3.11 | Avian Flu, Ebola and Zika
The avian influenza-type virus was discovered in Vietnamese poultry in February 2004 and started infecting people who worked in the poultry business. Cases were recorded from several other nations afterward. It was thought that a pandemic would develop. However, there was little (or maybe no) human-to-human transmission, and the mortality rate was quite low. Another virus with the potential to spread globally is Ebola. It has largely affected Africa so far, where an epidemic started in Guinea at the end of 2013. It does not make a distinction between age groups and is extremely deadly. In 2015, Zika was discovered for the first time in Micronesia and then in Brazil. Later, it expanded more widely over the globe. Mosquitoes carry it around and spread it. It causes severe malformations (microcephalus) in 1% of the unborn infants of infected women. Zika is a serious health problem.