Zika virus ihutachiona hwemhando yeflavivirus, mhuri yemavhairasi inosanganisira dengue, yellow fever, mavhairasi eWest Nile, nezvimwe. Aya mavhairasi anonzi zvakare arboviruses (kupfupisa kwe arthropod-borne utachiwanaes), nekuti vane hunhu hwekutapurirwa neArthropods, tupukanana tunosveta ropa seumhutu.

            Chirwere cheZika chakaonekwa kare muna 1947 muUganda muRhesus monkey, zvino muvanhu muna 1952 muUganda neTanzania. Kusvika parizvino, nyaya dzechirwere cheZika virus dzakanyanya kucherechedzwa muSouth America, asi kubuda kwedenda kwakatoonekwa muAfrica, America, Asia nePacific.

            Denda riripo rakatanga muBrazil, iyo nyika iri kunyanya kubatwa nechirwere ichi, uye rapararira kunzvimbo zhinji dzeSouth America neCaribbean, kusanganisira French Antilles neGuyana. Epidemiological data pamusoro pehukuru hwedenda hunochinja nekukurumidza, uye vanogara vachigadziridzwa panzvimbo dzeWHO kana INVS. Munyika yeFrance, vanhu vanosvika makumi maviri vakabatwa nehutachiona hweZika vakasimbiswa muvafambi vanodzoka kubva kunzvimbo dzine hutachiona.

Ndezvipi zvikonzero zvechirwere, nzira yekutapurirwa kwehutachiona hweZika?

            Chirwere cheZika chinopararira kuvanhu kuburikidza nekurumwa neumhutu hwemhando Aedes iyo inogona zvakare kutapurira dengue, chikungunya uye yellow fever. Umhutu hwemhuri mbiri Aedes vanokwanisa kutapurira Zika virus, Aedes aegypti munzvimbo dzinopisa kana dzinopisa, uye Aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito) munzvimbo dzine mwero.

            Umhutu (hukadzi chete hunoruma) hunozvisvibisa nokuruma munhu anenge atotapukirwa uye nokudaro hunogona kutapurira utachiona nokuruma mumwe munhu. Kamwe mumuviri, hutachiona hunowedzera uye hunoramba huripo kwemazuva matatu kusvika gumi. Munhu ane utachiona hweZika haatapukire kune mumwe munhu (kunze kwekuti zvichida kuburikidza nepabonde), kune rumwe rutivi vanogona kutapurira imwe mosquito yakadaro. Aedes kana yarumwa zvakare.

            Nekuda kwekudyidzana kwenyika dzekutakura, mosquito yerudzi rweAedes inogona kutakurwa nekusaziva kubva kune imwe nzvimbo kuenda kune imwe. Denda iri riri kupararira nekukurumidza mumaguta, nekudaro njodzi yehosha huru mumaguta makuru uko mamiriro ezvinhu anobvumira umhutu kurarama. Munyika huru yeFrance, nyaya dzakaratidza vanhu vane hanya vanodzoka kubva kunzvimbo dzedenda, asi njodzi yekutapukirwa neumhutu nekuruma vanhu vane hutachiona haigone kubviswa.

            Kunyanya, kutapurirana kunogona kuitika kuburikidza nebonde, nyaya ichangoburwa muUSA yakasimbisa fungidziro yakasimudzwa nezvakaonekwa zviviri zvakapfuura. Izvo hazvisati zvazivikanwa kuti hutachiona hunogona kuramba huchienderera mumurume wevarume vane hutachiwana mushure mekunge vapora, uye kwenguva yakareba sei.