Microcephaly Research Paper

Based on the statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 23,000 people in the mainland U.S. and Puerto Rico have contracted the Zika virus. Especially, there are more than 2,000 pregnant women, which is especially troubling because the virus can cause birth defects. The CDC estimates that 20 babies in the mainland U.S. and 1 baby in Puerto Rica have been born with birth defects related to Zika. The Zika virus can cause microcephaly – a condition where a baby's head and brain are undersized and underdeveloped – in as many as 13 percent of babies born to women who get infected while pregnant. It is also linked to several other types of birth defects, and to Guillain-Barre syndrome in adults. As the result, the deal reached in Congress includes $394 million to help control Zika-carrying mosquitoes and another $397 million to help develop a vaccine against the virus and better tests to help diagnose cases of Zika. There is also $66 million allocated to health care for people affected by Zika in Puerto Rico and other U.S.

Zika virus was discovered by scientists in the Zika rainforest in a remote part of Uganda in 1947, in the serum of an infected rheseus monkey. With five thousand two hundred thirty- four known cases of the infectious virus documented in the United States. There is currently no vaccination for the flu like virus. The chief concern of the healthcare administration is to continue to take preventive measures to prevent contracting the virus. Within the same flavivirus family

“This study marks a turning point in the Zika outbreak. It is now clear that the virus causes microcephaly”( Tom Frieden). Microcephaly is an abnormal smallness of the head, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development. With the Olympics being held in Brazil, there is much cause to attention the potential disease being brought back to the U.S. by female athletes bringing an epidemic to carry havoc on the citizens of the United States. It can be spread very easily through mosquito bites of the yellow fever mosquito. From the mosquitoes, the virus does not cause many symptoms to its victims generating unknown awareness of the virus. “ Only one in five people who become infected with Zika virus will feel sick. Symptoms of Zika virus infection include fever, rash, pink eye, pains in joints, pain behind the eyes, headache, and muscle pains”( Levison, Matthew). The symptoms, if any, last 4-7 days in most cases. The Zika Virus is an easily spread disease with few symptoms.

Zika virus creates a trepidation among people as it is spreading across South and Central America. We hear it every day as it is procuring Ebola-level awareness. In her article, “An Illustrated Guide To The Zika Outbreak, published in February 3rd of 2016, Anna Almendrala enumerates the effects of Zika virus and the alarming fear it causes among the people. “Brazilian health authorities notified the World Health Organization that an alarming number of Brazilian babies had been born with microcephaly, a rare, debilitating birth defect with lifelong consequences. Researchers quickly linked the spike in birth defects to the outbreak of a little-known tropical disease called Zika virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes” (Almendrala). The author expounds the fatal consequence to babies born with birth defects such as microcephaly: the condition where infants born with undersized heads. The author emphasizes the relation between Zika virus and microcephaly. Microcephaly is the condition where infants born with undersized heads. Almendrala’s purpose is to convey the idea of how the Zika virus is spread across the countries through mosquitoes and she informs the audience to take special care of pregnant women as they are more prone to the Zika virus and always be vigilant while traveling to countries that are affected by Zika virus, especially African, Central and South America where more people are affected by Zika virus and more babies are born with undersized heads caused by

The virus is spreading through two different types of Aedes mosquitoes. Adults with the virus may only experience mild symptoms including pain, rash, or a slight fever (Partlow). The virus can often go unnoticed (Romero). The problems arise within the children born to women who have the virus. It is speculated that the Zika virus is causing infants to be born with microcephaly. This causes the child to be born with an abnormally small head and incomplete brain development. Brazil has been hit hardest with the virus and has seen over 4,000 cases of microcephaly

The Zika virus has had a constant presence in the news for the past few months. This article describes Ana Gabriela do Prado Paschoal's struggles. She contracted the Zika virus while pregnant with her now three month old daughter Maria. Maria now suffers from brain lesions, stiff muscles, and brain damage. With the help of scans, imaging, and autopsies doctors learned that the Zika virus eats away at the fetal brain. It is responsible for shrinking or destroying the part of the brain that controls vision, thought process, and other basic functions.

