Assistant Vice President of Pace International Barry Stinson and Director of Pace’s Health Care Units Audrey Hoover sent out a Pace wide email on Tues, Feb. 2 to warn the community about the Zika virus threat.

The World Health Organization (WHO) categorized the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne virus, as an international public health emergency in January after a rise in cases this past year in Brazil.

Pace students that will be travelling soon to the Caribbean or South America should know some facts about the virus before panicking or cancelling their plans completely.

The Zika virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1947 with outbreaks occurring around the world transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The WHO page dedicated to the Zika virus states that the disease is transmitted through a bite from one of the infected mosquitos. Additionally, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) found the virus can spread though infected blood, sexual contact, and, rarely, from mother to child.

Current infected areas include Brazil, Mexico, Guyana, Colombia, Panama, and Caribbean islands like Costa Rica and Haiti. Students can look up a full list of infected areas on the CDC website. According the CDC, any cases in the United States have been from people who travelled recently to infected areas rather than exposure to the mosquitos in the states.

The virus may incubate for a few days before signs and symptoms of the disease are apparent, reports the WHO. In some cases, infected persons may not even realize they have the virus if it presents itself asymptomatically.

In Brazil this past year, health authorities found neurological and autoimmune complications from the Zika virus, like Guillain-Barré Syndrome, leading to temporary muscle weakness. News reports as well as the aforementioned Pace email discourages women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy soon to avoid travel to the infected areas because the Zika virus may cause microcephaly—a condition where the newborns’ heads may be abnormally small.

Fortunately, the WHO reports that the virus is relatively mild and no specific treatment is necessary. There is no vaccine at the moment, which is causing an uproar in the media.

However, the WHO recommends that, “people sick with Zika virus should get plenty of rest, drink enough fluids, and treat pain and fever with common medicines.” Both the WHO and the CDC will be continuously monitoring the cases of Zika virus.

Students in Pace’s Producing the Documentary course will be travelling to Cuba for spring break to film.

The Zika virus has not spread to Cuba, though the neighboring country Haiti, less than 400 miles away, has active cases of the virus. There is no word yet as to how this will affect the course’s trip to Cuba this spring break.

Stinson and Hoover urged anyone who has travelled recently around the infested areas and feeling sick to visit the Health Care unit on the Pleasantville campus in Goldstein Fitness Center, Room 125.

For more information, check out the CDC or WHO official sites regarding the Zika virus.