While it has been known to cause feverish symptoms, it was recently discovered that Zika infection causes babies to develop microcephaly in the womb if the pregnant mother is infected.
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The alarming nature of the discovery has caused more drastic preventative measures and extensive research into the virus.
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Brief History of Zika
Zika was discovered in the 1940s in a rhesus macaque monkey in the Zika forest in Uganda, from which it gained its name. Its symptoms resembled fever and were mild, hence researchers thought Zika was a low priority disease.
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Transmissible by mosquitoes and unprotected sex, the virus slowly crept across the equator. Over the years minor occurrences were seen in other African countries along with Asia, but the disease went into the spotlight when it reemerged in 2015 in Brazil.
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Uganda: The Start of It All
In 1947, the Zika virus was isolated from a feverish rhesus macaque monkey in Uganda’s Zika forest. Researchers found that according to the immune systems of people they tested, Zika had infected Uganda, Nigeria, and even India.
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Comeback Across the World
Decades later, Zika reemerged in Brazil in 2015. Researchers hypothesized that the virus arrived via foreign soccer players from Polynesian islands. The outbreak in South America led to some startling discoveries.
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A Troubling Discovery
With the 2015 outbreak, researchers were certain that Zika was more than it appeared: it also seemed to correlate with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a severe and debilitating nervous system disorder that can be fatal.
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Worse yet, mothers infected with Zika have a high chance of giving birth to babies with microcephaly — the iconic disorder of Zika in which babies are born with very small heads for their size.
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Pregnancy Risk
Scientists developed a theory that the Zika virus triggers a response in which the brain cells try to defend themselves, but by doing so they overreact, attacking and damaging themselves. The brain loses size because of the dead cells, resulting in microcephaly.
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The Zika Virus Capsule
Researchers have been studying how the Zika virus works and what it does to the cells it infects. It appears to activate immune responses that then diminish growth and increase the rate of cell death.
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Living in Pain
Zika is now also correlated with a higher chance of developing Guillain-Barré syndrome. This disease of the nervous system can cause paralysis, respiratory issues, and at worst, eventually death. About 7.5% of patients die from the disease.
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Panic in Brazil
In 2014, a mysterious disease that caused rashes appeared in Brazil. It took about a year for scientists to discover that it was Zika, and later came the realization that it brought microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
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The virus originated from Polynesian soccer players who played in a Brazilian tournament. As the outbreak continued with no cure or vaccine in sight, the spread of the virus threatened the 2016 Summer Olympics, which took place in Rio de Janeiro.
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Must the Show Go On?
The Olympics were a major talking point in 2016, as experts argued for and against holding them while the Zika outbreak was still ongoing. Athletes wore special outfits to prevent potential mosquito bites.
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Spreading Grounds
The slums of Rio are ideal spreading grounds for Zika, as the city is dense with people. In addition, the climate allows mosquitoes to live, thrive, and spread the virus.
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No reports
The World Health Organization kept a close eye on the situation. After the conclusion of the Olympics, it reported that no new cases of Zika appeared during the games either among athletes or visitors.
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How the World Responded
Mosquitoes have been identified as the main way for the Zika virus to spread. Countries across the world afflicted with Zika reacted accordingly, with their own methods to curb the growth and spread of mosquitoes that may carry Zika.
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Many methods revolve around removing still or standing water like puddles, ponds, and water in open containers where mosquitoes breed. Scientists are also working to develop ways to stop the virus from spreading.
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Protecting Our Air
In some parts of the U.S., planes spray insecticides from the air to kill mosquitoes. While the insecticides have not been shown to harm humans, they were found to have killed millions of honeybees in the Carolinas.
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The Threat of Still Water
Because still water is the center of mosquito breeding, some countries have used it to curb mosquitoes. South American countries have installed thousands of “ovitraps,” an empty container of still water to mimic mosquito breeding space, to trap mosquito eggs inside.
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Infertile Mice
Zika is troublesome for males, at least in mice. The virus decreases mouse fertility by decreasing testicular weight. While mice are not men and we’re unsure if men will also suffer from the symptom, it is still worrisome.
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Infiltrating the Enemy
Male mosquitoes were genetically engineered by scientists to mate with females and render them infertile through some clever genes that were inserted. The males themselves do not bite.
