Zika mosquitoes have spots

Sherri and Lauren reviewing lesson with Josephine Kipampe in
Mwense, Zambia.  Note the little onlooker in the back row!

Did you know mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus can be differentiated by the white dots on their legs and bodies?  Our health workers in Zambia, DR Congo, Malawi, and Nepal do!!   We began training on the causes of Zika and the symptoms to watch for over a year ago.  My guess is many of our health workers are better informed than the average American.

According to Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), "we will see this [Zika] become endemic in the hemisphere."  There are currently more than 4000 people in the U.S. who acquired Zika while traveling abroad.  Forty-nine of our 50 states have been affected; only Alaska has been exempt.  At the moment only one area, Miami-Dade county in Florida, has documented cases of Zika being contracted from local mosquitoes.  The heart-wrenching impact of this virus is evident with every case of an affected baby reported.  Unfortunately, no vaccines are in the near future.