Kate Hamilton

Political Science 1100

Professor Chandler

11 November 2018

The United States and Zika

Two short years ago, the United States of America was in a state of panic. Almost

every individual was wearing masks to go to the grocery store, gloves to hug and shake

hands with individuals, and was avoiding dining at restaurants or ordering take-out

because of the possibility of “catching” the Zika virus. Diseases like Zika can be easily

spread and grow into an epidemic, individuals across the globe were fearful of going

into public or traveling and becoming infected with a life threatening, even deadly,

virus. Even though Zika had a lot of individuals fearful for their lives, most do not know

what exactly the Zika virus is or how it is transmitted.

This particular virus is transmitted via a bite from an infected mosquito. This

same mosquito, named Aedes Aegypti, can also carry dengue fever, yellow fever, and

chikungunya. In addition, this virus is spread via sexual intercourse. Symptoms of the

Zika virus include skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, and mild fevers that

normally last from two to seven days. Some individuals might think that Zika was just

discovered, however, the first known case of Zika was identified in 1947 in a monkey

located in the forests of Uganda. The first human cases were discovered in 1952, where
individuals from Uganda and Tanzania became infected. Following the first discovery of

Zika in humans, there became more outbreaks in 2007 and 2013, which infected those

located in the Yap Islands and French Polynesia. Because these islands are close

together, Zika subsequently spread to other neighboring islands. Following these

outbreaks, the number of those infected has increased rapidly. In fact, Brazil declared a

national public health crisis in November of 2015. Following this announcement, there

were 56,318 suspected cases of Zika in December of 2015. As of June 2016, 60 countries

and territories have reported cases of mosquito-borne transmission. Non-vector borne

transmission has been documented in 10 countries: Canada, Chile, Argentina, France,

Germany, New Zealand, Italy, Peru, Portugal, and the United States. Despite the

numerous cases of Zika in countries across the globe, there has been little education on

the transmission of Zika. Governments of Colombia, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica

have advised women to postpone becoming pregnant until more is learned about Zika.

The United States’ CDC centers have issued a level 2 travel warning and have advised

individuals who are planning on becoming pregnant to avoid traveling to places with

ongoing Zika transmissions.

Because of this health scare, there have been many debates regarding different

countries, in particular, the United States, and if they are doing enough to stop the

spread of the Zika virus. The White House issued a detailed report explaining all they

have done to prevent the spread of Zika to the United States. In February of 2016, the
Presidential Administration requested $1.8 Billion dollars from congress to provide

emergency funding to enhance ongoing efforts to respond to the Zika virus at home and

internationally. In addition, these funds would provide mosquito control programs,

vaccine research, education about Zika, and improving epidemiology and expanding

laboratory testing capacity. The Department of Health and Human Services have also

donated $1.48 billion dollars and the CDC has donated $828 million dollars towards

supporting Zika readiness and response. In addition, the Centers for Medicare and

Medicaid Services donated $250 million dollars to expand Puerto Rico’s financial

assistance programs so those individuals can receive health care and pregnant women

can be screened for Zika. Other organizations have donated to the cause, such as the

Vaccine Research and Diagnostic Development & Procurement ($200 million), HHS

Response ($210 million), U.S. Agency for International Development ($335 million), and

the U.S. Department of State ($41 million).

With all of this money donated for the purpose of protecting individuals from

Zika, it is obvious that there is a lot of potential in those billions of dollars. However,

there are some individuals such as Peter J. Hotez, a pediatrician and microbiologist at

Texas Children’s Hospital and the Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at

Baylor College of Medicine, who believe the United States is not doing all that they can

to prevent the transmission of Zika to United States citizens. Hotez states that pregnant

women in the United States should be very concerned and urges the need to prevent
the transmission of Zika to pregnant women to avoid cases of newborns with

microcephaly and stunted brain development. He explains the transmission process and

how Zika has stuck in Brazil. He shares three reasons why he thinks Zika has remained

prevalent in Brazil: the presence of this particular mosquito, overcrowding, and extreme

poverty. Because of crowding, mosquitos have a lot of people they can infect with Zika,

those living in poverty often live next to garbage with attract mosquitos and are near

stagnant water. Those in support of Hotez also believe that individuals can donate

billions of dollars, but until real precautions are done and individuals are preventing the

spread of the virus before it spreads, then all individuals are at risk of being exposed to

Zika.

I personally think the United States is doing all that they can to prevent such a

rare and complex virus such as Zika. With all of the funds that have been donated to

help those at home and abroad, a lot of healthcare can be provided to those at risk for

exposure. As an individual that works in healthcare, there will always be individuals that

claim there isn’t enough being done. However, in this case, I believe providing funds to

allow research and vaccine creation and prevention is all the United States can do.
 Reflection

I learned a lot about Zika and how and where this virus is spread because of this

assignment. I was able to connect my knowledge of paper formatting from my SLCC

English 1010 and 2010 classes. The knowledge I have gained from writing this piece will

help me when I start to take my medicine classes and major into the medical field.

Before researching this paper, I thought that the United States was not giving much

thought to global epidemics such as Zika. However, after receiving the provided

unbiased research, I am now able to see both sides of an issue such as this and

understand both points of view. The knowledge I have gained from this assignment will

help me in my other classes by providing Zika epidemiology, my major by helping me in

the medical field, my family because I can share ways they can protect themselves from

diseases such as this, my work by providing me with knowledge I can use to better my

patients, and my community to help educate individuals on outbreaks and how we can

keep each other safe.