Infection Detection

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/rio-2016-olympics-to-be-postponed-or-moved

It’s almost time for the summer Olympics! This event that happens every four years riles up crowds of people around the world by incorporating some of their country’s best athletes into a now worldwide-televised event. During this event each athlete is given a chance to take home medals and share pride and glory with their own people.

The modern day summer Olympics is held both indoors and outdoors depending on the type of sporting event taking place. Athletes compete in sports ranging from track and field to basketball, beach volleyball to indoor volleyball, and weightlifting to swimming.

This year’s summer Olympics takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cool, right? You know what else has been "hype" for the past few weeks though? The ever so famous . . . Pika virus! Wait, what? That’s right! Out of all the places guess where that major spread is taking place . . . Brazil!

http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/10/10955222/zika-virus-americas-outbreak-causes-dengue-west-nile

What is the Zika virus? The Zika virus is kind of like dengue in the sense that it can be transferred to people via mosquito bites. Some symptoms involve

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/zika-virus-symptoms-prevention

I’m no scientist or doctor so if you want to learn more about the Zika virus then consult a professional or Google . . . it works. Just make sure the sources are credible.

So now that we’ve established that a huge internationally famous event is taking place where a huge Zika virus outbreak is taking place, we can now get to the real point. What does this have to do with policy? If people from around the world go to Brazil and contract the Zika virus before returning to their home countries, this could result in some intense public health and transportation policies both domestic and international.

So what can you and I do as bystanders during this awesome yet dangerous event? We can raise awareness by voicing out our knowledge about the now potential and exponential spread of the Zika virus. Sure it only lasts for weeks, but why would you want to experience its symptoms?

Amesh Adalja, MD, a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America

Okay, okay. Personally, I wouldn’t want to test out if I would get the symptoms or not. Even if it’s a 1 in 5 chance, who knows if you’ll be part of that 1 or not. Let’s think back to the Olympics for a bit. There are outdoor summer events where our top of the line athletes are lined up and filled with hope to bring home the gold. Let’s hope they bring back the gold and not the virus. There’s no telling who could get infected during this upcoming time period. All we can do at this point is hope for the best and voice out our understandings. We can also prepare for the future by consulting professionals and seeing how policies can help regulate or even terminate the spread of the Zika virus.