12 Things You Should Know About "Shrunken Head Syndrome"
The experts say to be aware, not afraid.
The World Health Organization just declared a public health emergency over the Zika virus.
In the past weeks there have been countless headlines warning people of a new disease spreading to America, coupled with shocking images of its suspected victims: babies born with "shrunken heads." Pregnant women have been warned against traveling to affected countries, and the world has started to panic over the threat of a pandemic straight from a sci-fi film. But what is actually happening to these babies?
BuzzFeed Health spoke to two experts on pregnancy and public health, Alix Casler, M.D., pediatrician at Orlando Health Physicians Associates, and Robert Amler, M.D., professor of public health, pediatrics, and environmental health science at New York Medical College, to find out.
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First, some background: Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that's become an epidemic in Brazil and other parts of Central and South America.
Zika has been around since 1947, when it was found in Uganda. Up until 2015, outbreaks mostly occured in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) confirmed the first outbreak in Brazil, and outbreaks are now occurring in 22 other countries in Central and South America — and the CDC reports that 31 travel-acquired cases have been confirmed in the United States. It is estimated that 3 to 4 million people in the Americas could become infected with Zika in the next year.
The Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through infected mosquitos in tropical regions. "It's a mild infection — 80% of people have no symptoms but the 20% who do get a fever, rash, and joint pain for one week," Amler says. There is no vaccine, and the only treatment is rest and hydration. During the first week of infection, the Zika virus is detectable in the blood and it can passed from the infected person to a new mosquito — but after about one week, the virus is out of your system, Amler says.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) / Via cdc.gov
So why the emphasis on pregnant women? The Zika epidemic in Brazil coincides with a rise in reported cases of microcephaly, a birth defect some people call "shrunken head syndrome."
"There has been an alarmingly high number of children born with brain damage associated with microcephaly in Brazil," says Casler. And according to the CDC, in rare cases the Zika infection can be spread from mother to newborn during birth.
The CDC also reported that higher number of people than usual in Brazil have Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder that can lead to paralysis. However, the link between Zika and Guillain-Barré is only a potential connection and requires further investigation.
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Health officials suspect that there's a link between the Zika virus in pregnant women and microcephaly.
According to reports from the CDC, the increased reports of microcephaly from congenital infections in Zika virus–affected babies suggests a possible relationship, but additional studies are needed to confirm an association. "It's a circumstantial link because these two things are occurring at the same time — but it is not very clear whether the virus alone is causing the birth defect or not," Casler says. Besides, Zika has been around since the last century and has been infecting people, including pregnant women, for decades, says Casler. But pregnant women in affected regions do seem to be at high risk.
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