Be vigilant, Zika expert says in Arkansas speech

Doctor expects ‘scores’ of virus cases in South this summer

The Georgetown University doctor who urged world leaders to take the Zika virus more seriously last year encouraged Arkansans to do the same on Monday during a speech at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

Dr. Daniel Lucey, senior scholar with the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, said he and other experts expect the southern United States to see “scores and dozens” of cases of the Zika virus this summer when mosquitoes, which carry the infectious disease, become more active.

Modern technology — such as window screens and air conditioning — should insulate the U.S. from the pandemic levels of Zika in Brazil and other South American countries.

“It’s frightening me,” Lucey said of the virus abroad, which causes birth defects in the children of mothers who were infected during the first trimester of their pregnancies. “What it can do to a fetus, and the human agony and anguish it can cause a parent or sibling.”

Since 2015, 42 countries experienced a Zika outbreak without previous evidence of the virus, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Before 2015, 17 countries reported the virus.

The virus, except in rare cases, is harmless to adults, but U.S. health officials confirmed last week for the first time that the virus caused babies to be born with an abnormally small head and other severe birth defects.

As of April 13, there had been 358 reported cases of Zika in the U.S., which were all linked to travel. There were two confirmed cases of Zika in Arkansas.

Dr. Susan Weinstein, public health veterinarian at the Arkansas Department of Health, said Lucey took a global approach to the Zika virus, adding that the virus in Brazil and elsewhere is cause for concern. Arkansans, however, have a variety of reasons to rest easy, she said.

“The reality for people in Arkansas is, while this can be serious for women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, for the rest of us it isn’t a big concern at all,” Weinstein said, noting that state officials will be prepared once mosquito season begins.

Only about 2 in 10 adults infected with Zika experience symptoms, which include fever, joint pains and an itchy rash. Most never knew they had it, Lucey said.

The Arkansas Department of Health has already begun placing mosquito traps throughout the state to test for the virus, and Weinstein said she suspects the species of mosquito that carries Zika is present throughout the state.

Right now, Weinstein said, the best way to prevent the disease’s spread is through educating returning travelers. Those who have traveled to countries with Zika should use mosquito repellent for three weeks after returning to Arkansas to prevent the virus from spreading to native mosquitoes.

Lucey, speaking to a crowded Sturgis Hall at the Clinton School, recounted his experiences in Sierra Leone and Liberia during the height of the Ebola outbreak. The experiences gave him a keen eye for spotting outbreaks of infectious disease early.

It was a paper Lucey published that prompted the World Health Organization to convene its emergency committee and declare the Zika virus a global health emergency earlier this year.

Lucey paused to hold back emotion at one point during his talk when a photo slide showed health workers helping an Ebola patient drink a bottle of water. His time in Africa was the most rewarding of his career, he said.

Constantly thinking ahead, Lucey predicted the next global outbreak will involve yellow fever, but for now, Zika has his full attention.

Will the disease make its way to Arkansas this summer?

“Do you have the mosquitoes?” he asked with a matterof-fact smile as he shrugged his shoulders.

Upcoming Events