Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of Microcephaly in Brazil. Microcephaly is a congenital condition that results in babies born with abnormally small heads. This condition, which can result in moderate to severe developmental disability and in some cases death, has focused the world’s attention on the apparent connection between the spread of the Zika virus by the Aedes mosquito and an increase in Microcephaly.
The Brazil Ministry of Public Health is reporting over 1,400 cases for 2015, a 10-fold increase in the annual average number of cases from 2010 to 2014 of about 150. It is unclear what connection the Zika virus has to Microcephaly. For example in the state of Pernambuco, where a large number of Microcephaly cases have been diagnosed, less than half are associated with the Zika virus.
The heart-wrenching pictures of apparently emotionally devastated parents holding infants with Microcephaly at a time that is usually joyous and celebratory makes one ask: How did this happen? Could something have been done to prevent it? What can be done to stop it?
While epidemiologic evidence doesn’t confirm a direct one-to-one connection between exposure in pregnancy to the Zika virus and neonatal Microcephaly, the skyrocketing rise of Microcephaly in areas of Zika virus infection have prompted global public health organizations including the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization to issue calls for the control of the Aedes mosquito and precautions for all persons traveling or living in affected areas.
According to WHO, the Zika virus, transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes, was first identified in humans in Uganda in 1952. While the Aedes mosquito has been found on the South American continent for centuries, It is believed that the Zika virus arrived in Brazil and South America at the time of the World Cup in 2014 via this species of mosquito.
The control of of the Aedes mosquito is done by spraying pesticides in public spaces. The recommended precautions are for people to stay in air-conditioned environments, put on mosquito repellent and wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants and hats.
The Brazilian government announced that it has mobilized 220,000 military personnel in the campaign to control the Zika virus. The extent of the campaign is quite enormous. People are also taking individual initiatives. This writer in a personal communication with a Brazilian national was told that he saw a video of a person going around the city drilling holes in the base of the hollow metal poles that hold stop and other traffic signs to drain the stagnant water accumulated in the poles.
Like other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such as Dengue Fever or Malaria, the magnitude of the epidemic is impacted by the socio-economic inequities of capitalist society. Mosquitoes prefer hot climates. Mosquitoes breed in pools of stagnant water. Poor people, like those who live in the favelas of Recife, in the state of Pernambuco, (which has seen almost 50 percent of the cases of Microcephaly), live in conditions of poverty where air-conditioning is not an option for the vast majority.
Poor sanitation and insufficient garbage collection facilitate the existence of stagnant water. Poor housing puts the population at greater risk to the possible toxic effects of the pesticides used for control as compared to better-off communities. The population density of the favelas makes it easier for mosquitoes to transmit the virus. The rise in cases of Microcephaly has refocused the discussion in Brazil around the absence of abortion as an option for women to control their bodies and reproductive choices.
Over the past decade or so the social programs introduced by the Lula government have helped to alleviate the extreme income inequality in Brazil, a consequence of the decades of neo-liberal programs imposed by U.S.imperialism on past governments. Even with these improvements, the impact of the virus will be felt most by the poorest of the population, who will also be less able to provide for the needs of their children who may suffer from the effects of Microcephaly.
Communicable diseases don’t recognize borders. A public health epidemic in one part of the world is a potential threat to public health in any other part of the world.
While objective public health practices are being implemented in Brazil and other affected countries, human solidarity and compassion are important complements to good science.
As evidence surfaces of the Zika virus being found in semen, urine and blood, workers in countries currently free of Zika should reject any unscientific calls for the banning of people from endemic areas. Demonizing or criminalizing people with disease or perceived to have a disease only exacerbates the crisis by driving the disease underground, making it harder for health workers to find and treat those affected and interrupt the mode of transmission.
“There are no borders in the worker’s struggle,” is a slogan raised by the communist movement as an act of solidarity with workers in other countries and against the racist demagoguery of the boss class. The same should be said about fighting global epidemics, “There are no borders in humanity’s struggle against infectious disease.”
