Ugandan scientist cautions Africa on Zika outbreak

• RONALD SSEKANDIENTEBBE – As the World Health Organisation on Monday declared the Zika virus outbreak in south America a global emergency, a Ugandan scientist with extensive knowledge of the disease has cautioned African countries in risky areas.

Julius Lutwama, a top scientist at the Uganda Virus Research Institute told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday that parts of the east African coast and west Africa are at a greater risk because they have the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the virus.

He said the mosquitoes, which also transmit yellow fever and dengue fever, breed in stagnant water around homes.

“If this Zika virus gets to the east african coasts, it may cause problems there, if it goes to west Africa where you have a lot of the Adese aegypti, then you are going to have this virus transmitted,” he said.

Originally, the Zika virus presented a mild fever and it could go unnoticed without cases being reported to health centres.

What is, however, causing anxiety is the link to babies born with underdeveloped skulls and brains, a condition known as microcephaly.

Official figures show over 4 000 suspected cases of microcephaly have been identified in Brazil. So far, 270 have been officially confirmed to have links to the Zika virus. Further testing is underway.

It is this new twist that scientists say needs urgent attention. They argue that the virus has to be stopped from moving to newer places, reducing new infections, finding best ways of treating it and looking for a possibility of finding a vaccine.

“There is a threat that from south America, it will move to north America, especially the southern parts which have mosquitoes that are capable of transmitting the virus,” he said.

The Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 in central Uganda in a forest located on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest fresh water body. The virus was stumbled upon by scientists working on another viral disease, yellow fever.

While testing monkeys in the forest, the scientists came across a new microorganism, which they named Zika, a word in a local language there to mean ‘bushy’.

Lutwama, however, argues that there is no cause to worry because the type of the Adese aegypti in Uganda, although has the capacity to carry the Zika virus, prefers to bite animals as opposed to humans.

He noted that even if one person is infected, there are not many mosquitoes that can transmit the virus to other human beings noting that the Adese aegypti mosquitoes in Uganda prefer to stay in forests.

Until 2007, over a span of 60 years, there had been only 14 confirmed cases. Thereafter, the numbers started going up. Scientists say the Zika virus strain ravaging south America is different from the strain found in Africa. Lutwama said the strain in south America is a mutated form.

Lutwama said risky areas in Africa can do some basic things to deny the Adese aegypti breeding ground. People can start by removing all stagnant water, broken bottles and containers around their homes.

–Nampa-Xinhua

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