"C.D.C. Urges Pregnant Women to Avoid Travel to Olympics Over Zika Fears" By Lisl Wangermann Period 1

Eli Rosenberg's article "C.D.C. Urges Pregnant Women to Avoid Travel to Olympics Over Zika Fears" was published by the New York Times on February 27, 2016. The Zika virus, a mosquito-transmitted disease that can cause serious birth defects, is widespread in Brazil, the host of the 2016 summer Olympics. In a travel advisory, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention urged pregnant women not to travel to Brazil for the Olympics. When a pregnant woman is infected, their baby might be born with microcephaly, which is when a baby is born with a small head and an under-developed brain. Still, people might ignore this warning because scientists still do not know the exact correlation between the Zika virus and birth defects. For example, they do not know why, out of the 9 cases of Zika virus in the US, only one baby was born with microcephaly. For people who do decide to go to the Olympics, the C.D.C. recommends staying in specially protected rooms, covering as much skin as possible, and wearing repellent spray.

The Zika virus is similar to other past epidemics, the most recent example being the West Nile virus. The most striking similarity is the way they are transmitted: by mosquitos. Mosquitos are everywhere, making these viruses extremely scary because one can contract them while going about their lives like running errands or sitting outside. Additionally, they both are significantly more dangerous to children and pregnant women than to other people. This is partially true for every disease because children and pregnant women have weaker immune systems, but it is especially true in these two cases. Their source location is also very similar. Both originated in Western Hemisphere, and because of that, Europe has not been affected by them. Hopefully, the Zika virus epidemic dies down like the West Nile epidemic did.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/cdc-urges-pregnant-women-to-avoid-travel-to-olympics-over-zika-fears.html?hpw&rref=us&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well