This virus called Zika is an old virus that has recently come about again.  According to the WHO, "It was first discovered in Uganda in 1947" (WHO).  It has now popped up in Brazil which will affect the plans of hosting the 2016 Olympics and now in the Americas and is transmitted by mosquitoes.  This is a huge problem because there is a large population of mosquitoes in the United States and throughout the world.  With all of the technology we have available, we should not be infected by old viruses, there for, we need to learn from the mistakes we had that caused the old ones to spread.  There are speculations of who caused the reoccurrence of the virus, many say that it was the WHO's (World Health Organization) fault. Their role is to coordinate and direct international health within the United Nations and WHO supports countries to help the availability of people who are the same culture to help the different people in need of medical attention.  They also are supposed to keep the planet healthy and help maintain clean junkyards, which is what they are failing at.  The World Health Organization is at fault for the recent reoccurrence of the Zika virus because of the lack of care for a vaccine and cleanup of the junkyards and dumps on our planet. 

This virus needs to be stopped in order to protect the future generation of our children.  According to an article on the CDC (Center for Disease Control) website, "Microcephaly is a condition where a baby's head is much smaller than expected" (Microcephaly). This occurs when the baby is developing during the mother's pregnancy.  The brain does not grow to its full potential, causing disfigure in the baby's head when born.  Since the brain is not fully developed, the baby will have many issues with vision, hearing, speaking, and motor skills.  Recently, and article by MedlinePlus, put out that "Zika has also been linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome, an immune system disorder that can occasionally lead to a fatal form of paralysis"  (CDC Sets New Guidelines on Sex After Zika Exposure: MedlinePlus).  This is a sign that the virus can potentially mutate and cause other deadly diseases.  

The World Health Organization's website provides ample information on this virus since the day it has been brought up again.  They claim that they have taken the necessary steps to keep the Zika virus from coming back since the happening in 1947 in Uganda.  However, in my research, I was unable to find articles stating what exactly they did to help prevent Zika from returning.  It is their job took keep our planet clean and healthy throughout our existence.  According to an article in the WHO's website, "WHO is sending a team to Cabo Verde, with joint participation of experts from WHO AFRO and the Institute Pasteur, Dakar." (WHO Supports Cabo Verde in Managing Zika Virus) This means that they are working with other to try and pre vent the virus from further spreading throughout the planet.  If the necessary precautions were taken when Zika was first discovered, all of this would not have to happen.

There are many other organizations helping to fight this disease.  According to an article on USA Today website, "The World Bank offered $150 million to fight the Zika outbreak and provide medical care. The institution said more funds could be made available if needed in the future" (Szabo).  With the help from The World Bank, tremendous progress can be made.  They have ample amount of money and resources to find a cure for the Zika virus.   In addition, "The Obama administration will ask Congress for $1.8 billion to respond to the Zika virus abroad and prepare for it at home, officials said Monday." This was stated by an article in the Washington Post (Maraniss).  Other programs working together are the CDC and the NIH.  According to the NPR, "So CDC is collaborating with the NIH to develop better tests for the virus. The NIH has also issued a call for researchers already receiving funding for work on viruses like Zika to do more research to better understand it."  The NIH is The National Institutes of Health and they are a biomedical research facility.  With the collaboration of the CDC and the NIH, progress on the Zika virus vaccine should be increased tremendously.  This shows how other organizations are responding to the outbreak and the different ideas they have.  Some ideas may work better than the WHO's and may put an end to the Zika virus.

The World Health Organization has had problems in the past with viruses.  You would think they would eventually learn from their mistakes but records show that they have not.  A virus similar to Zika has also been a reoccurring problem for our world.  This virus is called the Chikungunya.  Like the Zika virus, Chikungunya is transmitted by mosquitoes.  The viruses have very similar symptoms except Zika can effect a child's birth.  The first case of chikungunya was in 1952 according to the World Health Organization's website (Chikungunya).  After disappearing for a while, it popped up in the Caribbean in 2013.  Still to this day, there is no known vaccination for this virus.  This just proves that the World Health Organization is not up to date on their job which is making sure countries have ample amount of health supplies and cleaning up of the planet's junkyards and dumps.

