The Zika Virus

      The Zika virus has risen from a common virus to a world wide epidemic. The virus is now effecting women and children in the Brazilian culture. The virus was thought to have started fifty years ago in Africa, where it was then spread to Southeast Asia. It has now spread to South and Central America, where the epidemic has broken out in Brazil and Columbia.

      The Zika virus is typically transmitted by Aedes mosquitos, where one in five people infected will become ill. The illness is usually mild, lasting for several days to a week, with common

Aedes Mosquito

symptoms of a fever, rash, joint pain, muscle pain, headaches, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). In my opinion, these symptoms sound like a common cold and flu. So, how is the Zika virus considered an epidemic?  

      The epidemic was declared an international health emergency by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) in 2016, when new born babies in Brazil were born with Microcephaly. Pregnant women with the Zika virus cause Microcephaly within newborns. Scientists believe the virus can also be sexually transmitted according to Brazilian health officials, who discovered traces of the active virus in saliva and urine. W.H.O. says, "As many as four million people could be infected by the end of the year." According to the World Health Organization, Brazil saw on average, 163 cases of Microcephaly annually over the past five years prior to the Zika outbreak. After the Zika outbreak, public health officials in Brazil investigated more than 4,000 cases of suspected Microcephaly, and have confirmed more than 400 cases so far. Microcephaly is a birth defect where a baby's head is smaller than expected. Infants that are diagnosed with the condition often have smaller brains, and often suffer health problems such as: seizures, developmental delays, disability problems with movement and balance, as well as hearing and vision loss. In infants with severe cases, their lifespan can be months to as long as ten years.

     
      As of right now, there are no cures, or medications to prevent the Zika virus for at least a couple of years, Zika virus cure debate. Officials at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention have urged pregnant women not to travel to about two dozen countries- mostly in the Caribbean and Latin American countries where the outbreak is growing- until they have found a vaccination for the virus. Hopefully, this epidemic will not affect the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.









Sources:
Daily Mail: Birth defects linked to Zika virus are 'more severe than simple microcephaly', expert warns
Area's with the Zika virus
The New York Times