It seems that every year in America, people and the media have a new rare disease to overhype and over examine. From the Swine flu, to the infamous Ebola, now the Zika virus has taken the country by storm. These unfortunate diseases mainly caught people’s attention due to their highly contagious nature, but most all have been relatively quarantined within a short period of time. However, the Zika virus has recently gained potential momentum from a natural occurrence Hurricane Matthew, for the first time I realized the biochemical impact that natural disasters can have on the human population.
The Zika virus is far from friendly, the Centers for Disease Control warns that the disease has a potential to cause birth defects in babies who’s mothers are infected. Much like the infamous Swine Flu, the Zika virus is spread through a particular animal, in this case mosquitos. Not only are mosquitos already pesky enough, but also their bites, if infected, can carry this nasty disease. According to the CDC, Zika has primarily plagued the poor communities in African areas with contaminated water and a lack of resources. Much like the confounding third variable studied in class for the children with worms, the quality of living has to be measured when discovering the nature of the Zika disease. In both cases, the poorer communities tend to have more kids with worms and are more prone to disease.
According to Abc World News, the devastation of Hurricane Matthew has reduced populated areas to shambles, much of which resemble the likes of a vulnerable habitat for disease. As a result, the threat for Zika has increased in the minds of many, as the devastated areas are hotbeds for potential contamination. The disease can be transmitted through not only the mosquito, but also sexual contact, making it even more devious. The CDC warns that the disease has a potential to cause birth defects in babies whose mothers are infected.
Therefore, it is easy to make the correlation between poorer areas and their susceptibility to disease. Although America is far from a third world country, it is alarming that a natural disaster can reduce its communities to resemble one. Hurricane Matthew creating such havoc on American soil hits home, leaving an uneasy feeling that we are not as protected as we may think.
Image found here.
I love this topic and find it very interesting that people who live in poorer areas are probably more likely to succumb to disease. Based on common sense alone, I would agree with your conclusion to reject the null hypothesis that worse living conditions do not create a higher chance for people to catch disease. For instance, the mosquito that carries the Zika virus is attracted to still water, according to Dr. Bruce Aylward (link below) of the World Health Organization. Logically, poorer areas should have more still water as the quality of living conditions are not as high as other areas. Nevertheless, Brazilian scientists from Brazil’s largest research facility believe these types of mosquitos prefer clean water, making nice and poor areas equally susceptible to disease. The article goes on to explain a studies conducted by the University of Waterloo, which conclude that there is no significant difference between catching disease in nice or poor areas.
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/06/16/482345540/is-the-risk-of-catching-zika-greater-in-poor-neighborhoods
Thomas,
I really liked how you were able to tie this into what we have been discussing in class about the children with worms, that helped me to better understand what you were saying! Although, as wonderful as this blog was I think it could be so much stronger if you added more examples. I know that it would make a greater impact to the readers if it was more that one scenario. Other than that great job!
Abigail
This blog immediately intrigued me from the title. I was not sure how the two (natural disasters and disease) were going to tie into each other but you did a great job. I often hear people worrying or discussing the Zika virus but I never looked too far into it. This definitely sparked my awareness on the topic and took it from aimlessly worried to more informed. You are certainly correct on America being far from a third world country but it is definitely understandable as to how the virus could spread so easily here, especially in areas of devastation. People who might want to help fix up the areas should 100% check out this blog and beware of the protection needed while outside in those areas.
Awesome blog and great topic! I wrote about the Zika Virus during the last blogging period and how it affected beekeepers in South Carolina. The pesticide, naled, was sprayed and resulted in the death of 3 million bees. I enjoyed how you mentioned Hurricane Matthew and the negative affects both the hurricane and the Zika Virus are giving to the people. In the article ,http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/zika-virus-outbreak/florida-may-have-its-first-zika-virus-outbreak-n612771, it explains how pregnant women are in the most danger and they shouldn’t travel to any places where the Zika Virus is present. Like you mentioned in your blog, the CDC is doing everything they can to make the people safe. The CDC is also providing Zika prevention kits to the residents living in areas of outbreaks.