Written by Shiraz Baxamusa
The Zika Virus Pandemic in 2016 caused a global stir, leading to 1.4 billion infections worldwide. How was the Zika pandemic resolved and what clues can that give to solve the current COVID-19 crisis?
With all the recent news about the COVID-19 outbreak, making most states in the US have a mandatory lockdown, the majority of the population is somewhat educated about the crisis with almost every news channel posting updates daily. That being said, why not take a second to travel back in time to another more controlled virus outbreak from 2015.
The Zika virus first was reported in February, 2015 in Brazil, but made its way to America in January of 2016. The pandemic ended when the CDC’s official travel guidelines for the city of Miami, Florida were lifted on September 19, 2016. Worldwide, the virus spread to 87 countries, infecting between 700 million and 1.4 billion people. The virus had a mortality rate of 0.02%, leading to only 18 deaths in the US from 500,000 suspected cases, but the virus had a more fatal effect on pregnant women, linking to the birth defect microcephaly.
At the peak of its pandemic, the number of laboratory-confirmed cases per state can be seen in the graph below(via. CDC, United States, 2016). Comparatively, on the right graph, confirmed COVID-19 cases are shown as of April 6, 2020, by state(CNN health).
Both the Corona virus and Zika virus are zoonotic disease, but a key difference between them is the way they transfer. Zika virus mainly comes from infected mosquitos, making areas with heavy mosquito populations at higher risk of an outbreak. COVID-19 mainly spreads through bodily fluid traffic, a target area that is much larger than Zika's. This being said, one who is infected with Zika is likely to get between 3-6.6 others sick, while the same person infected with Coronavirus would only get 2-2.5 others sick. This statement shouldn’t make sense. Why is corona spreading so much then? And the answer to the question has to do with its incubation period.
Since the coronavirus incubation period is so long, many carriers of the virus can be unknowingly spreading it because they don’t show any symptoms.
How Was the Zika Pandemic Handled?
The solution to the Zika virus isn’t very helpful when it comes to handling viruses in the present, but mainly stemmed from herd immunity. When enough people from a community become immune to a virus, it no longer spreads as easily. That paired with colder weather from a change in seasons, which was not ideal for mosquitos, meant a sharp drop confirmed Zika cases.
This article may not be helpful when determining how to combat the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, but with every outbreak, necessary precautions will be taken and new advances in science will lead to discoveries on how to stop the spread of a certain virus. For right now, the best possible solution is to stay at home and practice social distancing to reduce the number of target areas where COVID-19 can spread, and of course, stay safe, and wash your hands.
Works Cited
“2016 Case Counts in the US.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 Apr. 2019, www.cdc.gov/zika/reporting/2016-case-counts.html.
“Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
“Tracking Covid-19 Cases in the US.” CNN, Cable News Network, www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-us-maps-and-cases/.
“Zika Virus.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Nov. 2019, www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html.