The Rising Threat of the Zika Virus-A Collective Global Challenge to Rapidly Develop a Vaccine to Pr

Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, one of the species that can carry the Zika virus, begins its blood meal. [Credit: James Gathany, CDC]

The Zika virus is obviously a menace to the health and well-being of the pregnant women in Brazil and increasingly those who are pregnant in other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean as the virus spreads beyond the borders of Brazil. Perhaps there are five (5) key points that should be highlighted in the fight against the Zika virus that is now threatening Brazil and other parts of the region and world.

Firstly, as I am sure the governments of Brazil, El Salvador, Colombia, the US, Argentina, and elsewhere where the Zika virus has already appeared have probably realized that the most effective response to this challenge is a collective one. In this regard, all countries already impacted by this virus that is so devastating for unborn babies should pool their medical resources, work out strategies and share their best practices for screening, testing and educating their populations particularly pregnant women, women who are planning to get pregnant and their families in the battle against this virus. The latter will in all likelihood require that epidemiologists, virologists, doctors, microbiologists and other medical practitioners from the affected countries work together to develop optimal screening and testing methods, brainstorm together about best practices to combat this virus and if needs be even to cross the borders of each other's territories to monitor the targeted groups of women and those who may be pregnant or suspect that they are pregnant. Secondly, the notion of asking women to postpone their pregnancies for a year or two (as was reportedly suggested by some officials in El Salvador) until the virus is eliminated or at least tamed by the governments in the affected countries and those likely to be affected, though understandable is not a strategy to combat the virus. Rather it is a plea that is solely dependent on the voluntary goodwill of women and their male partners to delay their families for a year or two. The thought is well meaning though fraught with several complications. For example, how cooperative or sympathetic will women at or near to their proverbial biological clock be to this plea? How sympathetic will women who have always had issues with fertility be, particularly those who are getting closer to their biological clock? How likely will these populations of women be to postpone their pregnancies as opposed to taking a serious risk should they be bitten by a mosquito carrying the Zika virus? Presumably many of the cited groups of women and others not in these groups will take the chance to get pregnant in these countries rather than hold off on starting or adding to their families. It is also conceivable that some of these women may leave their own countries legally or otherwise and go to countries that they consider safe from the Zika virus to have their babies. Needless to say, there are several implicit and explicit consequences that could be related to such decisions not least of which is that several of these women could be potential carriers of the virus which would only contribute to the globalization of the currently embryonic problem. Thus, the need for all governments in the region, those already impacted and those who in all certainty will be, to act in politically decisive ways in mobilizing the required resources to eradicate the Zika virus is indispensable. This fight has to become if it's not yet a national and regional priority before it becomes a regional and even a global health crisis. Thirdly, the collective battle against the Zika virus today is primordial since its political and economic costs and more importantly, the potential human sufferings of the affected children living with brain deformities and cognitive difficulties brought on by microcephaly are simply incalculable in the long term should those in charge fall asleep at the switch. Sadly in Brazil alone there are more than 4,000 cases of newborns diagnosed with microcephaly according to Telesur. That's Brazil alone and there are reported cases in Colombia, El Salvador, the US and elsewhere. These cases should alert us to the crisis that may result in due course if decisive collective actions are not quickly adopted to arrest the spread of the Zika virus. Fourthly, if the virus is not decisively combated now like there is no tomorrow not only will the number of cases of microcephaly exponentially multiply but the very fragile health systems in many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will be even more overwhelmed and less able to serve the people particularly poor pregnant women in the case of the Zika virus. Like President Obama, I believe that it is indispensable that the US and other countries affected by the Zika virus must collectively strategize to rapidly develop a vaccine and a test for this rapidly spreading virus. Indeed, the concerns of President Obama, US health officials and the US population as a whole are well founded given that already there are reportedly 31 cases of the Zika virus of which 3 are pregnant women.

Finally, the urgency of the need for an accurate testing and ultimately a vaccine is evidenced by the upcoming emergency meeting the WHO will have on Monday, February 1st in Geneva to discuss its description of the Zika virus as "spreading explosively." Reportedly, the WHO’s meeting will be held to determine whether the Zika outbreak should be declared as an “international health emergency.”The WHO's description of the virus is quite accurate particularly given its estimate that by year's end an estimated 4 million cases are likely to be detected in Central and South America region. The latter should not be surprising since already according to the US’ Centers for Disease Control or CDC, the Zika virus is currently detected in more than 20 countries, mostly in Central and South America. "Those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act" Albert Einstein

-Michael Heslop is a freedom loving citizen of this world-