Zika virus, the scariest thing in America since Ebola.
Or is it? The population’s response to Ebola seemed much more serious than it is to Zika. Perhaps it’s due to the lack of similar media attention or the absence of rampant fatalities. Either way, Zika is much more serious from a public health perspective, due to its mosquito vector, its association with Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly.
More importantly, however, the summer Olympics will be hosted in Rio de Janeiro, close to the epicenter of the developing pandemic. With these considerations in mind, canceling, delaying or at least moving the Olympics seems like a prudent course of action. Provided, of course, the Brazilian government and the Olympic committee can stomach the loss in revenue in trade for the people they’ll be helping.
First, let’s learn some basics. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Zika virus is “a flavivirus related to Yellow fever, Dengue, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis viruses” and spread primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, more commonly known as the Yellow Fever mosquito. While symptoms for the disease itself are mild compared to those of Ebola, with most infections being asymptomatic or with “fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes),” the after-effects of Zika are much more potentially debilitating and devastating.
There have been significant links between Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder in which the body, due to the presence of a disease, goes into overdrive and attacks itself, primarily neural connections throughout the body. It can “[leave] patients unable to move, in extreme cases forcing them to depend on life support. While most patients eventually regain full movement, the condition can be fatal.” Guillain-Barré, usually a rare condition, has been theorized to occur in two out of every 10,000 infected with Zika virus. However, considering the populations of effected areas, this could quickly become a major public health problem on its own.
There have also been links to microcephaly. Microcephaly is a condition in which the fetal skull becomes malformed and shrunken. This can lead to “epilepsy, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, hearing loss and vision problems;” however, some children with microcephaly grow up totally normal. Regardless, the spread of a virus from the mother to the fetus is a serious concern, particularly when it can cause lifelong health problems for the child.
The symptoms and after-effects aren’t the only concern with Zika. Its spread across the world and the region are also of great worry. Zika originated in Africa and has been in Southeast Asia for a quite some time as well, but the first significant spread of Zika occurred in 2007, when a South East Asian strain of it began “leap-frogging the South Pacific.” The current outbreaks in South America originate from this strain. This virus has spread so easily due to its primary vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
A vector is “any agent (person or animal or microorganism)” capable of transmitting disease. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the primary vector for Zika, which is concerning as the Aedes aegypti mosquito’s range is extensive. Nearly two thirds of South America, Central America and the Caribbean are in its range. The southeastern United States is also blanketed along the coasts by it, making its spread stateside not a question of if, but when.
One must also take into account the Olympics this year. The sheer amount of athletes alone traveling to the Olympics is an estimated 10,500 people. If the estimates of visitors from the London Olympics stay true in Rio, another 800,000 visitors will follow. Not only could these people catch Zika, but they could possibly spread it on their return to areas within the range of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which inhabits much of the equatorial area of the globe. This could potentially bring this Southeast Asian strain of the virus into novel populations.
So the question remains, why aren’t we more concerned? Sure there are ways to fight its spread, from insecticide, to genetically modified mosquitoes, but mosquitoes are one of the most tenacious vectors of disease on the planet, even in the developed world. Take, for example, the spread of West Nile Virus in the United States. West Nile arrived in the United States in Queens, New York, in 1999. Since then, it has spread to nearly every state in the country, resulting in over 40,000 cases and over 1,700 deaths between 1999 and 2014. This was in spite of the widespread campaigns to limit the virus’s spread via vector control. Zika, while not nearly as deadly, still poses a very serious concern, not just for us, but for the developing world, which already lacks the resources to fight against many of its endemic diseases as is.
Perhaps it’s the lack of serious media coverage or the less flashy style of the virus that leaves us relatively unconcerned. When the Ebola outbreak in West Africa became serious, people went so far as to suggest blocking transit of people returning from West Africa, or at least quarantine.
Pundits went on and on about Ebola, despite the serious improbability of its spread in the United States. People neglected to consider that Ebola’s spread is irreversibly linked to hygiene, personal protection during treatment of a patient and proper disposal of the body, all things properly done here, but not in West Africa. They also forget that once West African countries began implementing these procedures, the Ebola outbreak ran out of steam.
Zika is nothing like Ebola. Its spread is difficult to stop, and it has the ability to not just impact our generation, but the next. It will inevitably spread like a wildfire in this hemisphere, that much is true, but the question is now how many firebreaks can we construct to limit the damage. How do we prevent this from becoming endemic like with West Nile virus? The answer we want to hear is a vaccine, which is all fine and dandy, but as research is just now beginning to ramp up, will we still have to wait for it to even be developed, much less put into significant production.
With that being the case, and taking into account the tenacity of mosquito-borne diseases, prevention of further spread should be priority. This calls the necessity of the Rio Olympics into question. Why give the mosquitoes a freebie? Normally, I wouldn’t advocate an overreaction of this nature, because promoting undue fear is ethically questionable, but given Brazil’s track record of dealing with anything from the favelas, to the poor health and economic outcomes of many of its people, the rising costs of the Olympics and even cleaning up Rio’s waterways for Olympic sailing and swimming, one must question how, if Brazil can’t protect its own people, how it will protect those visiting during the Olympics.
The clear and simple answer is that it can’t and will only facilitate the spread of Zika if the Olympics continue. No athletic event is more important than human life, but the damning reality is that Brazil either doesn’t care or doesn’t have the ability to do anything.
Both are reasons enough to protect people by delaying, canceling or moving the games.