We've all heard of the Zika virus, right? Zika virus was first discovered in Zika forest, Uganda in 1947 and first appeared in Brazil a year ago.
According to scientists the virus mainly circulates in the wild among monkeys and other animals in the forest, just like Ebola, which is mostly confined in animals like bats and monkeys.
Through human contact with wildlife, you get this cycle that moves from wild to human – the wild cycle - causing transmission.
Zika is transmitted by the Aedes eagypti mosquito, which bites people during the day.
Days ago, the Zika virus strain responsible for the outbreaks in Brazil was detected in Africa for the first time with more than 7,000 suspected cases of Zika in Cape Verde.
The World Health Organisation has expressed concern that the latest strain was spreading and was “on the doorstep of Africa."
In Brazil where the virus flourishes, a doctor noticed an increase in microcephaly - babies born with shrunken heads. Then he noticed that the peak in the number of such babies, coincided with the peak of Zika in that area.
The Aedes mosquito thrives in a warm environment and overcrowded areas, this means that if someone came with the virus to Kenya tomorrow and introduced it here, the possibility of an outbreak is very high.
But good news however, is that Kenyans may not catch the virus mainly because the blood of many people in this part of the world has been exposed to Zika before, and so they have the antibodies.
The theory is that we have an ongoing zika infection but it’s not virulent (doesn’t cause sickness) or is in small quantities and you don’t really get sick. You become immune to it.
Nobody has been found to have the virus in Kenya, but people have been found to have the antibodies. This is according to Dr Ahmed Kalebi, CEO of Lancet Laboratories East Africa and a consultant pathologist.
However, putting in mind that prevention is better than cure, WHO has advised people returning from areas where the Zika virus is found to follow safe sex practices or abstain from sex for at least eight weeks rather than just four.
“People should practise safer sex or abstain for at least eight weeks if they are returning from Zika-affected areas,” he said.
The recommendation, which doubles the abstinence period, WHO had previously advised, comes after scientists found the virus lingers longer than previously thought in blood or other body fluids, spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a news briefing.