GPS World, March 2016
WATCH MARKET MAPPING 2 34 GPS WORLD WWW GPSWORLD COM MARCH 2016 The aedes albopictus mosquito feeding on a human host The aedes aegypti mosquito also spreads Zika Photo CDC Combating the Zika Virus T he latest scourge to beleaguer humankind is the Zika virus an insect vector borne disease commonly transmitted through Aedes aegypti and albopictus mosquitos Less commonly Zika can be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy causing microcephaly a severe birth defect Zika is also the possible culprit in outbreaks of Guillain Barré syndrome Zika is endemic to parts of Africa and Asia but over the past months a large number of locally acquired cases estimated between 400000 and 13 million according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control have been discovered in Brazil where the disease had been previously unknown The number of cases and the locations of the outbreak qualify Zika as a rapidly growing epidemic threat Human and mosquito travelers have transmitted the disease subsequently to an additional 13 countries throughout the Americas transforming Zika into a region wide pandemic and causing the World Health Organization to label it an international health emergency In response Direct Relief is reaching out to its network partners to offer resources such as painkillers insect repellent and birth control The non profit organization also created an Esri story map that shows the predicted distribution of both Aedes mosquitos the countries that have current active transmissions and Direct Reliefs partners within those countries Information in the story map was collated from HealthMap eLife Google Esri DeLorme NGA and USGS sources Direct Reliefs Partner Network Countries and territories with active Zika virus transmission as of Feb 16th 2016 Increasing or widespread transmission Sporadic transmission following recent introduction No Predicted distribution of Aedes albopictus mosquito Probability of occurence High Low
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