According to an article in The New York Times called "How Scared Should You Be about Zika?" (Osterholm). WHO plays a part into the reoccurrence of the Zika virus due to a large build up in plastic waste from the rising population of humans.  Maybe everyone should start recycling more, which will take some pressure off of the WHO with the junkyards and dumps.  This is an association to a few reasons why the virus's uprising is happening.  The mosquito likes to lay their eggs in water that has been sitting for a while outside in junk like plastics, old tires, and others things.  With the lack of cleanup around junk yards, the mosquitoes have a better opportunity to lay their eggs in the open waters in the trash. It is also stated that there may be a few strategies to fixing the spread of Zika.  Proper care and cleanup of the earth and up to date medic packs delivered could help.  A mass cleanup of the disease carrying mosquitos will also help.  There are new research and developments every day as scientists are working hard to stop the virus.  An article on the Digital Journal website called "Op-Ed: Zika virus  --  2700 cases in one year in Brazil, first U.S. cases" (Wallis). agrees that it is partly the World Health Organization's fault for the Zika virus return. The main point of this article explains how the virus has started out in Brazil this time around January 2016.   

This virus came back due to the lack of care and lack of cleanup by the World Health Organization.  They are responsible for cleanup of the junk yards and keeping state of the art medic packs available for everyone at any time.  If the WHO had not forgotten about the virus and kept up to date with it after the first appearance in 1947 Uganda then an outbreak of it would be very slim.  The birth defects caused by Zika include microcephaly, where infants are born with small heads.  In this article, it states that "The biggest mass killer of humans on Earth is the mosquito."  This is because they are known to carry deadly diseases like Yellow Fever and Malaria.  It seems that a lot of sources blame the "World Health Organization" for the recent problem.  Another relevant source is from an article by CNN called "Zika virus to spread to all but 2 countries in the Americas, WHO predicts" (Smith). The main topic in this article is talking about how there are recent infections in the United States.  

The recent studies on infections in the United States is supported by an article written by the World Economic Forum, proving the Zika virus has had a huge impact on the United States recently.  According to the World Economic Forum, "The study has produced a map showing how likely Zika is to spread to 100 cities around the world  --  based on two different scenarios. It assessed the risk based on whether or not the two species of mosquito both became effective carriers of the disease" (Myers).  The map shows that a large part of Florida is highly at risk for the Zika virus.  The high population of mosquitoes probably contributes to this finding. Based off of the markings on the map, Miami and Orlando are the most at risk areas in the state of Florida.  At the rate this disease is spreading, there is no telling how much of the world could be suffering from this terrible virus known as Zika.

Though the Zika virus has spread to North America, it currently started back in Brazil.  During my research, I found an article on ESPN (Ford) about how the Zika virus could potentially affect the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.  The best way to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the world is by limiting human contact from possible infected humans and the carriers.  Due to this event, "President Barack Obama has asked the U.S. Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency funding to combat the epidemic."  ESPN also interviewed athletes that are supposed to participate in the Olympic Games in Brazil.  When they asked Hope Solo, an American Woman's Soccer star, about the situation, she has decided to opt out of participating if the games were to begin soon.

The World Health Organization's lack of care for the Zika virus before it blew up again is causing the virus to spread internationally.  An international corporation named Oxis Biotech is also pushing for a vaccination. Oxis Biotech is a corporation that is deep into cancer research.  This knowledge of their background gives them the credibility to work on the Zika virus as well.  With the amount of scientists they have working on cancer, they should have plenty to help with Zika, causing a faster production of a vaccine.  According to Fox 8 WVUE New Orleans "South Korea reported its first confirmed case of the Zika virus on March 22. Health officials from that country said a 43-year-old tested positive for the disease after returning to the country from a trip to Brazil" (Fox).  A researcher with Oxis "has identified small molecule chemical inhibitors that target nonstructural proteins "with the potential for blocking Zika virus replication" (Fox).  Due to a race for a cure for Zika, a new study for a vaccine involving mice has started at UTMB (University of Texas Medical Branch).  Written in an article by Reuters  "U.S. scientists have identified a genetically modified strain of mice that develop Zika, an important tool needed for testing vaccines and medicines to treat the virus that is rapidly spreading across the Americas and the Caribbean"  (Steenhuysen). Mice testing is just a start for the research and development of a vaccine.  Since mice limit what can be said about a human infection because they are not the closest genetic relative to humans, there will later on be more expensive research on other animals like monkeys to help identify closer human responses to Zika.

