Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

IU experts comment on spread of Zika virus

IU experts are offering their perspectives after the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne pathogen, was designated a public health emergency of international concern this week.

The World Health Organization, which posed the new distinction, has estimated the virus will infect up to 4 million people this year, according to an IU press 
release.

The Zika virus was first identified 50 years ago, according to the release, and health officials believe the virus could possibly be associated with microcephaly, a brain defect found in newborns, as well as Barre syndrome, a neurological condition causing muscle weakness.

“About 80 percent of persons who are infected with Zika will have no symptoms,” professor of clinical pediatrics John Christenson said in the release. “Most others will have an illness that resolves itself without treatment consisting of fever, joint pains, rash, conjunctivitis and malaise.”

Assistant professor Robert Reiner, who studies the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses, said in the release that the yellow fever and tiger mosquitos that transmit the virus have expanded their range into much of the southern United States.

“This potentially places a huge proportion of the U.S. population at risk if the virus is introduced and begins to circulate,” professor Richard Hardy said in the release.

Reiner said in the release he believes a large outbreak in the United States is unlikely, but worth 
watching for.

“It’s not a risk today,” Reiner said in the release. “But five years from now it could become a bigger risk if the mosquitoes continue to establish a larger range.”

There is no concern here in Indiana, but those traveling to tropical regions in Latin America and the Pacific should be concerned about contracting Zika, Christenson said in the release.

Hardy drew attention to similar situations where mosquitos carried viral diseases that did not materialize in the United States.

“Widespread dengue virus transmission has been feared for years and has not materialized,” Hardy said in the release. “While isolated cases of Zika may occur in the U.S. in coming years, it is likely to be held in check due to the public health infrastructure and interventions available.”

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe