Zika Outbreak In Brazil

My chosen topic of discussion for the rest of this semester’s analysis assignments is the outbreak of Zika virus. The virus is transmitted primarily through the bite of two different species of mosquito called Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus species (Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment, 2015.)

The current outbreak of Zika is mainly concentrated in Brazil but is also gradually spreading to nearby American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, according to the Centers for Disease Control (Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment, 2015.) For the purposes of the analytic assignments, however, the affected population in Brazil will be the area of main focus because of the fact that the recent outbreak started from that country. There have been reports of infected pregnant mothers giving birth to babies who suffer from microcephaly. Microcephaly is a condition which results in a baby developing a malformed head. The cranium is underdeveloped in utero and consequently results in a small head size after birth. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), microcephaly can result in seizures, loss of hearing, inability to attain developmental milestones such as sitting, talking and walking to mention but a few (Facts About Microcephaly, 2016.)

The outbreak of Zika is of particular interest to me due to the immediate and long-term health problems it poses to populations proximate to the source of the outbreak. An immediate problem posed by the spread of the virus is its potential to disrupt the Olympic games scheduled to take place in Brazil this year if steps are not taken to contain a possible spread among visitors to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The source of inspiration for the current choice of analytic topic was from this week’s WHO analysis of the role of the environment in disease propagation with particular interest in Malaria (Prüss-Üstün & Corvalán 2006). Zika and Malaria are both transmitted by the same vector – mosquito – although different species are responsible for each one. Being able to determine to what extent the malaria vector control methods apply to that of the Zika virus will be crucial in stemming the rapid spread of the virus.