At the beginning of this month, the CDC verified that a resident of Harrisonburg had contracted the Zika virus while on a trip to Guatemala.

Dr. Stephen Rodgers, the medical director at the JMU University Health Center, said that although there’s only one case of confirmed Zika in Harrisonburg and about 50 throughout the U.S., there has yet to be a case where the virus originated in the country. 

Dr. Parag Patel, an infectious disease specialist at Sentara RMH Medical Center, said that, because Zika is spread by the mosquito, it has a minimal chance of spreading locally in the U.S.   

“We are not expecting an outbreak,” Patel said. 

Heather Baker is the 41-year-old resident of Harrisonburg who contracted the Zika virus while she was on a mission trip to Guatemala in November. 

“I returned home on the 29th of November and by the 2nd of December I was presenting with symptoms,” Baker said.

Baker originally thought she had a virus called Chikungunya, which has many symptoms in common with the Zika virus. 

“I went to a local urgent care facility and was tested and that came back negative,” Baker said. “And at the point that the test was returned I was in contact with the people in Guatemala and they said that the virus was present there.” 

Baker said that she endured a month of Zika symptoms before she was finally advised to go to the Rockingham Harrisonburg Health Department. 

Jason Good, the director of study abroad at JMU, said some countries are taking preventive measures to decrease the number of mosquito bites and the spread of Zika. 

“I think El Salvador had the most recommendations about that,” Good said.

The Zika virus is transmitted through mosquitos to humans and other primates. The spread of this virus began in May 2015 and is mainly found in Central and South America and Africa. 

According to Rodgers, the Zika virus originated in monkeys in 1947. 

“Most people have symptoms for a week or 10 days, then usually they do fine,” Patel said. 

Rodgers said that the most common of the Zika symptoms include fever, red eyes or conjunctivitis, a non-distinct rash and joint pain. Rodgers also said that 80 percent of people who get the virus don’t know they have it because they don’t have symptoms. 

Despite what many doctors are saying, Baker said that some of her symptoms have lasted much longer and are still ongoing. 

“The majority of the symptoms were just a couple of weeks,” Baker said. “For right now, almost three months later I am still dealing with fatigue, joint pain and headaches.”

Despite Baker’s individual reaction to Zika, Good believes that there’s not a major risk for students studying abroad because the symptoms of Zika are mild and the risk for adults is very low. The study abroad office is not canceling any programs at this time. 

“There is a risk of contracting the disease of course, as any other disease when you travel, but we would discourage anyone who was pregnant or planning to get pregnant on the trip to attend,” Good said. “But we don’t feel that any students fit that criteria. But we are educating all groups who are going on the trip.”

The Student Health Center at JMU offers information and vaccinations for students going abroad. 

“We have a specialized time of the week; it’s not every week, but we have the travel clinic,” Rodgers said. 

Students can make an appointment for the travel clinic through the University Health Center’s website. They then answer questions about where they will be traveling.

The doctor or physician’s assistant will look at where the student is going and inform them on what vaccines they need or what preventative medicines they should take beforehand, Rodgers said. The office will also give students going to Latin America, the Caribbean or other mosquito hot zones information about how to avoid mosquito bites. 

“Unfortunately this species of mosquito [that carries Zika] is day and night,” Rodgers said. “It is not our American view of a mosquito that comes out at dusk. There is a long list of recommendations of wearing long sleeves, of using insect repellents, sleeping with screens or if possible in air conditioning or where everything is closed up.”

Although students do need to pay for their own vaccines, they are at a reduced cost. 

“So what we have to pay for it is what we transfer to students,” Rodgers said. “Most things are double if you went to the medical market, if you went to your private doctor. And most preventative things are not covered in insurance.”

The JMU study abroad offices feels it is equipped to handle the spread of Zika. 

“We had an Ebola breakout in Western Africa two years ago, we have malaria concerns, we have dengue fever, we have yellow fever,” Good said. “But because of the lack of severity of the symptoms, Zika  has not been a major concern.”

Good said that trips wouldn’t be canceled unless more information came to light that stated that Zika stayed in the host body for a longer period of time than is seen now, which is about a week.

“I don’t want to diminish the concern,” Good said. “It is an old virus but it is a relatively new rapid increase in the number of cases. It is now just being studied more.”

Baker is struggling to find someone who knows more about Zika. She feels that because it is taking place in developing countries, there is not as much reliable research as there would be if the epicenter of the problem was in the U.S.

“I am on this quest to connect with someone somewhere who has studied it and knows something about it but I’m realizing that may never happen,” Baker said.

According to Patel, the CDC is working to do more research on the virus; specifically on its connection to microcephaly and Guillain-Barré, an autoimmune disease. 

Baker said that once she receives the green light from her doctors, she will continue going to South America on mission trips, despite having contracted the Zika virus. This, however, could take a while because so much is still unknown about the virus.

According to Rodgers, the JMU Pandemic Task Force will meet on Friday to discuss the Zika virus impact. This task force includes heads of all the departments on campus and started after the massive H1N1 influenza outbreak in 2009. The task force works with JMU and the Harrisonburg community. 

“We have relationships with the community and the emergency and disaster planning so we can help the community and the community can help us,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers said that, because there is no preventative vaccine for Zika, the most important thing is to avoid being bitten by a mosquito.

Baker believes that being educated about the virus will help keep people safe.

“I just want to raise awareness,” Baker said. “My message is be wise and use caution.”

Contact Makena Rafferty-Lewis at [email protected].