Running Head: HEALTH CARE 1

Podcast Reflection Paper

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Instructor

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A podcast by World Health Organization entitled “Zika epidemiology” discusses about

how occurrences of infectious diseases causes significant effects on our economy and society

today. It examines the mysteries of Zika virus transmission and some related neurological

disorders. The host, Jaimie Guerra, and Dr. Chris Dye talks about the Zika virus outbreak in

various parts of the world last 2015 and its epidemiology in order to solve the mysteries of Zika

virus transmission. It was quite shocking to learn that Zika virus may cause rare and serious

neurological disorders such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly. Guillain-Barré

syndrome is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the body’s own peripheral

nervous system while microcephaly is a genetic abnormality where the circumference of head is

smaller than normal. The exact cause of Guillain-Barré syndrome is not known while

microcephaly can result due to drugs, alcohol, and viruses. I was just as stunned as the Ministry

of Health and Social Security when they identified a Zika epidemic instead of dengue outbreaks.

The association of the neurological disorders were surprising, especially in the public health

community since the virus was studies for several decades and the scientific community just

learned about the serious damage Zika virus can cause.

In this podcast, I gleaned about the two major branches of Zika virus lineage, African and

Asian lineage. They tried to determine the lineage of virus in Cabo Verde and its association

with the neurological disorders. Moreover, the factor considered to be the cause of exposure to

Asian virus was the mobility of traders, students, tourism in Brazil and Cabo Verde. According

to the statistics, they have shown strong association between the unusual increase of babies born

with microcephaly with the time and place of the rise of Zika virus last 2015. In addition, Brazil

showed similar unusual increase of Guillan-Barré syndrome as the same time of rise of Zika

epidemic and microcephaly incidences. In 2016, the impact of Zika virus in the population
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prompted the WHO to address the link between Zika virus and the neurological disorders based

on a scientific consensus.

I was not aware initially about this epidemic since I do not know how virus can be linked

to brain and immune system abnormalities but upon seeing the statistics I was able to correlate

and give evidences on the epidemiological link of Zika virus to the neurological disorders. The

mysteries of Zika transmission were just unfolded when I heard about this podcast. I knew that

Zika virus is transmitted via Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and can be transmitted through travelling

and exposure. I became aware that Zika was first identified only in monkeys in Uganda more

than seventy years ago but now local transmission of the virus is now reported to more than

twenty countries. WHO addressed the issue by affirming the link between Guillan-Barré

syndrome and microcephaly to Zika virus infection along with declaring a Public Health

Emergency of International Concern on February 1 2016, which advanced the response to many

foreign aids. For pregnant women at risk of Zika virus exposure, they took action by providing

knowledge regarding the risks of the illness and early signs and symptoms, as well as protection

from mosquito bites in cooperation with national mosquito control authorities. Moreover, they

then sent a multi-professional team that created the national plan and response for Cabo Verde

which include preparedness, response, and recovery for the outbreak.

WHO continues to monitor of Zika infection trends and associated health concern for a

long-term and good public health. They also supported other vulnerable countries and gather

international support for the affected populations.

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References

Lover, A. A. (2016). Serological evidence for localized and persistent antibody response in Zika

virus-positive neonates with microcephaly (Brazil, 2015)- a secondary analysis.

doi:10.1101/051326

Mohapatra, S. (2016). Frightenings of Zika: Epidemiology. The Journal of Community Health

Management, 3(1), 3. doi:10.5958/2394-2738.2016.00001.7

Nascimento, O. J., & Silva, I. R. (2017). Guillain–Barré syndrome and Zika virus outbreaks.

Current Opinion in Neurology, 30(5), 500-507. doi:10.1097/wco.0000000000000471

Zika epidemiology. (2017, March 16). Retrieved from

https://www.who.int/mediacentre/multimedia/podcasts/2017/mysteries-zika-

transmission/en/