According to Epidemiologist Jussi Sane at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, the man who had fallen ill due to Zika virus after visiting the Maldives last June had not been severely infected and had been sent home after a quick treatment. However, this is the first Zika virus case related to the Maldives, Sane noted. Zika virus has been around for a long time in the African and Asian continents. However, it grabbed global attention when a number of babies in Brazil were born with abnormally small heads. Researchers are warning that the defect could lead to smaller brain sizes in such babies which could affect their mental health. The danger of Zika virus Whereas the Zika virus is not life threatening except in rare cases, its symptoms show in only one out of five infected people. Symptoms include Fever Conjunctivitis (red eyes) Headache Joint pain Rashes A cure has not been discovered yet for this mosquito-borne disease. Patients are usually advised to rest and consume lots of liquids. However, the major cause of worry is for infected pregnant women and the possibility that their growing infant may contract microcephaly. Microcephaly This is a congenital condition where infants are born with abnormally small heads. It is associated with incomplete growth of the brain, which could result in disabilities, dysfunction of other organs and may even prove fatal to health. The condition is also caused when pregnant women contract viruses such as Rubella. The number of people suffering from microcephaly in Brazil in the year 2014 were 150. However, the number has skyrocketed to over 4000 since last October. It has not been confirmed whether the condition is caused by Zika virus, though traces of the virus were found in the brains of some infants who died due to the disease. Precautions against Zika virus The best precaution against Zika, for which a cure is currently unknown, is to protect oneself from mosquitoes. Health officials advise using mosquito repellents, wearing long-sleeved clothes to cover as much skin as possible and keeping the doors and windows closed in houses. People are also urged to remove or destroy any places where stagnant water can collect to minimise mosquite population.