The Zika virus infection (ZVI) has emerged as a public health threat, with specific implications to the MCH community, that "requires the public, public health professionals, and governments to find effective responses to mitigate the current crisis and prevent recurrence."1
Spread by daytime-active mosquitoes, the virus often causes only mild symptoms but can spread from a pregnant woman to her fetus, resulting in microcephaly, severe brain malformations, and other birth defects. In adults, there has been evidence that ZVI can rarely result in Guillain-Baree syndrome.
There has been much written, presented, and aggregated on the topic. This MCH mini-module does not seek to be comprehensive, but provides learners access to (1) critical federal information, (2) webinar podcasts outlining how two health departments have worked to communicate about, prevent and mitigate the effects of, and used data to develop impactful programs related to Zika, and (3) current-awareness mechanisms to find the latest evidence-informed information as it emerges.
Click on the icons below or use the links in the left-hand navigation to find learning materials in three main categories.
Reference
1 Ribeiro GS, Kitron U. Zika virus pandemic: a human and public health crisis. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2016 Feb;49(1):1-3.