Are you terrified of Zika, the latest mosquito-borne outbreak? I know I am. Zika, now also feared to be sexually transmitted after a case was reported in the US State of Texas, was first reported in Uganda in 1947. I hope it doesn’t become the next HIV or Ebola. Zika apparently causes brain damage and other anomalies in infants and so far, doctors in Brazil have reported about 4,000 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by a shrunken head and incomplete brain development in babies whose mothers sustained bites while pregnant. I’ve seen a couple of pictures of those babies and they appear to be in pain. Other women who are expecting and have been told their babies could be at risk also appear distressed and some have even been advised to have abortions, while many more in South America are basically being cautioned not to get pregnant until further notice. It sounds serious. What I find surprising though is that Zika appears to have exploded overnight, unless I haven’t been paying attention to the news. I don’t have any proof but I just can’t shake the feeling that someone, somewhere, has something to do with this rapid spread. Could it be that someone is trying to get their vaccine on the market? It’s funny how when I was younger, I trusted modern medicine and while I dreaded hospitals even back then, I knew that if I got any infection or ailment, a doctor would give me the right prescription and I would be okay. That seems like a long time ago because as a grownup, I am now deeply skeptical after hearing multiple accounts of misdiagnosed patients, with several people being told they have a certain condition only for another doctor to dispute that. More patients are also dying on operating tables while others pick up new infections after visiting a health facility thanks to inexperienced, poorly trained or corrupt personnel. I’m not saying all healthcare practitioners are bad. All I’m saying is that just like any other field, medicine too has cracks and greedy souls eager to make quick money and unfortunately, lives are lost in the process. I also don’t like this business of researchers using Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to fight disease. Agreed I don’t know much about Science since I failed both Chemistry and Biology back in high school but I find this “Oh let’s create good mosquitoes to wipe out the deadly ones” approach ridiculous. And then months later, they release studies telling us about new tough to treat strains of malaria. Well that’s because you messed with their DNA. Why can’t they just make vaccines and leave the mosquitoes alone? One other thing I don’t like is this idea of people turning wild animals into pets. No wonder we have all these strange diseases going around. I know animal lovers are going to come for me but there’s no way I would let even a cat onto my lap and I’ve seen people hug, kiss and share beds with monkeys, snakes and dogs. If you’re one of those people, just know you’re putting zoos out of business and obviously risking catching diseases that you have even never heard of.
