Caroline Chen Period 1 Summary: A few days ago, the first case of the Zika virus discovered in Dallas, Texas. The Zika virus is spread by mosquitos and can be contracted through sexual contact with an infected individual. Prior to this incident, experts were not able to tell whether the virus could be contracted through sex. Some major symptoms of the virus include joint aches, skin rash, fever and reddened eyes. According to William E. Scheweizer, only “1 out of 5 people” will display these virus symptoms. Many birth defects are also linked to the Zika virus, including a condition where infants are born with extremely small heads. In hopes of detecting early signs of the Zika virus, doctors have started to screen pregnant women. They also
The Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat. It is then followed by a rash that spreads over the body, starting first on the face along the hairline. The infectious period of measles is 4 days before rash onset through 4 days after rash onset. The measles are a highly contagious virus that lives in the nose and throat mucus and spreads through the air through coughing and sneezing. (WHO, 2016). The measles virus can remain airborne for up to an hour after the infected person has left the area. The measles are so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of the unvaccinated people close to them will become infected. Rarely can the virus be deadly. The incubation period for
Changes in the way cases of valley fever are being detected and reported to public health officials, or
You wouldn’t think the carrier of this disease would come from a little mosquito bite but it does.
West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded flavivirus mostly present in the eastern hemisphere that can affect humans, birds, horses, mosquitoes, and other domestic and wild animals. It has plagued the world since it was first identified in West Nile province of Uganda in 1937 (Sally Murray). Since this time, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), the disease has been spotted in “Africa … Europe, the Middle East, West and Central Asia … the United States … Canada,” and now Central America. Despite its discovery in the 1930’s, the western hemisphere went without the disease until 1999; the first documented case of WNV in the United States was in New York (Watson). West Nile Virus presents a near never-ending problem for the United States because of its similarities to other arboviral disease and its ability to transmit quickly.
West Nile Virus has emerged in recent years throughout the temporate zones of Europe and North America. Causing a variety of conditions in its hosts, the most serious manifestation of WN virus infection is fatal encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in humans and horses, and many birds.
Mosquitoes, fever and even death may be some of the things that come to mind when we're asked to think about West Nile Virus. Many of us would consider mosquitoes a small trade-off for what the summertime provides, but what if there were more at risk than a bump above your skin and an itch? In a not so distant past West Nile Virus ascended into news broadcasts all throughout the country and alarming it's residents. Today however, that all seems to be an afterthought. The intentions today are to cover the first found cases of West Nile Virus, the symptoms of West Nile Virus, and finally West Nile Virus' impact on the United States. Through the research here, the hope is that we can all have a better understanding of how West Nile Virus works.
Now, Im going to focus on voting and Zika. First, Fair Vote, a company that leads the fight for electoral reform in the U.S., points out: "The right to vote is the foundation of any (system or country where leaders are chosen by votes). Yet most Americans do not (understand/make real/achieve) that we do not have an (in a way that agrees with or is related to the Constitution) protected right to vote. While there are changes to the U.S. Constitution that prohibit (unfair treatment based on skin color, age, etc.) based on race (15th), sex (19th) and age (26th), no
The Ebola virus was discovered in 1976. It has four strains, each from a different geographic area, but all give their victims the same painful, often lethal symptoms.
A pregnant European woman was found to have the symptoms of Zika virus while an ultrasonographic examinations was performed. The examination showed brain calcification and a small head which is most probably microcephaly. These symptoms are closely related with the
The Ebola Haemorrahagic Fever, or Ebola for short, was first recognized as a virus in 1967. The first breakout that caused the Ebola virus to be recognized was in Zaire with 318 people infected and 280 killed. There are five subtypes of the Ebola virus, but only four of them affect humans. There are the Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast and the Ebola-Bundibugyo. The fifth one, the Ebola-Reston, only affects nonhuman primates. The Ebola-Zaire was recognized on August 26, 1976 with a 44 year old schoolteacher as the first reported case. The Ebola-Sudan virus was also recognized in 1976 and was thought to be that same as Ebola-Zaire and it is thought to have broken out in a cotton factory in the Sudan. The Ebola-Ivory Coast was first discovered in 1994 in chimpanzees in the Tia Forest in Africa. On November 24, 2007, the Ebola-Bundibugyo branch was discovered with an approximate total of 116 people infected in the first outbreak and 39 deaths. The Ebola-Reston is the only one of the five subtypes to not affect humans, only nonhuman primates. It first broke out in Reston, Virginia in 1989 among crab eating macaques.
The first symptom my uncle experienced was a rash that covered his whole body, followed by flu-like symptoms. I recall my aunt saying she thought it was West Nile, but it took her a month to convince the doctors to run the test. Coincidentally, the first symptom my dad had was the same rash and flu-like symptoms, so my mom immediately suspected West Nile. Over a period of two weeks my dad saw three different emergency room physicians who all said it was not West Nile, even though they had not tested him for it. Eventually our family doctor was convinced to run the test and seven days later we had the diagnosis of West Nile Virus. After getting the diagnosis, my mom returned to all three of the emergency room physicians with a copy of my dad’s
60% of people surveyed by Time.com said that they would test their unborn children to rule out fatal diseases (Time.com).
About three years ago, the Zika epidemic ethically challenged women in different nations. According to the World Health Organization, the outbreak of this virus was announced as a global health emergency. It was noted that the cause of the virus cause birth defects, which the birth of a child to a mother can result to microcephaly. Health officials and government took quick action, which led to a debate on what women should do to prevent the defect from occurring. They established to make choices for women, in hopes for the best, taking control over their reproductive rights.
Zika outbreak is of concern and of risk to pregnant women due to the possibility of Guillain barré syndrome in unborn babies and does not appear to be a treat to others. It is spreading quickly through the population mostly presenting as asymptomatic, therefore people that are infected might not even know. Overall, precautions have to be taken when traveling to high-risk countries and the proper measurements of protection should be taken (use of insect spray, long protecting clothing, among others). Meanwhile, educational resources are being implemented and research is undergoing to develop a possible vaccine. Therefore, it is important to understand that sometimes there are no pharmacological treatments available for certain diseases or infections but there are methods of prevention that we can implement to decrease our risk of contracting such disease, as well to educate others on preventive methods as well to control as much as possible the spread of such
The Zika virus outbreak took the world by storm and worried mothers all over the world in 2015. The Zika virus is notable for being the cause of a multitude of birth affects, most notoriously, microcephaly (Underdeveloped heads and brain damage). However, it turns out that the Zika virus is not alone. Two of which are the West Nile virus and Powassan virus. They are both neurotropic viruses, which means they both target nerve cells. They both also cause inflammation of the brain and/or inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain. Although, they do differ in the sense that they are both transmitted differently to humans. The West Nile virus is transmitted from mosquitoes that have bitten infected birds. Where as the Powassan virus is