On The Media-Zika Virus

This week's On The Media subject is all about the Zika Virus.

Every time I see news of some sort of virus coming to America, it seems as though it is a blown out-of-proportion frenzy by the media to "warn" us; just like Ebola. Once I saw that this was about yet another virus, I immediately stereotyped it, just like I'm sure others have. It's a taboo really; I know of zero people personally who had any sort of connection with Ebola, just as this is the first time I've even heard about the Zika Virus. For what it's worth, the on the media this week actually provided some thought-provoking information. Taken with a grain of salt, here are my thoughts:


I had to do a little more research on my own to see what the buzz was really about (a mosquito buzz, get it?). I came across several articles that had some general information on the virus. One in particular, that was somewhat rattling how recent it was, called "Model-based Projections of Zika Virus Infections in Childbearing Women in the Americas" caught my attention. The article states,


"On February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization designated the ongoing Zika virus epidemic in the Americas as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, defined as an 'extraordinary event' that 'potentially requires a coordinated international response" (Perkins et al, pg. 1).


Now, the World Health Organization is something I've actually heard of before. This article opened my eyes, honestly. This whole thing could be another taboo, however, the article's description of the epidemic are certainly note worthy. The article goes on to describe how the Aedes aegypti mosquitos carrying the virus are spreading quickly across the America's. The biologists did a calculation based on documented history of the Zika virus and the mosquitos to project what could possibly occur in the America's. They write,


"Our results are among the very first projections of the potential magnitude of the ongoing Zika epidemic in the Americas. In total, we project that 64.2 million people in the Americas could be infected during the first wave of the epidemic" (Perkins et al, pg. 2). They also predict Brazil will be at majority risk of infection for the reasons of the country's size, and "suitability for transmission". It is also predicted that island countries in the Caribbean, such as Cuba and Haiti, have the environmental conditions of a severe Zika outbreak as well. Another projection about childbearing women stated that 1.14 million childbearing women could be infected after the first wave (Perkins et al, pg. 3).


The article then went into it's methodology of this research, including data on fertility rates, sex-structure of women, and a Poisson distribution of random variable distribution (for the calculus nerds who know what that is).


I believe this is a legitimate case that will probably affect many people within certain regions. It is sad to think of the potential damages done to the families across Latin America and especially the Caribbean Islands. It also doesn't feel right ethically for me to say I think the United States will be alright. Because who the heck knows, really? Yes, the United States would likely be able to fight the virus with our advances in the medical field compared to those in South America. Yes, this is a potentially dangerous epidemic to those who it could possibly affect. It is selfish of me to think "I'll be alright, it probably won't affect me", but, sadly, it's a natural feeling for a privileged American male living in the state of Utah.

Perkins, A., Siraj, A., Ruktanonchai, C. W., Kraemer, M., & Tatem, A. (2016). Model-based Projections of Zika Virus Infections in Childbearing Women in the Americas. bioRxiv, 039610.