The Zika Olympics

How Dangerous is the Zika Virus?

Published in

Homeland Security

5 min readFeb 21, 2016

Over the past few weeks there has been growing concern expressed by the medical community concerning the rapidly spreading Zika virus on a global scale. Equally important to the Zika virus’ rapid rate of transmission is the mounting suspicion the virus may be directly linked to a surge in neurological disorders and the specific birth defect known as mircocephaly. Based on the known evidence to date, the World Health Organization was led to declare the Zika virus as a public health emergency.

The Zika virus has garnished the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO) because, according to the WHO, there is a legitimate concern to pregnant women from contracting Zika, a pandemic virus. Much like Dengue Fever or Chikungunya, the Zika virus uses the Aedes mosquito as a vector for spreading infection. The virus is causing a public health concern because there may be an association with fetal abnormalities causing pregnant women a higher risk for their unborn child being born with a condition called microcephaly, a rare congenital neurological condition that has no cure.

Mircocephaly is a neurological disorder where infants are born with abnormally small heads and incomplete brain development. This condition can lead to children who experience motor and learning delays or may be wheel-chair bound and be “neurologically devastated,” according to Dr. Leonard Krilov, chief of pediatric infectious disease at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, NY.

Medical officials have stated the Zika virus alone is not considered a serious illness in most people. Very similar to the transmission of the West Nile virus, Zika is also transmitted by mosquito and is not currently spread from person to person contact. The Zika virus presents as a rash, joint pain, low fever, headache, or pink eye. Pregnant women and their babies represent to highest risk for infection.

The Zika virus, which first appeared in the Western Hemisphere in May of 2015, has now spread to 25 countries and territories. Until recently, the confirmed cases have been found in travelers who were returning Central American countries as well as Puerto Rico. However, it is now confirmed that the Zika virus is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). A declaration of emergency of this nature is a designed effort by the WHO to bring to the light the seriousness of the virus and to open the door additional funding, focused attention on the Zika virus issue, and to prompt a coordinated global response.

Jeremy Farrar, head of the Welcome Trust warns, “In many ways the Zika outbreak is worse than the Ebola epidemic of 2014–15. Most virus carriers are symptomless. It is a silent infection in a group of highly vulnerable individuals — pregnant women — that is associated with a horrible outcome for their babies.”[1]

At least 80% of those infected show no symptoms, so tracking the Zika disease is extremely difficult. There is an increased concern that when people travel to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 summer Olympics there will be an increase in sexual relations — leading to an increase pregnancy rate. The concern is not just for the spectators. During the Sochi games more than 100,000 condoms were circulated to athletes, trainers and coaches. At the London games, more than 150,000 condoms were distributed. Olympic village has been called the raunchy sex den with athletes reporting high levels of sexual activity, adding it’s a fairytale place where everything is possible.

This reaction and subsequent process initiated by the WHO is similar in its approach to the Ebola virus. What is unique is the fact pregnant women remain the most susceptible and the concept that Zika by itself is not deadly. This is a stark contrast to the mortality rate associated with Ebola, yet the WHO has elected to employ the same approach. Zika is similar to its cousin the West Nile virus and utilizes the same mosquito born delivery system for transmission. Oddly, West Nile actually impacts both the very old and the very young and those with compromised immune system and respiratory systems. To date, the West Nile virus has failed to generate an emergency declaration by the WHO and has been prevalent for years.

Dr. Thomas Russo has indicated “it may take months for researchers to know for sure whether Zika causes mircocephaly in infants or a rare neurological syndrome in a small number of healthy adults.” He acknowledges for now, the average American doesn’t need to worry that much about the Zika virus. If this is truly the case, it appears the public is receiving mixed messages concerning Zika. If the declaration was to identify funding and to raise global awareness and coordination, it begs the question whether this decision was made too quickly given that no clinical connection has yet to be made between the medical mircocephaly anomalies and the Zika virus. Only time will tell.

Additional details can be found in the following article link:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/02/01/who-health-emergen...

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/30/zika-virus-health-fears accessed January 29, 2016.