Current Events Lesson Plan January 28-February 3, 2016
Current Event: WHO Declares Global Zika Virus Emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared an international public health emergency in response to a frightening outbreak of Zika virus across South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. This declaration is an urgent call for action to focus international attention and resources on fighting the widespread outbreak of Zika virus that is strongly suspected of causing thousands of cases of severe birth defects in Brazil and elsewhere. Since November 2015, Brazilian health authorities have observed a dramatic increase in babies born with microcephaly. With this condition, a child is born with a smaller-than-normal sized head, often with severely impaired brain development. Several of the babies with this condition and their mothers tested positive for exposure to the Zika virus, strongly indicating a link between the virus and the birth defect. WHO officials have since found that the Zika virus was spreading explosively through 24 countries and territories in Central and South America and the Caribbean. They believe as many as 4 million people may become infected in the months since November 2015. The emergency declaration by WHO will facilitate a coordinated response by various international health agencies. This will greatly help improve methods to detect the Zika virus, implement mosquito control measures to prevent the spread of the virus, and speed work on a possible vaccine in hopes of controlling the disease.
Objective:
A virus is a microscopic organism that must infect a living cell to reproduce. A virus is a parasite—that is, an organism that depends for its survival on another organism, called its host. Viruses reproduce by manipulating or “hijacking” the natural functions of the host cell. As viruses reproduce, they damage some of an organism’s cells, which can cause disease. Each year, millions of people throughout the world die or become ill from viruses. Many symptoms of viral infection are caused by the host’s immune response to infection, rather than the virus itself. Such symptoms may include fever, aches, and nausea. Vaccines can prevent many viral infections by providing immunity against certain viruses by activating the body’s adaptive immune response. Immunizing a number of individuals can halt the spread of a virus through a population. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore viruses and other health-related topics.
Words to know:
- Birth defect
- Disease
- Epidemic
- Immunization
- Medicine
- Public health
- Virus
- World Health Organization (WHO)
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students to name other diseases caused by viruses. (Students might say AIDS, chickenpox, Ebola, influenza, measles, mumps, rabies, smallpox, and yellow fever.)
2. Occasionally, a school will cancel classes for a few days because of some illness. Ask your students to debate, “When should a school cancel classes because of illness?”
3. Ask your students to use World Book’s Timelines feature to view or add to the Advances in Medicine timeline. (Students may wish to use the “History” section of World Book’s “Medicine” article for help.)