Why Brazil Doesn't Want Women In The Northeast To Become Pregnant
Brazil's Ministry of Health made an unprecedented announcement this month: It told women in the northeast of the country not to get pregnant for the foreseeable future.
And it's all because of a mosquito — the Aedes aegyptispecies, which can spread a variety of diseases, including Zika virus. Health experts in Brazil are concerned that the virus, whose symptoms are typically a low-grade fever and bright red rash, might be having a devastating impact on newborns.
In the past few months, doctors have been seeing a rise in microcephaly, a rare neurological disorder that results in infants having small heads and underdeveloped brains, causing severe developmental issues. Children born with this illness are likelier to die young and require constant care.
On Oct. 20 Dr. Kleber Luz, an infection specialist at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in the city of Natal, got a call from a colleague in another northern city with a question: How many cases of microcephaly had been diagnosed recently?
"Normally in a year you'd have maybe three or four cases," he says by phone from his home city of Natal in Brazil's north. "In 24 hours when we asked around, there had been 11 in the city. And that was a shocking enough number that we realized something very serious was happening."
Luz and his team asked around and discovered that most of the mothers diagnosed with microcephalic fetuses had something in common: They had Zika virus early in their pregnancy.
Zika virus was first discovered in the 1940s in Uganda and named after a forest there.
It's not clear when Zika arrived in Brazil, though some doctors speculate it could have come with African visitors during the World Cup.
Initially, it wasn't a concern. Normally, Zika is not a serious infection, unlike malaria and dengue, for example. People are ill for a few days and generally recover.
But after the cases of microcephaly popped up, Luz remembered a paper that had been written in 1971, showing that rats infected with Zika developed a neurological condition.
Brazil's Ministry of Health says there is now a suspected link between Zika and the cases of microcephaly in infants.
"Everyone involved in this is extremely concerned about what could happen," says Luz. "We don't yet understand this illness."
The Health Ministry is now working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an arm of the World Health Organization to figure out what is going on. In the meantime, six states in Brazil have announced a state of emergency. There are 1,761 cases of microcephaly; many more are expected as Brazil's Health Ministry says more than 1 million people could have contracted the virus.
Luz also says women in the northeast should refrain from getting pregnant, echoing the recommendation of the ministry.
In the meantime, the government is sending out teams of health inspectors to try to control the mosquito that spreads the disease.
In a middle-class neighborhood in the north of Rio de Janeiro, health inspectors went door to door this week looking for places where the Aedes aegyptimosquito breeds. They looked into cisterns and empty plant pots, taking water samples.
At one house 36-year-old owner Elisabete de Abreu said her father-in-law has the virus, so she knows this is important.
"It's an enormous concern because of the children," she said.
The Aedes aegypti bloodsucker spreads not only Zika but yellow fever, chikungunya and dengue. It first arrived in Brazil on slave ships coming from Africa; in the mid-20th century it was almost wiped out after a huge outbreak of yellow fever led to a concerted eradication campaign.
But experts say the mosquito came back after those measures were relaxed. These days it's everywhere. Beyond Zika, Brazil is actually suffering a dengue epidemic right now as well, with over 1.5 million cases in the country.
One of the reasons is climate change, according to experts. A harsh drought has been affecting Brazil, so people are storing water on their rooftops.The Aedes aegypti loves to breed in standing water in urban environments. The female needs to feed on blood to mature her eggs, and cities have both a lot of people and places to lay eggs.
But it's not clear why Zika virus could be having this effect on fetuses.
"It's a mystery for everyone. We only just started looking into this a month ago," says Denise Valle, a researcher and entomologist at Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, a leading scientific research center in Rio de Janeiro, who studies the Aedes aegypti.
Dr. Angela Rocha is an infection specialist with the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital in the state of Pernambuco, where many of the microcephaly cases have been detected.
"I've been an infection specialist for more than 40 years and I've never been through such a period of stress. If we don't get a handle on this, we are going to have a generation of damaged babies," she warns.
It could take years to determine whether the mosquito is to blame. The ban, meanwhile, is a suggestion. But many women are in a state of high alert — and some pregnant women are living in a fog of citronella.
