Sophia Dibbini September 20, 2016
Current Event #2
UF Health. "New mosquito-borne disease detected in Haiti." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 September 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160915164905.htm>.
I read the article “New Mosquito-borne disease detected in Haiti,” from Science Daily. The article announced that University of Florida researchers have identified a patient in Haiti with a serious mosquito-borne illness that has never before been reported in the Caribbean nation. This virus, known as the “Mayaro virus,” is very closely related to the chikungunya virus, which is a virus transmitted to people by mosquitoes. Whether this case signals the start of a new outbreak in the Caribbean region is still unknown. While much attention has been focused on the Zika virus, this outbreak raises much concern and may be starting to circulate throughout the Caribbean. Researchers hope to not see the same massive epidemics for this virus that they saw with the chikungunya, dengue and now Zika. However, these findings underscore the fact that there are additional viruses 'waiting in the wings' that may pose threats in the future, and for which we need to be watching. The article then discusses how this discovery was found, stating that the outbreak was identified from a blood sample taken in January 2015 from an eight-year-old boy in rural Haiti. The patient had a fever and abdominal pain but no rash or conjunctivitis. Because faculty from the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute were in the region during and after the 2014 chikungunya outbreak, plasma samples were obtained from febrile children and analyzed for the presence of chikungunya virus RNA using a genetic identification technique known as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The plasma samples, which were examined by UF's Maha Elbadry, Phd., in Gressier, Haiti, were then sent to EPI for additional virology and molecular analyses, focusing on the detection of chikungunya, dengue and Zika viruses. Dengue virus was detected in the patient, in addition to a "new" virus that was subsequently identified as Mayaro. John Lednicky, Ph.D., an associate professor in the environmental and global health department at the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and the study's lead author, commented on this discovery by saying “The virus we detected is genetically different from the ones that have been described recently in Brazil, and we don't know yet if it is unique to Haiti or if it is a recombinant strain from different types of Mayaro viruses.” The symptoms of Mayaro fever are similar to those of chikungunya fever: fever, joint pain, muscle pain and rashes. Abdominal pain is also a feature of Mayaro fever, however, and joint pain can last longer. Even though this discovery is not seemed as major as Zika and other worldly viruses, finding a source and solution to this outbreak is necessary to preventing the spread and potential deaths.
The outbreak of widespread disease, such as Zika and Ebola, have resulted in numbers of death all around the world. Although new and outbreaking diseases have not caused major problems yet, the ignorance to this disease can result in severe disasters. This problem can worsen quickly because of the ability of mosquitoes to easily travel throughout places and its high numbers all throughout the world. The Mayaro virus can affect our society in a much negative way because we do not know of its effects yet. Instead of putting this discovery off and waiting for an event to happen, we should look into this virus immediately and find ways to prevent it and ways to treat it. Overall, even though this virus is not as severe as others, finding a source and solution is crucial to preventing the spread and infection in the Caribbean, and possibly the world.
This article provided a lot detail about this discovery. First, it provided a lot of information about how the virus was found in the first place and what researchers did to test the samples. The connection to this virus to other viruses stated in this article shows and emphasizes how important this outbreak is. Also, the article thoroughly stated the Mayaro’s connection to other dangerous viruses, showing the connection with Zika and its quick ability to spread and worsen. Although this article provided good information, it also had its weaknesses. For example, the author of the article could have explained the impact this virus could have on the Caribbean more and how this virus could possibly affect not only the people of Haiti, but everyone in the world. Also, the author could have stated what researchers are doing now to further test and examine this virus and what they are doing to prevent the spread of it. Providing more information on the researchers’ objectives on treating this outbreak would have strengthened the article much more. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article and I look forward to staying updated about the status of this virus.
Isabel Caton September 21, 2016
ReplyDeleteCurrent Event Comment 1
I read Sophia’s article about “New Mosquito-borne disease detected in Haiti.” Sophia did a good job explaining the article, she was able to help me understand the topic of the article. I really like how she gave some background on the article and other viruses that are transmitted people by mosquitoes. I like how she connected it to the Zika Virus and how it is spreading throughout the Caribbean, but she also described the differences between the two viruses and the affects they both have on someone who contracted the virus. But she made it clear the differences and that this virus is not as severe as Zika. I like how she was brought in quotes and statistics from researches and the author, Sophia then described and explained the quotes, which helped me understand what they were saying. Sophia made a good point that we shouldn’t wait until there is a huge problem with the new Mayaro virus, we should try and stop it now. One thing I wish she had done and the author had done is explain what researchers are trying to do to stop the spread of Zika and this new virus. I was able to learn a lot more about the viruses and the process of analysing the blood and the plasma samples. After reading the article it is scary for me to think of another virus that is being spread by mosquitoes and I hope that researches and scientists can come up with a plan to stop these viruses from infecting other countries. Overall I think Sophia chose a really good article that is very relevant to us in the United States because the virus can be transmitted to the United States and we need to start fighting this new virus and the Zika virus.
I read Sophia's review of "New mosquito-borne disease detected in Haiti." There were many aspects that were well done. Firstly, Sophia did a good job summarizing the article in an efficient, interesting way. She gave background information and then went to to describe the dangers of this new virus along with the dangers of other viruses. She also did a great job comparing the new virus to the already known mosquito viruses: chikungunya, dengue, and Zika. She explained that this new Mayaro fever is most similar to the chikungunya fever in symptoms which gave perspective to the new virus. Another aspect Sophia did well was explain how the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute detects these viruses: by using plasma samples from patients. This concept is very interesting and could be hard to understand, but Sophia successfully explains what the scientists do.
ReplyDeleteOne thing Sophia could have improved on is giving statistics. Statistics are a good way of giving perspective to the readers and they could have showed us how dangerous all these viruses are. The rate of spread of these viruses, or how many people affected would have enhanced this review a lot. Another thing Sophia could have improved on is stating how scientists will not only find a solution to the Mayaro fever, but also how they plan to help the already existing viruses and new ones that do not exist yet. It is scary to think there are already so many viruses from mosquitos and the fact that there could be other ones not discovered yet is also scary.
Overall, Sophia did a very good job on this article. She was very straightforward with her summary and giving her own opinion on areas of improvement for the author of the article. I learned so much about the Mayaro fever as well as the already existing viruses. I also thought the way scientists test the presence of these viruses: reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, is so interesting. I did not know how they did this and I think it is cool how they can use plasma blood samples to test for the fevers. This changes my view on the world and science because these viruses can spread and affect people all over the world and I hope scientists are able to come up with a way to control the virus and possibly prevent it.