Encounter (1)

                                                                       Zika Virus

We always find viral things on the internet without even trying. New ideas and events are shared all over the internet. You know almost everyone who has access to the internet knows about the "new thing" everyone is talking about. This new thing does not have to be a good thing. Something that I had stumbled on recently is the Zika virus. At first, I thought it was just another virus until I saw numerous articles on it. Each new article that came out describes how it's spreading very quickly. I heard about it on the radio as well. Even though I have never encountered the virus, reading about it intrigued me. The virus is spread through a mosquito bite and is found in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Infected individuals experience mild flu-like symptoms. Based on certain situations, the virus has caused pregnant women to give birth to babies who have microcephaly. This is still being tested but pregnant women are told to not travel in these areas until the situation is handled. This has a lot to do with my Cell and Molecular Biology class. In class, we learned about how our cells replicate DNA and how the cell functions. In order for a virus to be able to reproduce, it needs a host cell. The virus incorporates itself into the genetic material of the host. The process of how it uses the host cell is what relates the virus to class. In order for us to understand how something is affecting our bodies negatively, we need to first understand what is supposed to happen to be considered normal. Everything affects us either directly or indirectly, we just have to find the connection.




                                                                          Website
                                           http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/index.html