“If there was ever a good time to start worrying about Zika in the US, now would definitely be that time” …If that doesn’t sound concerning I’m not sure what does.

The media tends to instill a lot of fear in the public about a lot of different topics, especially diseases. Lately, the Zika virus has been making headlines about how much it has been spreading. This article is one of many that proclaims a message of fear to the public about Zika. With just the title and even limited sources, it sends out a message to the reader that this should be a top priority in the common Americans’ life.

The first thing I noticed of this article was obviously, the title. “If there was ever a good time to start worrying about Zika in the US, now would definitely be that time,” is definitely kind of a threatening title. Just reading it makes you feel uninformed and scared. Once you read the rest of the article, you realize that this title probably wasn’t the most fitting. Also, the sources of the article are pretty limited. Not only is the first person to talk Tom Friedan, the head of the Zika Action Plan Summit, but that is where a lot of the information is coming from. The other sources include the CDC and the New York Times but, the only interview is with Tom Friedan. This makes it difficult to not be fearful when the only information you are receiving is from those who feel especially threatened by the Zika virus. Lastly, the article is not particularly long. This always has the potential to show a one sided argument because there isn’t much sustenance to the article. There is no information on how many Americans have contracted this and is purposely not clear if you can still have issues with your baby if you had the virus at a previous time. This uncertainty automatically can threaten a reader.

The reality of the issue is that it is effecting predominately central and South America. The image shown is of people fumigating a building, but in El Salvador. It’s not much of an issue here. Only 20% of people with the Zika virus show symptoms and those are just symptoms of a common cold. It is an issue with pregnant women and they should be careful but the common American truly does not have much to fear.

In the long run, hopefully this issue will die down and somehow be contained. The issue with this article and many others is it almost uninforms the public more. It instills more fear and confusion when people are not given the facts. It is understandable that those working to prevent it need to scare people a little into helping the cause but it isn’t fair to leave people with this idea that Zika is the same as something like Ebola. Of course, we are faced with a lot of issues involving Zika that need serious attention but it needs to be dealt with in a different way.