Testing For Zika Is Done Differently For Pregnant Women Now
When it comes to determining how severely the Zika virus has affected certain individuals, there is much that researchers cannot ascertain. Since Zika experiments began, researchers have slowly learned that Zika is not an easy virus to study. This virus affects every individual in a sometimes dramatically different way. Since researchers cannot seem to learn anything conclusive regarding the virus, many pregnant women are struggling to find out if it is likely that their babies will have birth defects. As much as researchers are trying, they cannot assure each individual pregnant woman that her baby will be free of birth defects.
The Centers for Disease Control and prevention is recommending that all women who are thinking of becoming pregnant, or are pregnant, should have their blood tested in order to find out if there are Zika antibodies in the mothers blood. Women living in areas that are at high risk for infection, or women who travel a lot are especially encouraged to have their blood tested. This information could also be used as scientific data.
The CDC has also recommended that even pregnant women who are not showing any of the usual symptoms should get tested as soon as possible, and then tested again with a different instrument later on. It has recently been learned that having the Zika virus causes a particular antibody to skyrocket in the victim. Antibodies that form as a result of dengue fever infection stay in the victim’s blood for six months, but Zika can stay in the blood for more than a year. Having a high antibody count does not necessarily mean a person is Zika infected. A couple of years ago, when Zika first appeared on the scene, most doctors took these antibodies to indicate a recent infection. Now, however, the Zika virus has moved around so much during the last two years that many people may have a high antibody account but no virus.
Would you be alarmed with if your antibody count was high?