Zika: The Emerging Epidemic
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A gripping narrative about the origins and spread of the Zika virus by New York Times science reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr.
Until recently, Zika—once considered a mild disease—was hardly a cause for global panic. But as early as August 2015, doctors in northeast Brazil began to notice a trend: many mothers who had recently experienced symptoms of the Zika virus were giving birth to babies with microcephaly, a serious disorder characterized by unusually small heads and brain damage.
By early 2016, Zika was making headlines as evidence mounted—and eventually confirmed—that microcephaly is caused by the virus, which can be contracted through mosquito bites or sexually transmitted.
The first death on American soil, in February 2016, was confirmed in Puerto Rico in April. The first case of microcephaly in Puerto Rico was confirmed on May 13, 2016. The virus has been known to be transmitted by the Aedes aegypti or Yellow Fever mosquito, but now Aedes albopictus, the Asian Tiger mosquito, has been found to carry it as well, which means it might affect regions as far north as New England and the Great Lakes. Right now, at least 298 million people in the Americas live in areas “conducive to Zika transmission,” according to a recent study. Over the next year, more than 5 million babies will be born.
In Zika: The Emerging Epidemic, Donald G. McNeil Jr. sets the facts straight in a fascinating exploration of Zika’s origins, how it’s spreading, the race for a cure, and what we can do to protect ourselves now.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McNeil, a New York Times science writer, relates the still-evolving medical and political fallout from the recent outbreak of the mosquito-borne zika virus. His survey begins with zika's 1947 discovery in Uganda, which generated little medical interest or testing. In May 2015, an explosive emergence of zika in Brazil suddenly gave rise to more than two dozen babies born with microcephaly, and an abnormally high rate of an auto-immune reaction known as Guillain-Barr syndrome. Four months later, McNeil was pressing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "on how fearful Americans should be." The dogged reporter's investigation gains drama and energy as the World Health Organization struggles over how much caution to relay and the CDC weighs the "sexual politics" of the sexually transmitted virus. McNeil pays special attention to the political quagmire in South America over experts acknowledging that women "needed simply to not be pregnant" when the virus was peaking, and the pushback from religious leaders and women's rights groups. McNeil concludes somewhat wistfully that "an epidemic averted would be great news" for the U.S., as well as "a victory for public health" and for the freedom of the press to share crucial health information that informs citizens' choices. His survey will certainly help to raise awareness among the general public.
