If runaway disease were not a disturbing enough nightmare for most people, there is a knock-on effect often just as disruptive: panic, confusion and fear. When a silent killer is on the march and authorities react by dissembling or with desperation, people get the message - and get irrational. The case of Ebola virus disease in West Africa demonstrated vividly how, in managing an outbreak, good information is as important as medical therapy, and failure to inform can lead to disaster. Now the Zika virus, while not as deadly as Ebola, is highlighting again the need for honesty, transparency, and a renewed commitment to research and rapid response in managing such threats.
READ: WHO mulls global health emergency declaration on Zika
The Zika virus existed for decades in equatorial zones of Asia and Africa. Then, about 10 years ago, it cropped up on various Pacific islands. The virus, borne by mosquitoes, causes a mild, flu-like sickness and rash in some infected people, and there is no known therapy. Zika showed up in Brazil last year and now has infected more than 1 million people, and, most worrisome, has been linked to a condition known as microcephaly, in which a child is born with a small head and brain. The Brazilian authorities made the connection because a surge of microcephaly - more than 4,000 cases - emerged about the time the Zika virus arrived, and there is evidence the virus was present in a small number of children and their mothers. Much more needs to be known about the link, however.
In El Salvador, the government did not wait for further tests, and suddenly advised all women in the country to delay getting pregnant until 2018. Aside from the Big Brother attitude, the advice seemed to signal desperation. The announcement did, perhaps, serve as a crude wake-up call for women who are pregnant or might become pregnant to pay attention, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged all pregnant women to avoid travel to areas where the virus has been found.
The virus is certain to spread in the months ahead - by some estimates, to 3 million or 4 million people. The World Health Organization has warned it is "spreading explosively." The most responsible action by authorities is to fight mosquitoes and the conditions in which they breed, and help people grasp the basics, such as protecting themselves against mosquito bites that can infect.
READ: Researchers say Zika case found in Indonesia
The spread of a new or unusual disease - whether it be severe acute respiratory syndrome a decade ago, or Middle East respiratory syndrome a few years ago, or Zika now - also raises an important challenge to biomedical researchers. There's been a hope that gains in genomics and other disciplines could lead to a rapid-response mechanism for fighting such threats. Had a vaccine been successfully developed quickly for Ebola, thousands of lives might have been saved. It is not easy to bend the rules of nature and create effective vaccines and drugs quickly. But the arrival of Zika should remind us that basic and applied research to this end is well worth the investment.
The Washington Post
Mon Feb 01 2016
The Zika virus existed for decades in equatorial zones of Asia and Africa. Then, about 10 years ago, it cropped up on various Pacific islands.
Isu dibangkit Laporan Bank Dunia telah, sedang ditangani KPM - Fadhlina
Isu-isu yang dibangkitkan dalam Laporan Bank Dunia berkenaan sistem pendidikan negara sebenarnya telah ditangani Kementerian Pendidikan (KPM) secara progresif dan proaktif.
Tengku Zafrul gagal failkan afidavit kes pengampunan Najib
Menteri Pelaburan, Perdagangan dan Industri, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz gagal untuk memfailkan afidavit berhubung Titah Adendum berhubung kes pengampunan Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
'Terdapat ramalan tahun ini paling panas selepas 1998' - Nik Nazmi
Cuaca panas susulan fenomena El Nino yang melanda negara ketika ini dijangka berterusan sehingga Julai depan, kata Menteri Sumber Asli dan Kelestarian Alam Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
Keputusan laporan interim nahas helikopter TLDM minggu depan
Laporan interim nahas dua helikopter Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) yang mengorbankan 10 pegawai dan anggotanya pada 23 April lepas dijangka siap minggu depan.
Kerajaan Joe Biden digesa bertindak segera
57 anggota Dewan Perwakilan Amerika Syarikat Parti Demokrat menandatangani surat bagi menggesa kerajaan pimpinan Joe Biden menghentikan serangan Israel di Rafah.
Jakim buka talian khas terima aduan hina Islam
Jakim telah mewujudkan talian khas 24 jam sebagai platform untuk menyalurkan aduan berkaitan isu penghinaan terhadap agama Islam.
PM yakin kenaikan gaji lulus bergaya di Parlimen
Perdana Menteri turut membidas pihak terbabit sebagai 'haprak' dan tidak boleh diterima kerana mengkritik usaha kerajaan untuk menaikkan gaji penjawat awam selepas 12 tahun ia tidak dilaksanakan.
PM arah agensi MCBA jalan tugas serta-merta
Perdana Menteri berkata, semua jabatan dan kementerian berkaitan perlu meletakkan pegawai masing-masing walaupun rang undang-undang (RUU) berkaitan dijangka dibentangkan di Parlimen pada Julai depan.
Papagomo mengaku tidak bersalah, hasut kebencian Agong
Blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris atau Papagomo mengaku tidak bersalah di Mahkamah Sesyen pada Khamis.
Ia atas pertuduhan menghasut yang mendatangkan kebencian terhadap Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim.
Ia atas pertuduhan menghasut yang mendatangkan kebencian terhadap Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim.
Laporan interim nahas helikopter TLDM siap minggu depan
Laporan interim nahas dua helikopter Tentera Luat Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) terhempas di Lumur, Perak yang mengorbankan 10 pegawai dan anggotanya pada 23 April lalu dijangka siap minggu depan.