Zika Upd8: Are You Going to Get Infected?
by Abu Poblete
The Zika virus that has affected millions around the world is one of the biggest medical challenges our generation faces. A vaccine and cure are yet to be discovered, and its connection to microcephaly is still unknown, but we’re on the way. After learning what you should know about the virus, here’s how we’re doing so far.
8. 46 Countries Already Infected
The Zika virus can now be found in 46 countries, and the number of cases are increasing fast in the Americas and even in Japan and the Czech Republic.
In the US, 14 cases of the virus were allegedly transmitted through sexual intercourse. All 14 cases are from men who reportedly visited places where the virus was rampant before they infected their female partners. No cases of women infecting their partners have been reported.
7. The Monsanto Larvicide
The Monsanto Larvicide (also called Pyroproxyfen) is a chemical that was injected into Brazil’s water supply in 2014 to help stop the growing number of larvae found in drinking water tanks. Initially seen as a solution to the growing number of cases (Brazil is home to millions of people infected with Zika), the members of the Physicians in Crop-Sprayed Towns (PCST) claim that it is this chemical that causes microcephaly and not the Zika virus.
6. Zika May Get Worse Before it Gets Better, Says WHO
The Zika virus, which so far affects 46 countries and has a yet-unproven connection to microcephaly, is expected to become worse rather than getting better, says Director-General Margaret Chan of the World Health Organization. Chan also said that the virus will likely continue to spread, and will pose a “formidable” challenge whose solution will not be easy. Zika is a “mysterious” and “tricky virus [that’s] that’s full of uncertainties,” which is why Chan warns everyone to be prepared for surprises.
5. Microcephaly-Zika Research is Optimistic
More evidence of the connection between Zika virus and microcephaly have been found by Brazilian scientists who tested the amniotic fluid of pregnant women infected with the virus against the brains of fetuses with microcephaly. The tests showed that the two are indeed related. The scientists were able to identify “the full order of the virus’s genetic data, a significant step towards understanding how Zika behaves in the human body and how to develop a vaccine as well as new tests,” Agencia Brasil reported.
4. Zika and the 2016 Olympics
During the early stages of the spread of the Zika virus in South America, the Brazillian government promised that the Olympics, which will be held in August 2016, will be Zika-free. The government has been making strides in stopping the spread of the virus, with their researchers working extra hard with international groups, plans to zap mosquitoes with radiation, and their deployment of 220,000 troops to raise awareness.
Let’s just hope that the government can maintain the momentum, because a woman living two kilometers from the Olympic Park just contracted the virus.
3. The Sterile Insect Technique
While a lot of research and tests are aimed at those infected by the virus, some are focused on the primary transmitter of the virus: the Aedes Aegypti mosquito.
The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is a proposal by the International Atomic Energy Agency to zap millions of male Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes with gamma rays, which will sterilise them–a sort of birth control method but with radiation. The agency said that it is willing to pay to ship an irradiator device to Brazil once the Brazilian government permits them to.
2. Researchers Chasing Vaccine
Research groups have been spreading from Dallas, Utah, Wisconsin and Swansea, among others. Even our neighbors in China, India and Singapore have started their research in the hope of looking for the still-undiscovered vaccine.
1. Zika in the Philippines
Though it has yet to arrive in the Philippines, the Zika virus will indeed pose a serious problem in a country where the dengue virus is already rampant. In the past, dengue has driven the cities of Isabela, Cavite and Bulacan into a state of calamity. Since a tropical climate is the perfect breeding ground for Zika-infected mosquitoes, it would only take one infected person and one mosquito to spread the Zika virus. If that mosquito breeds, it will pose even a graver problem to the country.
The Department of Health has taken a precautionary step by advising all LGUs to conduct information drives on the transmission, signs and symptoms, complications, prevention and treatment of the virus to raise public awareness.
“We have sent the Zika virus advisory last week together with our dengue advisory to local government units. The regional office will initiate the printing of information materials for distribution to hospitals and rural health units,” said DOH regional information officer Ma. Elena Joy Villarosa.
Have you encountered the Zika virus or have any other tips for fellow Pinoys and travelers? Sound off in the comments below!
