The Zika virus foreshadows our dystopian climate future
- Abstract
Spread by mosquitoes whose range inexorably expands as the climate warms, Zika causes mild flu-like symptoms. But pregnant women bitten by the wrong mosquito are liable to give birth to babies with shrunken heads. Brazil last year recorded 4,000 cases of this “microcephaly”. As of today, authorities in Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica, El Salvador and Venezuela were urging women to avoid getting pregnant.Think about that. Women should avoid the most essential and beautiful of human tasks. It is unthinkable. Or rather, it is something out of a science fiction story, the absolute core of a dystopian future. “It is recommended that women postpone – to the extent possible – the decision to become pregnant until the country can move out of the epidemic phase of the Zika virus,” the Colombian health authorities said, adding that those living in low altitude areas should move higher if possible, out of the easy range of mosquitoes.
- Resource Type
- Opinion/editorial
- Author
- The Guardian
- Resource URL
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/25/zika-virus-brazil-dystopian-climate-future
- Date
- January 25, 2016
- Organization Type
- News
- Health and Human Impact
- Vector-borne disease
- Climate and Environmental Impacts
- Extreme weather events Heat
- Other
- Health surveillance