The emerging facts about Zika virus are painting an ever bleaker picture. We now know for sure that it can cause microcephaly in the developing fetus.
Last week’s (CDC) in The New England Journal of Medicine confirmed strong suspicions that the virus was behind a rise in cases in South America of the condition, in which children are born with an abnormally small head and malformed brain.
But given our current understanding of Zika, and the lack of a vaccine, we should start worrying about other harms too. Seemingly healthy children born to infected mothers could also harbour less obvious damage that will manifest itself as mental disorders as they get older.
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Ominously, the CDC says: “We conclude that a causal relationship exists between prenatal Zika… infection and microcephaly and other serious brain anomalies”, including calcium build-ups that damage the developing brain.
Other infections that, like Zika, damage brain tissue prenatally have already been linked to future incidence of mental illness, including schizophrenia.
Not exceptional
In fact Zika, which has spread from the tropics to the US in the space of a few months is just the latest neglected tropical disease to disrespect Western borders. Others include Chagas disease, cysticercosis, toxocariasis, toxoplasmosis and trichomoniasis.
Like other neglected tropical diseases, Zika will probably hit poor people hardest in areas where environmental neglect, shoddy housing, crowded conditions and poverty conspire to create a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
These are called neglected diseases for a reason – their treatment has long been under-resourced and little research has been done on Zika’s long-term impact. Now Western nations including the US and their governments are having to confront them.
The suspicion that Zika’s full toll may include a coming wave of mental ill health only adds to the impetus to act quickly.
