The Zika virus transmitted from mosquitoes to humans has recently been found as sexually transmitted in a case in Texas. Scientists have been researching to see how high of a risk infection through sex is for this illness. It is still evident that mosquitoes are the main component of the spread of Zika through Latin America and the United States. According to a member of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is difficult to target other transmission types of these diseases during outbreaks. The Zika epidemic is predominantly in Latin America and the Caribbean.Distinguishing the sexual transmission of the Zika virus was only possible in Dallas because there was no outbreak there; no transmission was reported in the United States until the Dallas case. It was confirmed that the individual who caught the virus had recently had sex with a person who had just returned from Venezuela, however they have both recovered. Globally there have been cases contraction of the Zika virus from Africa and Tahiti. Currently the scientific is scrambling for solutions due to the evidence from Brazil of babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads (microcephaly) of whom had mothers with the Zika virus. This has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a global emergency because it is a threat to the whole globe. It is important to know about any other types of transmission; for example if a blood donor has been in a Zika outbreak area, can a receiver get infected through a blood transfusions?
As of right now there are no routine screenings of blood donations specifically testing for the presence of the Zika virus because the Zika virus only remains in the blood of an infected person for a few days. A solution to this possible issue would be to test all blood donated, but if that is too expensive, then to definitely test blood used for pregnant women. Another prevention method could be to require all people traveling to infected areas to wait a month after their return to America before donating blood, which has been recommended by the Red Cross and adopted by Canada. This is important to research because there are many unanswered questions like how long is someone infectious, and is it only contagious if the infected person is showing symptoms. I chose this article because I believe that more people have to be informed about the Zika Virus and specifically its symptoms and possible effects. The more awareness that is raised, the more funding for research will be offered and prioritized. The mosquitoes efficiently inject the disease into the bloodstream of the victims, causing rapid circulation. Interestingly, and my favorite quote from this article stated by an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University was that "the mosquito is the deadliest animal on the planet.” Just thinking about a mosquito compared to an animal we see as a vicious animal like a panther, it is baffling to think that mosquitoes are more dangerous. It makes sense though because mosquitoes are much more common in everyday life globally. This article informed the reader, in detail, about what is currently known about the disease, and what precautions are currently being taken. The authors also did a great job finding credible quotes to strengthen their content and bring new insight to confirmed facts. I did not find many weaknesses with this article because it was concise but with enough detail, the authors could have added photographs/diagrams to enhance their point. Other than that I enjoyed reading this article, and I would recommend others to read it.
"US Zika Case Sparks Questions About Sex and Mosquito Germs." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 03 Feb. 2016. Web. 07 Feb. 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/02/03/health/ap-us-med-zika-virus-sex.html
Jeanne great job! I thought that this was a very interesting topic. You did a great job of explaining about the the disease. I had heard about it on the news and want to learn more about it. I really like how you added a quote into your review. I think that always helps to give your review more credibility. I also liked how you brought out the question that people can get infected through blood transfusions. This question helped me think more about the topic. I think that really made your review better.
ReplyDeleteI would say something that you can work on would be to add more data to the article. I think that it would help because data gives people a better understanding of the effects it is having on the world. I also wish there was more about the disease in general. Just so I would have a better understanding.
I learned a lot. When I saw it was about this disease I immediately wanted to learn more about it. I thought it was very interesting to learn how people are getting infected. I also thought it was interesting all the different ways that people could get infected.
Ford Neild February 7, 2015
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Dear Jeanne Chris,
I felt that, overall, you explained the article in very concise manner without skipping over any of the essential details, as many people often do when summarizing. First, you were able to support your claim by inserting statistics and facts from the article, something that many people struggle with in these current events. Prior to reading your summary I would have never guess that mosquitos could be so dangerous and your statics helped me consider this upsetting possibility. Second, you described the scientist’s viewpoint in a very interesting way that held the reader's attention. Often people do not sound passionate when arguing scientists opinions, but you did a fantastic job of that in this description. One reason you were able to do this is through the use of the quote, ”The mosquito is the deadliest animal on the planet”. It helped add a scientist's description that further captured the reader and added a new perspective. Thirdly, your descriptive vocabulary showed real depth of understanding on your part and added additional detail that helped to create a clear image of this previously confusing article.
Though, overall this article was very well written, there is room for improvement yet. Previously, I had commented that your descriptive vocabulary was intelligent and descriptive, however, for many of these words, they were too complex. To fix this, I recommend putting in parentheses the definition of the word. For example, I was not familiar with the term, microcephaly. After doing personal research I found that microcephaly is the abnormal smallness of the head, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development. In your relevance paragraph, you consistently mention the danger of this disease. I was disappointed that you did not give specific examples of how the spread of this condition could truly affect our lives here in america . If these were not mentioned in the article, I recommend doing independent research in order to fix this issue.
From your summary I learned a lot. Specifically, I was amazed by how dangerous a mosquito could be, considering they seem like such a insignificant animal when compared to traditional predators. Personally, I speak spanish and love to travel to South America,where the virus is prevalent, so this article concerned me deeply. As previously mentioned, prior to reading this article I would have never guessed that mosquitos could cause such a potentially fatal disease. More importantly this helped me realize a much broader truth: Although some animals seem small and insignificant, they can be just as dangerous as large ones.
"US Zika Case Sparks Questions About Sex and Mosquito Germs." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 03 Feb. 2016. Web. 07 Feb. 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/02/03/health/ap-us-med-zika-virus-sex.html
I enjoyed reading the review of the New York Times article “US Zika Case Sparks Questions About Sex and Mosquito Germs.” All aspects pertaining to the Zika virus were clearly defined and explained. The Zika virus originated in the islands of the Federated States of Micronesia and then spread to South America, specifically Brazil. The population of the particular mosquito that carries the Zika virus has rapidly increased. It is transmitted to humans who travel and carry the virus with them. The dangers and risks of the Zika virus were clearly addressed. It has a high probability of spreading to the United States. However, the United States’ environmental conditions and small population of mosquitos ensure the outbreak would be small. The Zika virus causes microcephaly in pregnant woman, causing abnormal shrinkage in fetal head size. There is no vaccination for the Zika virus and there are few symptoms associated with the virus. The use of quotations strengthened the review. An expert of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University stated that the "mosquito is the deadliest animal on the planet.”
ReplyDeleteThe use of statistics would have added credibility to the review. The Zika virus is a current epidemic, with the Center for Disease Control recently announcing it can be sexually transmitted. To write the statistics of babies born with microcephaly would have created a scale to how severe the virus is. Furthermore, the research for creating a vaccination would have been interesting to read about.
This article was interesting and informative. The Zika virus is a current epidemic that is feared by many. It is to know the basic information about it because it is infecting many people in Latin America and is spreading rapidly. Prior to reading the article, I only knew the Zika virus caused microcephaly in fetuses. It was interesting to learn about the origin of the Zika virus and how it is transmitted and has risk to spread to the United States.
Wilder, Lisa. "US Zika Case Sparks Questions About Sex and Mosquito Germs." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. .