Zika Prevention

- Use Insect Repellent

Look for the following active ingredients: Deet - Picaridin - Ir3535 - Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus - Para-menthane-diol.

- Wear Protective Clothes

Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants or use insect repellent. For extra protection treat clothing with permethrin.

- Use a Condom to Avoid Human to Human Sexual Transmition

Use a condom every time you engage in intercourse (vaginal, anal, or oral) to avoid human to human sexual transmition.

- Mosquito-proof Your Home

Use screen on windows and doors. Use air conditioning when available. Keep mosquitoes from laying eggs near standing Water.

- Empty Out Containers with Standing Water Daily

What you need to know

• Transmission, Daytime is the Most Dangerous

  Zika is transmitted through the bite of a daytime-active species of mosquito called Aedes aegypti, which is prevalent in warm, humid climates, such as South Florida.

• Symptoms

  Zika’s symptoms can include rash, joint pains, conjunctivitis (pinkeye) and fever, and tend to subside within a week or two. And in approximately 75 percent of cases, people show no symptoms at all.

  Though no treatment for the Zika virus itself exists, its symptoms can be treated by drinking plenty of fluids, resting and taking acetaminophen to reduce pain and fevers.

  Disease prevention doctors advise against taking NSAID pain relievers like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen, however, unless doctors have ruled out the possibility of having hemorrhagic dengue fever, a disease that is similar to Zika.

  Doctors said Acetaminophen is our friend.

• Cause for Concern During Pregnancy

  The WHO suspects a link between Zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly in the babies of those infected at birth; the condition results in infants born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

  The cause for concern arose after thousands of cases of microcephaly were reported in Brazil in the last year, an increase of 3,900 percent from the number of cases reported in 2014.

  There is little definitive information indicating how long the virus persists in the body once contracted, so infectious diseases doctors suggests waiting two months after recovery from Zika virus infection before trying to become pregnant.

• No Known Treatment

  There is no specific treatment for Zika. It is still up in the air as to whether any of the existing antivirals would have any effect whatsoever, and whether they would do more harm than good.

  Additionally, no vaccine has yet been developed to prevent the contraction of Zika.

• Prevention

  FIU professors suggest the best ways to prevent contracting Zika are to wear long clothing; use DEET, or other mosquito repellents; and to check surroundings to ensure there is no standing water, where mosquitoes can breed.

  Alternative repellants like oil of lemon eucalyptus might also work. Keep in mind the U.S. Food and Drug Administration counsels that insect repellents containing DEET should not be used in infants under 2 months of age. Oil of lemon eucalyptus products should not be used on children under 3 years of age.

For additional information and resources, please visit the CDC’s Zika Homepage, the Florida Department of Health Zika Homepage or the FIU Emergency Management.

Students with concerns about Zika, may contact FIU Student Health at 305-348-2401.

Faculty, staff and other members of the community, may contact FIU Health 305-348-3627(DOCS).

Social

@FIUSHS

Fav if active

Read More

@FIUSHS

People come and go.

Read More

---

News

How to make your summer a breeze

All year long you’ve been waiting to take a vacation, intern at your dream company, get a head start on […]

5 tips for establishing healthy habits that last

When it comes to developing better habits – in the classroom, the workplace or in life – you probably already […]

FIU and other state universities rally for critical student success, research initiatives

Joined by police chiefs, mental health counselors, medical school deans, and student leaders, the Board of Governors [...]

Yoga, meditation helps students manage stress and academics

Yoga. Tai chi. Meditation. In recent years, the United States has seen a surge in practices promising a calmer, more […]

What you need to know about preventing cervical cancer

January is cervical cancer awareness month. Every year more than 12,000 women in the United States get cervical cancer, and […]

5 easy tips to get back in shape after the holidays

The holidays are history, but you’ll still have the wonderful memories, and oh yes, that other reminder of the good […]

Top 5 questions from college students about the health care law

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services reports that since the Affordable Care Act passed an estimated 20 million people gained [...]

Sexually transmitted infections reach all time high in U.S.

by Nykeema Radway We’ve all heard about them but we don’t talk about them. The topic isn’t included in our […]

It’s flu season: 5 things you need to know about the flu and flu shots

It creeps into Florida this time of the year, just as surely as the ghouls and goblins of Halloween, except […]

6 ways to handle stress in college

Let’s face it: If you’re a college student, stress comes with the territory. According to the 2016 National College Health […]