On ZIKA.....What if we can't fly away?

Inspired by my soon-to-be mum sister-friend and the shape of my nephew's head.....

The mainstream media has been blasting the stories about the occurrence and threat of Zika. I don't want to get too much into what the virus could do because there is enough information in the press about this. Essentially Zika could lead to smaller brain/head sizes in babies from affected mothers. In babies, this could lead to developmental issues and there are some scientists looking at the connection to paralysis. Scary right?

Embassies, agencies and even political representatives have been advising pregnant women to leave Caribbean and South American countries affected and even further, delay getting pregnant.

Wait, did I miss something? What about if we can't fly away? What if we are already pregnant?

Did I miss when any government official took responsibility for why all of sudden, this virus which has been around since the 1940's is spreading more quickly? Why is it affecting the places which it is? Who is looking into solutions for mothers who can't afford to fly away? Who is looking into why 70 -80% of people who are bitten don't have symptoms? Are there women out there since the 1940's who have figured out how to treat Zika symptoms to reduce how this virus expresses in babies? Where is all of the climate change adaptation money going that is supposed to address the surge in vector borne diseases due to warmer temperatures, more flooding and shifting weather patterns?

The main advice given by governments is to reduce your chances of getting bitten or prevent yourself from getting bitten. Really, is that all we can come up with? Yes we can light the citronella, spray the repellant and keep the windows closed, but everyone knows those mosquitoes STILL will find a way to bite you.

So, how about we look at this Zika from another angle. Can we make our bodies and communities more resilient? Are we going to accept that there is no treatment/cure for Zika? Can we explore some of the same immune strengthening techniques used to prevent or treat symptoms of Chik-V or Dengue? I'm not a medical doctor or herbalist but I'm sure you can find one who has some ideas on this.

This whole Zika panic is like watching a movie unfold which scientists read the script for at least 6 years ago. I also received an updated script over the last two years based on how much of a lack of awareness we have about our garbage, litter and disregard for the health of our neighbours much less ourselves. When a young lady could disassociate herself from the responsibility of keeping her school clean and it makes Barbados newspaper headlines because there are people who agree, then we have a problem.

Chik-V was here, people complained about the lasting pain, people complained about the garbage creating breeding grounds...but what has really changed?

We are messing ourselves up when we add in the fact that we are paving over our islands without considering where our waste is going and how we need to construct and re-build in way which reduces flooding (more impervious surfaces, rain gardens, swales, green spaces rather than overgrown bush).

When I say where our waste is going, I mean SIMPLY do we have enough securely covered garbage cans in public areas? Do we have enough people coming up with innovative waste management businesses? Are we thinking about how we can reuse everything before it comes back and bites us in the behind in the form of another virus spread by mosquitoes?

No, we are thinking about telling women about preventing pregnancy while we all continuously run from these bites. We can't run forever, and we surely shouldn't wait until Zika hits us harder at home. Are we going to wait until the infected soon-to-be mum is someone we know personally?

How selfish is that.

Maybe the running tourists will be enough motivation to get our act together.

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Why I am writing this? I am an environmental scientist by training and a solution artist in practice. By trade, my currency is facilitating active learning in anyway possible.....

We launch the Better Caribbean Program February 1, 2016.

~ Ariana Marshall Ph.D.