The Zika Virus Essay Examples

The Zika Virus that seems to have originated in Brazil is a great example of an oncoming public health emergency. It is an impending pandemic, of which we have little idea how big the magnitude will be. We know that the virus is spreading throughout the northern half of South America, all of Latin America, and is now making its way into the Southern United States. Part of what makes this virus so evasive is the lack of symptoms shown in adults. The effect is detrimental, however, with the offspring of these mothers presenting with microcephaly, or a severely diminished brain size. This disease proves to be almost always fatal to the babies born, and the disease’s transmission seems to be through mosquitos according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO, 2016), at a much higher rate than other mosquito-borne illness, such as West Nile. Very soon, it will be vital that emergency departments are able to handle cases like this, especially in the premature and very problematic pregnancies and births.
The reason we have this information is because of rigorous surveillance reports and a tremendous public health response by the CDC, the WHO, and the PAHO. According to epidemiology reports generated by the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease is in its fourth week as a pandemic, and its spread has proven uncontrollable to date. The CDC and APHA confirm that the virus is indeed going to probably spread throughout the United States beginning in the Spring months of March and April, though the disease may not be fully realized until women who are newly pregnant come in for ultrasounds past the first trimester.
The WHO has been quick to suggest limited amounts of travel to infected areas in response to this ‘rapidly developing public health’ emergency, as mentioned by Varney and Hirston (2006), in light of the summer olympics being held in Brazil . The CDC has been slower to make recommendations, but is starting to, especially in regards to pregnant women traveling to areas that are known to be infected (CDC, 2016). This is because they still do not know important data such as the rate of infection, for example, how many people who are bitten by infected mosquitos will actually test positive for the virus. Because of how quickly this virus has spread, and because of the delayed effects of the virus, a death rate has also not been established for the babies who are impacted by the disease. Emergency rooms can expect to see mothers, especially those who cannot afford other physicians, and must be ready for this type of complication.References:
Pan American Health Organization. (2016). Epidemiological Update: Neurological Syndrome,
Congenital Anomilies and Zika Virus Infection. Retrieved from paho.org.
Peterson, E. Et al. (2016). Interim Guidelines for Pregnant Women During a Zika Virus
Outbreak — United States, 2016. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. retrieved
Varney and Hirston. (2006). Update on Public Health Surveillance in Emergency
Departments. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. retrieved from
emed.theclinics.com