The Zika virus is here — so here’s what you need to know

The world is in panic over the mosquito-borne Zika virus — and with Major League Baseball canceling games in Puerto Rico and Brazilian authorities launching an app to help detect the disease during the Olympic games in Rio — many New Yorkers are wondering if we’re in danger here.

Short answer: We are. Here’s why:

How can New Yorkers be in danger?

Travelers who get infected abroad can transmit the virus to unsuspecting mosquitoes, which then bite other people and spread the disease. The virus stays in a person’s blood for about a week. Men infected with Zika can spread the disease to partners through sex. It’s unknown if a woman can give the virus to her sexual partners, federal health authorities say.

Has any mosquito or person tested positive for Zika in NYC?

Yes! Sixty-two New Yorkers have been diagnosed as of May 4, according to the city Department of Health. All of them got the virus abroad. Six were pregnant when infected.

OK, so what should we do?

Men with Zika symptoms should use a condom or not have sex for at least six months, experts advise. Men without symptoms should nonetheless put off sex or use a condom for at least two months.

Women who have Zika symptoms and want to get pregnant should wait at least two months after symptoms go away before trying to conceive. Women who don’t have symptoms should wait the same amount of time after last possible exposure to the virus.

I hear that pregnant women who get Zika end up with a baby with birth defects. What’s the truth?

The virus can give your baby microcephaly -- an underdeveloped brain, a lifetime problem. There is no treatment.

Federal health authorities don’t know how likely a pregnant woman who gets the virus will get Zika symptoms or how likely she’ll pass the virus to her fetus. They also don’t know how likely the virus will cause the baby to have birth defects or if there’s a safe period during pregnancy.

A pregnant woman who has Zika symptoms should get tested for the virus. A woman who tests positive should have regular ultrasounds to check the baby’s growth.

Aren’t there some basic things I can do beyond abstinence or condoms?

In general, people should wear insect repellent, long-sleeve shirts and long pants, Zika expert Peter Armsbruster said. They should remove standing water from wherever it is collecting because that’s where mosquitoes breed.

Chemical pesticides also kill mosquitoes — but are also dangerous to human health.

 

Wait a second — if I get Zika, what’s the worst thing that can happen?

Well, you could die, but that’s very rare. A man in Puerto Rico died of internal bleeding caused by the virus, the New York Times reported. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/health/zika-virus-first-death-in-us-puerto-rico.html?_r=0 a , but most people who get Zika won’t have symptoms. And if they do, it’s similar to the flu — rash, fever, headache and joint pain. The symptoms come two to seven days after the bite and last for two days or a week, international health officials say.