The Zika Virus

Although people say it’s not a big deal, the Zika virus is a major problem in the world today, it is damaging the lives and will have an affect on the summer olympics because there isn’t a vaccine and it can be spread quickly through mosquitoes in the warm Rio climate.
In 1947, in the Zika forest, a rhesus monkey was found with a fever. Scientist at the time decided it was best to cage the animal to see if the fever diminished, after two days symptoms still remained. The worried scientist rushed the monkey to the nearest town where it could get its blood drawn, A blood serum was made and injected into lab mice. Ten days later every mouse was infected, it was here that Zika was first recorded. Little did the people at that time know that in
As said by Kate Lunau in New global health terror “On Feb. 2, health officials in Dallas County, Texas, reported the first locally acquired case of the Zika virus on U.S. soil in the current outbreak--a person who was infected sexually” (Lunau 42). The virus is spread from a man to his sexual partners. The reason for this because Zika stays in the seamen longer than in blood. Zika can also be passed from a mother to her child while it is in the womb. Scientist have found that babies that are born with Zika can develop microcephaly, a birth defect. Microcephaly is a birth defect where the baby's brain is much smaller than normal. When a baby's brain grows its head grows as well when it is inside the mother. The Zika virus does not let this happen. When a pregnant mother is infected with Zika, the virus also attacks the fetus. Zika eats away at the baby's brain like wildfire. With the brain not growing the head doesn't grow.which causes the baby to be born with an abnormally small head. The hard thing about Zika is there is no cure the only way they can prevent it is from being bitten. The brazilian government is rationing out large amounts of mosquito spray and mosquito nets, they especially give precaution to pregnant mothers. Even with all of this help, Brazil's health minister, Marcelo Castro said “his country is badly losing the battle against disease-spreading mosquitoes, and that the Zika outbreak is probably worse than it looks because so many infected people don't exhibit symptoms. As part of its efforts, Brazil plans to distribute mosquito repellent to some 400,000 pregnant women” (qtd in “The new” 42”). As I said before many of the people that are getting infected are from low income poverty struck areas that are out of reach to many of the people that are attempting to help. With all this help some say it will get much worse before it will get