When Zika first appeared on a large scale in 2007, no cases were directly related to Microcephaly. In fact, Zika would go unlinked to Microcephaly until 2015, due to lack of cases. Even now the evidence is lacking. As Zika spreads throughout brazil, Microcephaly has not. “When the cases first began and were reportedly linked to Zika virus, health officials believed they'd see an explosion of birth defects across Brazil,”says Dr. Mercola, an expert in the field of medicine. But that is not the case, As the Zika virus continues to spread, Microcephaly rates surprisingly stay the same, which is a massive piece of evidence that Zika may very have absolutely no link to Microcephaly. Interestingly enough, the original outbreak of

Microcephaly is a condition that affects infants. It is characterized by a smaller than typical head circumference due to problems with brain development. Typically, as a baby’s brain grows in utero, the head and skull grow as well, however if the brain is not developing as it should, the head will not grow as expected (CDC). It can be caused by genetic disorders such as Down’s syndrome, as well as other chromosomal syndromes and neurometabolic syndromes (NINDS). Microcephaly can also be caused in utero if the pregnant mother abuses alcohol or drugs, or becomes infected with certain viruses.

The Zika Virus is a condition that initially started in Brazil and has now made its way around the world by transmission of mosquitos.The symtoms of Zika virus are typically last only a week or so and include fever, rash, and aching joints. Many adults contract the virus with no symptoms, which makes it easy to spread to their partners through sexual transmission and even onto their fetus if they are pregnant (Jin). Women began bearing children that were born with microcephaly, which is a condition that causes the head and brain to be smaller than normal. It is thought that the Zika virus starts to delay the growth of the skull from the beginning of fetal development (Teixeira). Serology tests are used to detect the virus in the mother, and

As stated earlier the disease can be spread through mother to child contact. Women who are expecting children can pass off the disease to the child during pregnancy. Furthermore, Women who are infected just prior to delivery can give off the disease to her newborn. The transmission of the Zika virus to newborns has caused adverse effects, and many newborns have been diagnosed with Microcephaly as well as other fetal brain deformities. Microcephaly is a birth defect that causes an infant's head to be abnormally smaller than other infants his or her age and size, additionally, it causes them to have smaller underdeveloped brains.

The mosquito-borne virus has brought devastation in Latin America, causing an increase in cases of microcephaly. Microcephaly is a condition where babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains, CNN reported.

Aedes species carry the virus. Many people think that Zika is a brand new virus, however, that is untrue. Zika was first recognized in Uganda in 1947 in monkeys; it was identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania (WHO 2016). Usual symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis and last for a few days to a few weeks. Because of the mild symptoms people think they just have a common cold and many cases of Zika go unreported. Even pregnant women may be unaware they have the virus and do not check to see if their baby has developed Microcephaly. Microcephaly causes babies to be born with heads much smaller than the average child’s, which leads to developmental delays, disabilities, difficulty swallowing and walking, hearing loss, and vision problems. Babies born with severe Microcephaly are at risk of mortality. Brazil has banned the use of pesticides to control the Zika outbreak because there was concern that the pesticides were causing Microcephaly because previous Zika outbreaks did not link with Microcephaly; however, Zika mutates frequently and it has been confirmed that Zika is the link and not pesticides (Mercer 2016). Researches studied Zika infected pregnant mice and they found that the mice born had smaller than average heads; they also had other abnormalities such as, eye problems and cell death. One of the researchers, Muotri,

The Zika virus is a virus that is mostly spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. It is a widespread virus in Asia and Africa. This virus is not a new diseased that just developed, it has been around for years. Zika was first exposed in Uganda in 1947. Nonetheless, fear didn’t start arising until this year 2016. This virus is best explained as discomfort in the muscle, a fever, being weak and symptoms possibly lasting for days. It’s quite a different virus to detect compare to other viruses’ symptoms. Zika posts danger to the human body but more importantly, it places pregnant women and babies at more danger than anyone else. This virus can be easily passed from a pregnant women to her fetus, putting her life and her child life in danger. If the virus is transmitted to the embryo, the virus will produce severe damage to the baby’s growth and the women life. Considering this, we need to extremely pay close attention to our health and this virus.

The Zika virus was found in the amniotic fluid of a women who gave birth to a child with microcephaly, a defect in which a child’s head is much smaller than average. An increase in cases of microcephaly among newborns brought cautionary attention to women possibly carrying the Zika virus and the risk of having children. Researchers believe the virus is only transmitted through mosquitoes, but that explains why the virus is spreading across countries and continents. Though it is not booming in North America, travelers have visited the country while they carried the virus.

When the cases of microcephaly started to soar last month, doctors noticed they coincided with the appearance of the Zika virus in