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[학생 칼럼]Zika virus

Chaemin Jang/McLean HS,10th

The recent outbreaks of the Zika virus, also known as Fravivirus Flaviviridae, have been closely tied to the increase in the number of incidents of microcephaly, which is an abnormal brain development that results in severely shrunken heads.

The Zika virus is most commonly spread by the Aedes mosquitoes, including the Aedes cinereus. The tropical environment in South America provides a great breeding site for mosquitoes, which thus poses a significant risk factor for Zika virus infection, leading WHO to declare it as Public Health Emergency of International Concern in early February.

One seemingly effective method the Brazilian government took in response to this sudden pandemic was to embed a chemical larvicide called pyriproxyfen in drinking water to cause malformation in larvae and impair development and reproductive ability.

Pyriproxyfen had been known to have minimal impact on birds, fish, and mammals, but recent researchers have challenged this claim. University networks for environment and health suggest that the sudden increase in incidents of microcephaly may have been caused by the chemical larvicide itself, instead of the mosquito-borne Zika virus.



Brazilian doctors, for incidence, stated that they have seen the greatest number of microcephaly oriented babies due to their extensive use of pyriproxyfen.

In contrast to Colombia, which had no incidents of microcephaly while experiencing an enormous outbreak of the Zika virus, one scientist stated that Brazil is experiencing extreme incidents of microcephaly.

In addition, a report from physicians in the crop-sprayed towns commented that “Malformations detected in thousands of children from pregnant women in areas where the Brazilian state added pyriproxyfen to drinking water are not a coincidence.”

Even in areas with 75% infections of Zika virus, the traditional Zika has not been associated with any birth defects before the Brazilian government’s desperate actions.

Due to exclusive concentration of microcephaly in Brazil, however, some state that it is improper to state a causal relationship between pyriproxyfen and microcephaly. They cast a doubt on the physicians’ claims because their report does not give any scientific evidence, but only circumstantial evidence.

The located incidences of microcephaly in regions which do not use pyriproxyfen or any other larvicides further puzzle the scientists and the governments.

The World Health Organization must urgently establish a cause of microcephaly through sufficient experiments and surveys. We must remember that there are many human beings who can be affected by the outbreak, directly or indirectly.



투데이/학생인물사진 장채민


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