The Zika virus is a member of the Flaviviridae virus family and is frequently spread by female Aedes aegypti mosquitos, which are active during the day. The virus can be spread through blood transfusions and sexual interaction. The virus is responsible for Zika fever and Zika Virus illness. The disease causes no or moderate symptoms similar to dengue fever. There are no recognized medications or vaccinations, however acetaminophen paracetamol can be used to treat the symptoms ("Etymologia: Zika Virus," 2014, p. 13). This article investigates potential solutions to the Zika Virus pandemic and its effects on the health-care delivery system. The virus was initially discovered in a rhesus macaque monkey in Ziika forest of Uganda in 1947 by Yellow Fever scientific researchers. A 1952 serological survey in Uganda showed that the virus could infect humans. In the 1954 outbreak investigation of a symptom thought to be yellow fever, an isolation of the virus from a patient was reported, and later the pathogen was found to be related to the Spondweni virus. This virus was established to be the cause of the illness of Simpson, a researcher who was testing the infection on himself in 1956 (Allen, Frank, Santhana, & Dye, 2016, p. 24).
Serological studies indicate that between 1951 and 2016, the virus has spread within the human populations in equatorial Africa and Asia. There are fourteen confirmed cases of Zika infections found in human beings in these regions since 1964 when Simpson was infected while he was isolating the virus from mosquitoes. Other study shows that the virus has been silently spreading in West Africa as evidenced by the collected blood samples in the last two decades. In the Federated States of Micronesia, there was an outbreak of the virus in April 2007 where 49 people were confirmed to contain RNA of Zika.
Other areas like New Caledonia, Easter Island, and the Cook Islands also reported an outbreak of Zika in 2014 with 1385 confirmed cases (Leo & Chow, 2016, p. 20). Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, American Samoa, and Tonga experience Zika presently. America, Brazil, and other countries in South America, Caribbean, North America, and Central America experienced an outbreak of the virus in 2015 (Nelson et al., 2016, p. 13).
Problem Statement
In the recent past, Zika virus has caused a widespread epidemic known as Zika Fever in parts of South and North America and some islands in the South East Asia and the Pacific. This virus is suspected of spreading throughout most parts of America hence gaining an international level of public health problems assigned by the World Health Organization (WHO). The known effects of Zika Virus include birth defects and other neurological problems such as microcephaly and severe brain defects in the case of infected pregnant women who transmit the virus to the fetus (Knipe & Howley, 2015, p. 33). In adults, the virus may lead to Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Suggestions for Addressing the Issue (Solutions)
The stakeholders involved in controlling the spread of the virus and preventing further infections include the World Health Organization, the Pan America Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local, state, and federal health officials, and research scientists. Among the steps to be taken to control this menace are the monitoring, attacking, and killing the mosquitoes through mosquito abatement. CDC also recommends that the health departments should test people for the Zika virus as it is efficient opposed to checking mosquitoes. In addition, there needs to be a containment and large-scale intensive spraying in infested areas of Zika outbreak. Moreover, it is advised that any standing or stagnated waters should be drained to avoid breeding of the mosquitoes and further, any other waters that cannot be dumped need to be treated with appropriate larvicide. In clustered cases, health officials should be tasked with the killing of the mosquitoes in the outbreak zone and carrying door-to‑door inspections (Sikka et al., 2015, p. 19). Appropriate travel advisories should also be made in advance for susceptible groups such as pregnant women. Most important also is creating public awareness campaigns for residents in affected areas to adopt the use of insect repellants and other protective measures such as ensuring their bodies are well covered. The people need to be more vigilant and anticipatory on where the virus may be likely to invade for prior preventive measures. On the other hand, scientists and researchers in the sector should carry out pilot studies on how new technology can be used to control or prevent the virus such as DNA‑modified mosquitoes that could hinder the breeding of mosquitoes.
Impact on the Healthcare Delivery System
The virus has caused a public health emergency of international concern. It is a challenge to many of the populations in the infected areas as people cannot afford insect repellent from local pharmacies. In other parts of the countries such as Brazil, people live in impoverished quarters prone to mosquitoes. During outbreaks, the cases for diagnosis create jams and break down in primary health care because hospitals and health centers get overburdened with patients (Salazar, 2016, p. 46). These virus outbreaks cause anxiety and depression in pregnant women impacting the state of their unborn infants. The outbreaks also raise the concern of the financial input required to address the issue that cannot be managed by local health facilities and authorities that they resort to donor funding.
References
Epstein, S. B., & Lister, S. A. (2016). Zika response funding: Request and congressional action. In V. Salazar (Ed.), The Zika Virus: Background, issues, and U.S. response considerations (pp. 41-66). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Etymologia: Zika Virus. (2014). Emerging Infectious Diseases, 20(6), 1090-1090.
Kindhauser, M. K., Allen, T., Frank V., Santhana, R. S., & Dye, C. (2016). Zika: The origin and spread of a mosquito-borne virus. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 94(9), 675‑686.
Knipe, D. M., & Howley, P. (2015) Fields virology. Alphen aan de Rijn: Wolters Kluwer.
Leo, Y.-S., & Chow, A. (2016). Zika virus has arrived in Singapore. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 16(12), 1317-1319.
Nelson, B., Morrison, S., Joseph, H., Wojno, A., Lash, R. R., Haber, Y., … Grills, A. (2016). Travel Volume to the United States from countries and U.S. territories with local Zika Virus transmission. PLoS Currents. Retrieved from http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/article/travel-volume-to-the-united-states-from-countries-and-u-s-territories-with-local-zika-virus-transmission/
Sikka, V., Chattu, V. K., Popli R. K., Galwankat, S. C., Kelkar, D., Sawicki, S. G., … Papadimos, T. J. (2016). The emergence of zika virus as a global health security threat: A review and a consensus statement of the INDUSEM Joint working Group (JWG). Journal of Global Infectious Diseases, 8(1), 3.
