Zika Virus Research Paper

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Pages: 4
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Allison Grubbs
BIO 301
Writing Assignment 1

A Public Service Announcement: The Zika Virus

Recently, a virus has re-surfaced making major news headlines. The Zika virus is now a well-known disease that is affecting people from across the globe. It is of dire importance that our population is informed on this particular strain of disease. Specifically acknowledging what exactly the Zika virus is, what parts of our globe have been affected thus far, predicted risk factors and possible complications, and what we can do to ensure the prevention of this disease. The Zika virus is a zoonotic disease, primarily transmitted through the Aedes mosquito. This virus can also be transmitted from human to human by the exchange of bodily fluids through …show more content…
As a result, the Zika virus was detected in Uganda and the Republic of Tanzania in 1952(WHO, 2016). This vector borne virus has emerged in across parts of our globe including other regions of Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific islands (CDC, 2016). Recently, Brazil has issued a public health emergency as new cases of the Zika virus continue to surface. According a newly published report from the CDC, within the last year there has been a total of 503 cases reported in the U.S and 701 cases reported throughout U.S territories (“Areas With Zika”, CDC, …show more content…
Since the 2015 outbreak of Zika in Brazil, researchers have linked the virus to causing severe birth defects if the mother is infected during pregnancy. One major birth defect Zika is causing is microcephaly. Microcephaly is a condition where the infant’s brain develops abnormally, often times resulting in a under-developed skull structure. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, has published a statement referring to this study, “This study marks a turning point in the Zika outbreak. It is now clear that the virus causes microcephaly. We are also launching further studies to determine whether children who has microcephaly born to mothers infected by the Zika virus is the tip of the iceberg of what we could see in damaging effects on the brain and other developmental problems.”(“CDC Concludes Zika Causes Microcephaly and Other Birth Defects”, CDC, 2016). Another disease that is being studied in Brazil as a result of Zika is the increased cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system in an individual (CDC, 2016.) The CDC is continuing to investigate and gather further information about these
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