What to do about Zika that will also help achieve SDG #3
Lessons from a mosquito…
Zika is here and panic is spreading again. Memories from the 80’s when the first evidence of AIDS was discovered, and more recently from the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa and all the scares in between, are brought back by this mosquito and the virus it transmits.
Whether a mosquito transmits a parasite such as malaria’s plasmodium or the Zika virus, global health knowledge exists about what to do to stop it. The good news is that global health professionals know what to do to identify an epidemic. Zika was not previously expected in the United States, so the few cases we now see could mark the start of an epidemic. Global health professionals, at least those I taught in my courses on “Introduction to Epidemiology” and “Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases,” know about the need to implement public health disease control and surveillance measures until transmission stops and/or the epidemic is controlled.
The good news is that disease control and prevention programs help detect and control all diseases, not just one. And they don’t just control infectious diseases such as Zika, AIDS, malaria, TB or Ebola, but even non-communicable diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular diseases. The bad news is that not every country has an effective disease surveillance and control system, therefore epidemic detection and control programs are not functional in many developing countries. That is why people panic. Every country must have such a system and must be able to be part of a global epidemiological surveillance and disease control network that contains the epidemic and prevents further transmission, while providing timely treatment to those affected by any disease.
There is global experience on how to stop mosquitoes. That is why despite high rates of malaria in many African countries, and despite having the same mosquito that transmits it in the United States, we do not have transmission of malaria in the United States, and most cases are imported. In short, the disease is controlled.
We must stop the panic, which misinforms decisions, and instead, global health leaders must think in terms of systems and not diseases. We must help every country build and sustain their own public health disease prevention and control systems. The United States must take the lead and help every country join a global health network that tracks mosquitos and diseases and shares information to take timely, concerted, and global action. Let’s not spend billions of dollars based on fear but based on sound epidemiological evidence. Otherwise, the mosquito will win. They have been winning for awhile in most places, just see the number of people of die of malaria every year…
To learn more about our global epidemiological network and its programs, write us at info@realizingglboalhealth.com. Stay in touch and join us to stop the panic…
