so scared by this virus, we will get some infections but it won’t be much, its getting so much attention because of the things it can do to babies,” Biology teacher Tony Piccinni said.

Theories say that Zika can cause GBS (Guillain-Barré syndrome) which causes your immune system to attack certain parts of your nervous system causing weakness in the legs. But Zika has not been proven to cause GBS but the theory is still a factor.

“Other than the serious symptoms it has, the world obviously views it as a threat. It’s obviously becoming a pretty serious problem,” sophomore Logan Marx said.

Zika mostly spreads through blood contact but mostly mosquitoes are the cause of the spread. It can also be spread through sexual contact, and rarely during pregnancy. The mosquito carrying this virus is an aggressive bitter during the day. These mosquitoes become infected when it bites an infected person, so to prevent bites from these insects, where long sleeved shirts and bug spray in infected areas.

“Well, this virus isn’t very serious as people are making it, but since it’s rapidly spreading into new countries like Mexico, it could cross over into the U.S. but it won’t be such a serious problem as it is in Brazil and other countries,” Patrick Berry, National Guard member, said.

Zika is a virus you should not be too worried about, it is not lethal and you most likely will not get it if you don’t live near the Mexican border, but if it does reach your area remember to wear long-sleeved shirts and bug spray.