An insidious infectious disease has captured world attention and generated fear in the hearts of all pregnant women. Unless you have been living on Mars with no communication to planet earth, the word “Zika” immediately comes to mind. Unfortunately, it is most likely only a matter of time before this disease presents to your OB unit. So how does one treat a patient with active Zika infection?
To understand treatment, one must understand the pathogenesis of the virus. Zika is a member of the flavivirus genus of viruses. This genus includes West Nile virus, dengue virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, Zika virus and several other viruses that may cause encephalitis.1 Flaviviruses are named from the yellow fever virus. Flavus means yellow in Latin (remember ligamentum flavum?). Typical of flavivirus, Zika is a single-stranded RNA virus transmitted by vectors, specifically in this case the Aedes species of mosquitos...