Zika is a virus currently affecting the lives of almost 5,109 people in the U.S alone, but when we add in the people who live in the U.S. territories, we get over 38,099 affected people. Furthermore, if we were to put this into a clearer perspective, the city of Chattanooga has a population of 173,366 people, as of 2013. So, if we were to take those of whom are affected with Zika and replace them with the inhabitants of Chattanooga, that would mean roughly 27% of the entire city would have the Zika virus. As you can see in this image from the CDC, (refer to image) The state of Tennessee itself has around 50-100 people in itself infected with the zika virus, but when you look towards the southern states such as Florida, or even in Texas, where
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Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito; however, only female mosquitoes can transmit diseases. The virus was first identified in the Zika forest in Uganda. It was originally found in monkeys but eventually spread to humans in South America due to a monkey-mosquito-human cycle. Now, the virus occupies over 30 countries all around the world; however, the Aedes mosquito prefer mainly tropical or temperate climates. These type of insects transmit not only the Zika virus, but also yellow fever, chikungunya, and even the West Nile virus. Identifying the Zika virus can be the hardest, yet most important part. The virus can leave you with symptoms such as muscle pain, fatigue, eye-redness, fever, and rashes. With symptoms as small as these you may be wondering, where’s the threat? The threat can be anywhere from standing water in your backyard to all over South America. But the threat can also be in the love of your life. The Zika virus has been proven to have been spread through vaginal, anal, and possibly even oral sex. Yet, in all known cases, there has only been transmission from man to woman or man to man, no known cases of woman to man, or woman to woman. With this being said, women should always take extra precautions when it …show more content…
The bad part about all of this? After the physician confirms you have the virus, their job is done. There is no cure or vaccine for the virus. Despite this news, researchers are doing all they can to come up with a vaccine strong enough to fight the virus. And even though researchers are doing all they can, there aren’t many alternative methods to measure the effectiveness of a vaccine without large-scale testing, which would require more people to be infected with the virus. However, there has been a decline in the circulation of the Zika virus in the United States, as well as South America, and although this sounds like good news, it could set the vaccine progress back by years because the testing would be less reliable. It’s essentially a lose-lose situation. This being said, taking the correct precautions to prevent Zika is the best way you can protect yourself and those around you from the issues at hand. A few things we have done is make informational pamphlets to pass out at our school and to our fellow HOSA members. We have also put the QR code and username to our Public Health Twitter on the pamphlet. On our twitter account, we post updates on the virus, facts, and ways to help prevent the spread of Zika as well as other mosquito-borne viruses. There are many ways to make an impact on the fight against Zika. Some of the easiest
Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito; however, only female mosquitoes can transmit diseases. The virus was first identified in the Zika forest in Uganda. It was originally found in monkeys but eventually spread to humans in South America due to a monkey-mosquito-human cycle. Now, the virus occupies over 30 countries all around the world; however, the Aedes mosquito prefer mainly tropical or temperate climates. These type of insects transmit not only the Zika virus, but also yellow fever, chikungunya, and even the West Nile virus. Identifying the Zika virus can be the hardest, yet most important part. The virus can leave you with symptoms such as muscle pain, fatigue, eye-redness, fever, and rashes. With symptoms as small as these you may be wondering, where’s the threat? The threat can be anywhere from standing water in your backyard to all over South America. But the threat can also be in the love of your life. The Zika virus has been proven to have been spread through vaginal, anal, and possibly even oral sex. Yet, in all known cases, there has only been transmission from man to woman or man to man, no known cases of woman to man, or woman to woman. With this being said, women should always take extra precautions when it …show more content…
The bad part about all of this? After the physician confirms you have the virus, their job is done. There is no cure or vaccine for the virus. Despite this news, researchers are doing all they can to come up with a vaccine strong enough to fight the virus. And even though researchers are doing all they can, there aren’t many alternative methods to measure the effectiveness of a vaccine without large-scale testing, which would require more people to be infected with the virus. However, there has been a decline in the circulation of the Zika virus in the United States, as well as South America, and although this sounds like good news, it could set the vaccine progress back by years because the testing would be less reliable. It’s essentially a lose-lose situation. This being said, taking the correct precautions to prevent Zika is the best way you can protect yourself and those around you from the issues at hand. A few things we have done is make informational pamphlets to pass out at our school and to our fellow HOSA members. We have also put the QR code and username to our Public Health Twitter on the pamphlet. On our twitter account, we post updates on the virus, facts, and ways to help prevent the spread of Zika as well as other mosquito-borne viruses. There are many ways to make an impact on the fight against Zika. Some of the easiest