A new way to reduce the spread of the virus and possibly destroy it is by genetically changing the mosquito. This idea was not brought up by WHO which proves their lack of ability to solve problems for the problems of viruses.  According to an article on The Bulletin "The quest involves scientists from assorted disciplines who rarely collaborate, often compete for funding and have different ideas about how to genetically manipulate the mosquito, Aedes aegypti" (Harmon).  Their idea of changing the mosquito's sexual makeup would be a great problem solver.  This could stop the spread of the species that carries the virus because with only one sex of the mosquito, they can't reproduce.   Society needs to have scientists work together to figure out how to accomplish this for the safety of the people. 

Not only do mosquitos spread their virus through reproduction, humans can also spread Zika through conception.  A recent finding says that the Zika virus is now sexually transmitted.  According to an article on CNN, "Pope Francis suggested that contraceptives may be used to prevent the spread of the Zika virus, despite the church's longstanding ban on most forms of birth control" (Cohen).  This shows that the Pope is taking the virus more seriously than the WHO and  that the Zika virus needs to be taken seriously, especially if the Pope decides to change his views on condom use with sex. The article also stated, "It is to kill someone in order to save another. This is what the Mafia does," Francis said. "On the other hand, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil.""  People need to take the virus more seriously.  Another recent finding by MedlinePlus says that "Men who know they've probably been infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus should not have sex without a condom for six months, according to new federal health guidelines released Friday" (CDC).  It is also imperative to practice this while the women are pregnant to prevent a risk of the virus spreading to the Mother and child. In the same article by MedlinePlus, "One in every 100 pregnant women infected with the virus during the first trimester will give birth to a baby with the birth defect" (CDC).  Also, "In the majority of Zika infections, symptoms included rash (97 percent of cases), fever and joint pain."  Recently, 273 US Citizens have tested positive for Zika.  The less we do to spread this, the faster we can stop the virus.  

My research question "WHO Caused Zika" is very arguable because there is no clear answer but there are many plausible explanations. The argument that the World Health Organization is a main cause for this is the most talked about in my research. They have all agreed on this claim.  This accusation makes sense for a few reasons after reviewing my research.  The WHO has been lacking in their supply in state of the art health equipment needed for all countries.  They have also let the plastic pile in the waste facilities rise. Non-biodegradable containers, tires and plastic bags and wrappers in the backyard, a ditch or a parking lot make great habitats for these mosquitoes to lay their eggs. All they need is a little rainfall in order to lay the eggs. There has been no constant cleanup of the plastic.  This is apparently a cause for the mosquito population rise.  The species carrying the virus is called "Aedes Aegypti." Aedes Albopictus, their close cousin, is known as the Asian tiger mosquito. This species came to the United States in the 1980s and is now in about 30 states. For now, this species does not have any trace of being a significant factor in the transmission of Zika to humans. What we have to worry about is whether the Asian tiger mosquito can become a more effective transmitter of the virus to humans. If this were to occur, we would be under a huge outbreak and would have to stop the birth rate immediately until it was fixed for good. If the World Health Organization provided more helpful health equipment to the lower civilized countries, they would have been less likely to be infected. As far as disagreements, the WHO may not agree with these sources I have talked about.  The World Health Organization website has uploaded numerous links and even fact sheets about the Zika virus.  They seem to be doing something about the virus now but if they had kept up with the world's health and plastic waste, this whole situation could have been avoided.    

The World Health Organization needs to join together with all of the scientists and industries trying to get rid of the Zika virus.  A lot of people have great ideas about how to fight this virus until we come out with a safe and effective vaccine.  With the help of the World Health Organization and their funding possibilities, research and development should come easy for the scientists.  So far, the most effective ides are from the Scientists who want to genetically change the mosquito's sexual makeup and the scientists from UTMB who are beginning to test rats and eventually monkeys for possible cures.  Whatever way we find a cure for Zika, the World Health Organization needs to be involved since it is their fault for the reoccurrence.  