Valdemar Geo contributed to this story.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
Kwa nini Brazil haipendi wanawake wa kaskazini mashariki kupata mimba? - Wizara ya Afya ya Brazil imetoa taarifa ya kwanza ya kutokuwa na mimba mwezi huu: Imewaambia wanawake wa kaskazini mashariki mwa nchi kuwa hawapaswi kupata mimba kwa siku zijazo. Na yote ni kwa sababu ya mbu - spishi ya Aedes aegyptus, ambayo inaweza kusambaza magonjwa mbalimbali, ikiwa ni pamoja na virusi vya Zika. Wataalamu wa afya nchini Brazil wana wasiwasi kwamba virusi hivyo, ambavyo dalili zake ni homa ya kiwango cha chini na mchochota mwekundu, vinaweza kuwa na athari mbaya kwa watoto wachanga. Katika miezi michache iliyopita, madaktari wamekuwa wakiona ongezeko la microcephaly, ugonjwa wa nadra wa neva ambao unasababisha watoto kuwa na vichwa vidogo na ubongo usioendelea, na kusababisha matatizo makubwa ya ukuaji. Watoto wanaozaliwa na ugonjwa huo hufa wakiwa wachanga na huhitaji kutunzwa daima. "Kleber Luz, mtaalamu wa maambukizi katika Chuo Kikuu cha Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Marekani, alipokea simu kutoka kwa mwenzake katika mji mwingine kaskazini na kuuliza: ""Ni wagonjwa wangapi wa microcephaly wamegunduliwa hivi karibuni?""" "Kwa kawaida katika mwaka mmoja unakuwa na labda kesi tatu au nne, "anasema kwa simu kutoka mji wake wa nyumbani wa Natal kaskazini mwa Brazil. "Katika muda wa saa 24 tulipouliza, kulikuwa na watu 11 katika jiji hilo.""" "Hiyo ilikuwa idadi kubwa sana hivi kwamba tulitambua kwamba kulikuwa na jambo fulani baya sana.""" Kwa mujibu wa utafiti huo, wanawake wengi waliopatikana na ugonjwa wa microcephaly walikuwa na virusi vya Zika. Virusi vya Zika vilianzishwa mwaka 1940 nchini Uganda na vimepewa jina kutokana na msitu uliopo nchini humo. Haijulikani ni lini Zika iliwasili nchini Brazil, ingawa baadhi ya madaktari wanadhani inaweza kuwa ilikuja na wageni wa Afrika wakati wa Kombe la Dunia. Mwanzoni, haikuwa jambo la kuogopesha. Kwa kawaida, Zika si maambukizo mazito, tofauti na malaria na homa ya deni, kwa mfano. Watu huwa wagonjwa kwa siku chache na kwa kawaida hupona. Baada ya kugundua kwamba alikuwa na microcephaly, Luz alikumbuka makala ya mwaka 1971 iliyokuwa ikionyesha kwamba panya waliopatikana na virusi vya Zika walikuwa na ugonjwa wa neva. Wizara ya Afya ya Brazil imesema kuwa kuna uhusiano kati ya ugonjwa wa Zika na ugonjwa wa kichwa kidogo kwa watoto wachanga. "Kila mtu anayehusika katika jambo hili ana wasiwasi sana juu ya kile kinachoweza kutokea", asema Luz. "Bado hatuelewi ugonjwa huu". Wizara ya Afya ya Marekani imeshirikiana na Kituo cha Kudhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa (CDC) na Shirika la Afya Duniani (WHO) kutafuta chanzo cha ugonjwa huo. Katika kipindi hicho, majimbo sita nchini Brazil yametangaza hali ya dharura. Kwa sasa kuna watu 1,761, na idadi hiyo inatarajiwa kuongezeka, kwa kuwa Wizara ya Afya ya Brazil imesema watu zaidi ya milioni moja wanaweza kuwa wameambukizwa virusi hivyo. "Luz pia anasema wanawake katika kaskazini mashariki wanapaswa kujiepusha na kupata mimba, akirudia pendekezo la wizara hiyo. """ Serikali ya nchi hiyo imewatuma maafisa wa afya ili kujaribu kuondoa mbu wanaosambaza ugonjwa huo. Katika eneo la watu wa tabaka la kati kaskazini mwa Rio de Janeiro, wakaguzi wa afya walienda nyumba kwa nyumba wiki hii wakitafuta maeneo ambapo Aedes aegypti huzaana. Walichunguza visima na mitungi ya mimea iliyokuwa tupu, wakichukua sampuli za maji. Mmiliki wa nyumba hiyo, Elisabeth de Abreu, mwenye umri wa miaka 36, alisema kuwa baba mkwe wake ana virusi hivyo anajua ni muhimu kufanya hivyo. "Ni wasiwasi mkubwa kwa sababu ya watoto", akasema. Aedes aegypti mnywaji damu hueneza si Zika tu bali homa ya manjano, chikungunya na homa ya dengue. Mnyama huyo aliwasili Brazil kwa meli za watumwa kutoka Afrika, lakini karibu akaangamizwa katikati ya karne ya 20 baada ya kuenea kwa ugonjwa wa homa ya manjano. Lakini wataalamu wanasema mbu huyo alirudi baada ya hatua hizo kupunguzwa. Siku hizi ni kila mahali. Brazil pia ina ugonjwa wa homa ya dengue, na zaidi ya watu milioni 1.5 wameambukizwa. Mojawapo ya sababu hizo ni mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa, kulingana na wataalamu. Kwa sababu ya ukame mkubwa nchini Brazil, watu wanaweka maji kwenye paa zao, na aina ya Aedes aegypti hupenda kuzaliana katika maji ya miji. Mwanamke huyo anahitaji damu ili mayai yake yakue, na majiji yana watu wengi na mahali pa kuweka mayai. Hata hivyo, haijulikani ni kwa nini virusi vya Zika vinaweza kuathiri watoto. "Ni fumbo kwa kila mtu. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""Mwanamke huyo ni mchunguzi wa Aedes aegypti, Denise Valle, ambaye ni mtaalamu wa wadudu katika kituo cha utafiti cha Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, huko Rio de Janeiro." Angela Rocha, daktari wa magonjwa ya kuambukiza katika hospitali ya Oswaldo Cruz, Pernambuco, nchini Brazil, amekuwa akishuhudia ugonjwa huo kwa muda mrefu. """Nimekuwa daktari wa magonjwa ya kuambukiza kwa zaidi ya miaka 40 na sijawahi kupata shida kama hii." Kama hatutashughulikia hili, tutakuwa na kizazi cha watoto walioharibiwa", anaonya. Inaweza kuchukua miaka mingi kuamua ikiwa mbu ndiye anayesababisha tatizo hilo. Kwa wakati huohuo, marufuku hiyo ni pendekezo. Lakini wanawake wengi wako katika hali ya tahadhari ya juu <unk> na baadhi ya wanawake wajawazito wanaishi katika ukungu wa citronella. Valdemar Geo alichangia hadithi hii. Copyright 2020 NPR. Kwa maelezo zaidi, tembelea www.nl.org.