ECOL 409 by Morgan Elizabeth McGurk

Pick a Disease of Study 3/18/25

morganmcgurk — 2025-03-18 23:04:33 UTC

Zika virus belongs to the family Flaviviridae and genus Flavivirus. It is related to other viruses such as yellow fever, West Nile viruses, and dengue. Zika virus is primarily transmitted through infected Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Zika virus can also be transmitted through sexual activity or from a pregnant person to their fetus during pregnancy (CDC, 2025). Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause pregnancy-related complications as well as microcephaly or congenital malformations in the infant (WHO, 2022).

Point of Origin 3/28/25

morganmcgurk — 2025-03-29 02:18:09 UTC

Zika virus was first detected in 1947 in the Zika forest of Uganda in a rhesus macaque. The infection was later recovered from the mosquito Aedes africanus in 1948 and was detected in humans in 1952. The suspected infectious agent was a virus (WHO, 2016).

Zika virus is a zoonotic disease, which is an infectious transmitted between animals and humans (University of Washington, n.d.).

Disease Spread 4/5/25

morganmcgurk — 2025-04-06 01:56:54 UTC

Zika virus was first detected in Uganda in 1947 and later appeared in other African countries throughout the 1950s (WHO, 2022). Over the next 60 years, there were fewer than 20 human infections recorded across Africa and Asia (Gubler et al., 2017; WHO, 2022). The first Zika virus outbreak did not occur until 2007 on the island of Yap, in which about 5000 individuals had mild cases of the infection (Gubler et al., 2017). Later epidemics were more severe, with neurologic complications in newborn babies identified in French Polynesia and Brazil (Gubler et al., 2017).

Virulence 4/13/25

morganmcgurk — 2025-04-13 21:03:26 UTC

Virulence is defined as the severity of harm done to a host by a pathogen. Virulence can be measured in terms of morbidity, mortality, symptoms, or a reduction in host fitness.

Most people with Zika virus do not experience symptoms or only experience mild symptoms (i.e fever, rash, headache), suggesting the virus is not highly virulent (WHO, 2022). Zika virus, however, can cause serious birth defects in infants of infected mothers (CDC, 2025). Thus, the virus is more virulent in infants who contract it vertically from their mothers.

More severe neurological problems resulting from Zika virus were not identified until the second outbreak of the disease (Gubler et al., 2017). This could suggest that the virus became more virulent over time or that the sample of individuals infected in the first epidemic was too small to observe rare symptoms (Gubler et al., 2017).

Medical Advances 4/18/25

morganmcgurk — 2025-04-19 04:16:05 UTC

Following the association of Zika virus with microcephaly and other neurological conditions, the World Health Organization declared Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in 2016 (WHO, 2016). A Zika strategic response plan was devised in the same year (WHO, 2022). The plan outlines 4 main objectives related to Zika virus: detection, prevention, care/support, and research (WHO, 2016).

Due to the lack of a cure for Zika virus, one of the main methods used to prevent Zika virus was vector control (WHO, 2016). Individuals that did contract Zika virus were recommended to treat symptoms by resting, staying hydrated, and using over-counter medicine (WHO, 2016).

Researchers have been working to investigate potential therapies that may treat or prevent Zika virus (Munjal et al., 2017). Some therapeutic candidates that have been researched are cytokines, TLRs, siRNA, and more (Munjal et al., 2017). Continued research needs to be conducted to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms associated with Zika virus and develop a safe and effective treatment (Munjal et al., 2017).

Leadership Response 4/24/25

morganmcgurk — 2025-04-25 01:13:00 UTC

Various leadership and governmental bodies responded to Zika virus outbreaks, such as the World Health Organization, the CDC, and the Obama Administration. These responses came following associations of Zika virus with birth defects and the spread of Zika virus to the United States.

The World Health Organization declared Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in 2016 (WHO, 2016). A Zika strategic response plan was devised in the same year (WHO, 2022). The plan outlines 4 main objectives related to Zika virus: detection, prevention, care/support, and research (WHO, 2016). An innovative initiative used for the prevention of Zika virus was vector control (WHO, 2022).

The CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center on January 22, 2016 to help track Zika virus, teach healthcare providers to identify Zika virus, and educate the public on Zika virus (CDC, 2017).

On February 22, 2016, the Obama Administration submitted a request to Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency funding to combat Zika virus (The White House). Emergency funds would be used for vaccine development, mosquito control, and more. One thing leadership could have done better is acting in a timely manner to acquire these funds, as some individuals believed Congress could wait until the fall to provide funds (The White House).

Society Effect 4/29/25

morganmcgurk — 2025-04-29 17:14:09 UTC

Zika virus disproportionately affects women and children and has revealed public health disparities in maternal/child healthcare (Phelan & Gostin, n.d.). For example, political and social barriers exist worldwide that restrict women's access to reproductive healthcare such as contraceptives and abortions (Phelan & Gostin, n.d.). Ironically, though, during the spread of Zika virus, women were encouraged to avoid having unprotected sex with male partners who lived in areas with Zika virus (Rasanathan et al., 2017).

Other societal behaviors changed for pregnant women, such as wearing protective clothing to avoid mosquito bites and avoiding traveling to areas with Zika virus (Rasanathan et al., 2017).

It is hard to determine whether society truly learned from the effects of Zika virus, as the Zika epidemic drastically declined in 2017 (Cohen, 2017). It is suspected that societies began to reach herd immunity, which prohibited Zika virus from spreading (Cohen, 2017). It is possible that some of the protective behaviors previously mentioned contributed to this.

Padlet Final Reflection 4/29/25

morganmcgurk — 2025-04-29 17:34:39 UTC

One of the most revealing aspects of Zika virus that I learned was the harmful impact the disease can have on infants of infected mothers. While many individuals with Zika virus experience mild symptoms, it is especially important for pregnant women to be protected from the disease to avoid the development of neurological conditions or other congenital malformations in their child.

I was surprised by the fact that the first Zika outbreak occurred in 2007, but Zika virus wasn't declared a public health emergency by the WHO until 2016. It shows that asymptomatic individuals can make it difficult to recognize the spread of a disease, and that virulence plays a large role in the impacts of a disease.

Something I came across in my research is that Zika virus disproportionately affects women and children, which highlights disparities in maternal/child healthcare. I included this research in the "Virulence" and "Society Effect" portions of the Padlet, but it might be interesting to add a question that more explicitly asks if the disease affects a certain demographic of people more than others.