What's the link between Zika virus and hearing loss?

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What's the link between Zika virus and hearing
loss? Posted April 14th, 2016
Updated - originally published March 23,
2016 Brazil first notified the World Health
Organization (WHO) of samples testing positive
for the Zika virus in April, 2015.
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Fast forward to 2016 and the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has
confirmed the link between babies being born with
microcephaly and the Zika virus, which their
mothers contracted primarily from Aedes
mosquitoes.
Urged to limit travel When the news of Zika
began to spread globally, people were being
advised to limit or avoid travel to Brazil,
particularly if they were pregnant. The Brazilian
government was urging its population to avoid or
delay getting pregnant in an effort to curb the
number of children being born with
microcephaly. By February 1, 2016, the WHO
declared Zika virus and the instance of
microcephaly in babies a public health emergency
of international concern.
The evidence is in Now the CDC says the evidence
is in and is enough to say with certainty that
Zika causes the birth defects doctors have been
seeing in babies, mainly in Brazil. The CDC's
Director, Dr. Tom Frieden now says, "there is no
longer any doubt that Zika causes microcephaly."
Dr. Frieden also says that Zika contributes to
other serious defects including the build-up of
calcium in the brain.
Zika virus link to hearing loss Hearing loss
has long been cited as one of the many conditions
that affects children born with microcephaly,
which is most notably characterized by a smaller
than normal head. Delayed development and vision
problems are among the medical issues facing
infants with microcephaly, which range from mild
to severe.
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According to Dr. Viviane Boaventura, a Brazilian
Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, 10 of her patients
with the Zika virus had been exhibiting symptoms
like vertigo, dizziness, tinnitus and hearing
loss. Up to two months after contracting the
virus, her patients were still experiencing
measurable and significant hearing loss, as well
as light-headedness. Currently, the Zika virus
has no cure or vaccine. No one knows if
contracting Zika will have any long-term impact
on the health of the people who contract it.
Recent study on Zika and microcephaly Recently,
a retrospective study published in The Lancet
looked at babies born with microcephaly around
the time of a Zika virus outbreak in French
Polynesia from October, 2013 to April,
2014. Sixty-six percent of the population
contracted Zika. Eight cases of microcephaly
were identified. The study also found that there
appeared to be a higher risk of microcephaly
during a Zika-infected womans first
trimester. The study points to a possible 1
risk of brain defects in babies. Thats a number
that could pose a serious threat in a large
population. French Polynesias population is
just over 276,000.
Research continues At the University of Glasgow
researchers are working on developing a rapid
test for the Zika virus. Recent findings show
that babies with microcephaly from Zika infected
mothers have traces of the virus in their brain
tissue, spinal fluid and amniotic fluid. These
findings helped confirm the link between Zika and
microcephaly in infants.
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The US Senate recently approved a bill to speed
up the development of a cure for the
mosquito-borne illness. Drug companies are
scrambling to find a vaccine for the virus that
scientists isolated in 1947 in Uganda. Only time
and research will tell whether there are any
long-term health effects of the Zika virus for
those who contract it, what they are and if they
include long-term hearing loss problems?