Zika virus, named for its East Africa point of origin, a Ugandan forest, was first identified in 1947 and did not appear in humans until 1952. Cases of the disease had been infrequent until an outbreak in Brazil in spring 2015. Since that time, the virus has infected at least 1 million people in more than 30 countries, including the United States.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the disease is “spreading explosively” in the Americas and could infect as many as 4 million people by the end of 2016. Based on this estimate, WHO declared a public health emergency Feb. 1.
The Zika virus is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. Its most common symptoms – fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis – generally are mild and last from a few days to a week. Only one in five people infected with the virus develop symptoms, and those who do usually don’t get sick enough to require hospitalization.
But of much greater concern is the link between Zika virus and microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by an irregularly small head. Researchers also believe there may be a link between Zika and subsequent cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome.
America’s Essential Hospitals has established this resource page for its member hospitals and others with an interest in this emerging health crisis. Essential hospitals provide a significant volume of public health and emergency preparedness services and stand ready to support the nation’s response to Zika. Visit this page regularly for new and updated information.
General information:
- CDC Is Deactivating the Emergency Operations Center for the Zika Response
- CDC Zika Virus Site
- HHS Zika 101 Blog
- Interim Guidelines for Prevention of Sexual Transmission of Zika Virus — United States, 2016
- Overview infographic from the Kaiser Family Foundation
- Zika Fact Sheets and Posters from the CDC
- Zika Video Resources from the CDC
- Zika Virus Infographics from the CDC
Clinician specific:
- CDC Interim Guidance for Health Care Providers Caring for Pregnant Women with Possible Zika Virus Exposure – July, 2017
- HHS sponsors new Zika diagnostic test, boosting national testing capacity
- CDC continues to build US laboratory capacity to rapidly detect Zika virus infection
- CDC issues summary of key Zika considerations for health care settings
- CDC Emergency Preparedness and Response: Zika Virus – What Clinicians Need to Know presentation with slides, webcast and audio transcript – 1/26/2016
- Clinical Evaluation and Disease
- Diagnostic Testing
- U.S. CDC Pregnancy Registry
- Interim Guidance for Protecting Workers from Occupational Exposure to Zika Virus
Infant related:
- Facts about Microcephaly
- Interim Guidelines for the Evaluation and Testing of Infants with Possible Congenital Zika Virus Infection – United States, 2016
- Q&As for Pediatric Healthcare Workers
Pregnancy related:
- Interim Guidelines for Pregnant Women During a Zika Virus Outbreak – United States, 2016
- Q&As for Obstetrical Healthcare Providers
- Q&As for pregnant women
- Update: Interim Guidelines for Health Care Providers Caring for Pregnant Women and Women of Reproductive Age with Possible Zika Virus Exposure – United States, 2016
- Zika and Pregnancy
- Prevention of sexual transmission of Zika virus
Travel recommendations:
