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.