Zika in Brazil: Little Mosquito, Big Problem

On February 1, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a global health emergency, citing the virus’s association with microcephaly, an abnormal smallness of the head that causes physical and cognitive complications in newborns and can cause incomplete brain development. With neither a cure nor a vaccine expected for years, the WHO projects the virus to infect over 4 million people by the end of the year. The virus’ danger to newborns is pushing soon-to-be mothers into panic and causing hopeful mothers to put off pregnancy.   Zika plunges the world into yet another global health struggle just as it emerges from the shadow of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. First recorded in the Zika Forest of Uganda in 1947, the virus has spent the past several decades moving slowly across Africa and Asia. The first confirmed report was documented in Brazil last April. In the interim, Zika has spread throughout the South American continent, into Mexico, and across the Caribbean, infecting over 1.5 million people as of February 2016. Carried by the abundant Aedes mosquito, the virus has demonstrated the ability to spread with alarming rapidity.

Latin America enters the current epidemic already wounded as, perhaps ironically, the region laid the seeds for the current outbreak in the 1950s. Fifty years ago, the hemisphere pushed Aedes mosquitos to the brink of eradication in an attempt to snuff out dengue fever. However, as the number of mosquitoes fell and outbreaks declined, governments lost focus towards eradication measures, eventually ending them. The surviving mosquitoes repopulated, leaving the continent vulnerable to another round of epidemic.

Brazil, more than any of its neighbors, finds itself entombed in Zika’s grasp. As ground zero for the outbreak and with over 1 million documented cases since April, the Zika outbreak is pushing Brazil to take drastic action. According to CNN, over 200,000 soldiers have been mobilized to distribute insecticides and mosquito nets throughout the country.

Unfortunately for the Brazilian government, this epidemic emerged at one of the worst possible moments. Falling export prices combined with a corruption scandal centered on Petrobras, the state-owned oil firm, have rocked the government and driven President Dilma Rousseff’s approval ratings to historic lows. Partisan skirmishes have pushed the country into paralysis as politicians from every party are implicated in the Petrobras investigation. Ms. Rousseff herself is simultaneously fending off impeachment charges.

So far, Brazil appears to have set aside partisanship in responding to the crisis. Eager to score approval points, politicians have pushed for mass fumigation. Representatives at a Pan American Health Organization summit, however, noted the lack of long term solutions that have so far been implemented. PAHO director Carissa Etienne even stated that the desire for visible and flashy solutions currently in effect will leave the mosquito larvae unharmed, ensuring Zika’s proliferation as the next generation matures.

With Brazil’s economy teetering on the verge of collapse, Zika could prove the final straw. February has historically brought in large amounts of tourist dollars as visitors stream into Brazil to enjoy the Carnival season. Additionally, the nation is expecting even more tourists this summer for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Carnival’s tourist dollars already seem unsalvageable; if the country does not implement a long term plan soon, it risks scaring off Olympic tourist dollars as well.

Zika is not Brazil’s only problem, but if the government does not shake off its paralysis and inspire confidence in its ability to respond, this regional health threat can only get worse.