Uncertainty still surrounds the mysterious virus
Zika virus has been the subject of much media coverage in the past few months, and one overriding theme has appeared in most news reports: uncertainty.
There are still a lot of unknowns and questions surrounding the virus and its possible links to other disorders. Scientists are attempting to confirm links with other medical problems and researchers are trying to both discover a vaccine for the virus and predict how bad the epidemic might get.
With that in mind, here’s a look at what we do know about Zika virus right now:
The origin of Zika virus
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the earliest discovery of Zika was [link url=”http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/timeline/en/” title=”in 1947 in Uganda.“] Scientists testing for yellow fever in the Zika forest of Uganda isolated the Zika virus in samples. This latest outbreak of Zika began in April 2015 in Brazil.
Zika around the globe
Per the WHO’s [link url=”http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/situation-report/7-april-2016/en/” title=”Zika situation report from April 7, 2016,“] Zika virus transmission is confirmed in 62 countries and territories from January 1, 2007 to April 6, 2016. Previously thought of as only a mosquito-borne illness, sexual transmission of Zika is now confirmed in six countries: Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand and the U.S.
Known cases of Zika virus in the U.S. and U.S. territories
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of [link url=”http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/united-states.html” title=”April 6, 2016,”] there are a total of 700 confirmed Zika cases in the U.S. and U.S. territories:
- Number of travel-related Zika cases in U.S. states: 346
- Number of overall Zika cases in U.S. territories: 354
- Total number of Zika cases in U.S. states and U.S. territories: 700
- Number of total Zika cases in U.S. states (346) that are pregnant women: 32
- Number of total Zika cases in U.S. territories (354) that are pregnant women: 37
- U.S. state with the most confirmed cases of Zika: Florida (78)
- U.S. territory with the most confirmed cases of Zika: Puerto Rico (325)
- Number of total Zika cases in U.S. states and U.S. territories (700) that are pregnant women: 69
All Zika cases in U.S. states are confirmed to be travel-related, while in U.S. territories, there have been 351 reported cases that are considered to be locally acquired. Puerto Rico has the most cases of any U.S. state or territory — 325.
Hawaii Governor David Ige [link url=”http://bigislandnow.com/2016/04/12/governor-ige-extends-emergency-period-on-mosquito-borne-illnesses/” title=”extended the state’s emergency period for combating mosquito-borne illnesses“] this week to help the state combat the growing threat of mosquito borne illnesses such as dengue fever, Zika virus and chikungunya in the coming months. There are currently five Zika cases in Hawaii, according to the CDC.
Zika virus and the connection to other disorders
Zika has long been [link url=”https://amuedge.com/study-finds-links-between-zika-virus-and-birth-defects/” title=”linked to microcephaly,“] a birth defect where a baby’s head is smaller than expected. While the connection has yet to be confirmed, the WHO announced recently that there is [link url=”https://amuedge.com/who-mounting-evidence-of-zika-virus-microcephaly-connection/” title=”mounting evidence“] of not only a link between Zika and microcephaly, but also between Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and other neurological disorders.
Even more recently, Brazilian scientists discovered [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-brain-idUSKCN0X70VP” title=”a new brain disorder associated with Zika“] to add to the list of serious health problems linked with the virus. These latest findings linked Zika to an autoimmune syndrome called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), which attacks the brain and spinal cord.
Predictions of the spread of the virus in the U.S.
U.S. health officials said that the risk of a Zika outbreak in U.S. cities is [link url=”https://amuedge.com/study-estimates-zika-virus-risk-in-50-u-s-cities/” title=”greatly increased during the summer months.“] The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is believed to be largely responsible for the spread of the virus, will appear more regularly across the southern and eastern U.S. and some U.S. territories as the weather warms.
Funding the fight against Zika in the U.S.
In February, President Barack Obama [link url=”https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/22/letter-president-zika-virus” title=”requested $1.9 billion“] to fund the fight against Zika in the U.S. The request stalled in Congress, and it was uncertain whether funds would be found for Zika until the White House announced that it will [link url=”https://amuedge.com/the-battle-for-zika-funds-to-be-continued/” title=”shift $589 million in unused Ebola funds to combat Zika“] right now.
There will likely be more battles in Congress regarding further funding, but the nearly $600 million from unused Ebola funds will go toward various Zika-related initiatives, including mosquito control and the development of vaccines and tests.
U.S. Officials say they may have underestimated the threat
U.S. health officials said this week that Zika virus is “scarier” than first thought and that the impact of the virus on the U.S. [link url=”http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36020165″ title=”could be greater than predicted.“] Officials fear that [link url=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-whitehouse-idUSKCN0X825A” title=”Puerto Rico is particularly at risk,“] and that hundreds of thousands of infections could appear there.
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