The Zika Virus

PowerPoint Show by Andrew

Alerts are being issued warning of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, carrier of the Zika virus which might cause microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition that causes the immune system to attack one’s own nerves.

The condition results in an abnormally small head in newborns and is associated with various disorders including decreased brain development. Zika has now spread to every country in the Americas, except Chile and Canada—with at least a dozen cases in the United States confirmed by the CDC.

Dr. Angela Rocha, pediatric infectologist at Oswaldo Cruz Hospital, examines Ludmilla Hadassa Dias de Vasconcelos (two months old), who has microcephaly, on January 26, 2016 in Recife, Brazil.

A health worker shows larvae of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes found inside a warehouse during an operation to combat the mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, on January 26, 2016.

The forearm of a public health technician, covered with sterile female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Guatemala City, on January 26, 2016.

A specialist fumigates the Nueva Esperanza graveyard in the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on on January 15, 2016.

In this December 23, 2015 photo, Solange Ferreira bathes her son Jose Wesley in a bucket at their house in Poco Fundo, Pernambuco state, Brazil.

A worker uses a forklift to store abandoned tires, to remove potential breeding spots for mosquitoes transmitting Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases, at a temporary collection center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on January 27, 2016.

Department of Health drives fumigating a neighborhood to prevent the spread of Zika virus in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on January 27, 2016.

Matheus Lima, 22, and Kleisse Marcelina, 24, tend to their two-month-old son Pietro suffering from microcephaly, at the Obras Sociais Irma Dulce hospital in Salvador, Brazil, on January 27, 2016.

Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae sit in a petri dish at the Fiocruz Institute in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, on January 27, 2016.

In this January 18, 2016, photo, a female Aedes aegypti mosquito acquires a blood meal on the arm of a researcher at the Biomedical Sciences Institute in the Sao Paulo's University in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Pregnant woman Angelica Prato, infected by the Zika virus, is attended at the Erasmo Meoz University Hospital in Cucuta, Colombia, on January 25, 2016.

A patient suffering from the Guillain-Barre neurological syndrome recovers in the Rosales National Hospital in San Salvador on January 27, 2016.

Gleyse Kelly da Silva, 27, holds her daughter, who was born with microcephaly, in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, on January 27, 2016.

Municipal workers sprays insecticide in the Imbiribeira neighborhood in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, on January 26, 2016.

Carmen Chicas Mejia, 82, while city workers fumigate her home in the San Judas Community in San Salvador, El Salvador, on January 26, 2016.

Dejailson Arruda holds his daughter Luiza at their house in Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, Pernambuco, Brazil, on December 23, 2015.

A health worker stands in the Sambadrome as he sprays insecticide in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 26, 2016.

Jessica holds her son Icaro Luis, born with microcephaly, as they wait, at Obras Socias Irma Dulce hospital in Salvador, Brazil, on January 28, 2016.

Felipe holds the head of his daughter Maria Geovana, who has microcephaly, at his house in Recife, Brazil, Jan. 25.

A pregnant woman stands at her house in Beco do Sururu, near Boa Viagem, the richest neighborhood of the city of Recife, Brazil, Jan. 22.

A Guillain-Barre syndrome patient recovers in the neurology ward at the Rosales National Hospital in San Salvador, El Salvador, Jan. 27.

Geovane Silva holds his son, Gustavo Henrique, who has microcephaly, at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in Recife, Brazil, Jan. 26.

A doctor performs a routine general check up for a pregnant woman, at the maternity ward of the Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Jan. 27.

Mylene Helena Ferreira holds her son David Henrique Ferreira, 5 months, who has microcephaly, on Jan. 25, in Recife, Brazil.

Physical therapist Isana Santana treats Ruan Hentique dos Santos, suffering from microcephalia caught through an Aedes Aegypti mosquito bite, at Obras Socias Irma Dulce hospital in Salvador, Brazil on Jan. 28.

Nadja Cristina Gomes Bezerra sorts through the various medications she needs to buy for her 3-month-old daughter, who has microcephaly, on Jan. 27 in Recife, Brazil.