Zika Virus Update: Virus may Cause Brain Issues in Adults, Too, Experts Say
The Zika virus may not just be a threat to pregnant women only after all. According to the latest report, Brazilian scientists have discovered that the virus may have its links to a second serious brain issue in adults, too.
After studying 151 patients who sought the help of a local hospital in Brazil after displaying symptoms similar to those that are caused by the virus, the scientists have discovered that it is possible for Zika to cause brain issue in adults, as well.
According to Maria Lucia Brito Ferreira, a doctor at Restoration Hospital in Recife, Brazil, two of the patients suffered from the swelling of their brain and part of the spinal cord that involved the coating around the nerve fibers. The diagnosis for the said patients were acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a disease that is similar to multiple sclerosis.
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However, Ferreira was circumspect in interpreting her discovery, stressing that most people whose nervous systems have been affected by Zika virus don't show brain symptoms and that the link between Zika and ADEM is yet to be established.
"However, our study may shed light on possible lingering effects the virus may be associated with in the brain," Ferreira said.
Meanwhile, ABC Chicago reported that there are now 10 cases of Zika virus in Illinois, and two of which are pregnant women. With this, scientists believe more and more that the virus afflicts Latin America and the Caribbean and continues to cause fetal brain defects, much more if the mother of a child becomes infected with virus during her pregnancy.
"Everything we look at with this virus seems to be a bit scarier than we initially thought," declared Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at a White House briefing.
Initially, Zika was not considered a big threat as it causes mild symptoms only in most people who have been infected with it. However, with reports coming from Brazil last year wherein those infected women gave birth to babies with small head, scientists started studying the virus further and discovered that the virus is to be taken seriously.
