This virus, discovered back in the middle of the last century, was considered almost harmless for many years. Well, what is there - a slight rise in temperature, rash, conjunctivitis … Not a single officially recorded death. And suddenly, overnight, the virus becomes a scarecrow of the planet, because of it they are even ready to cancel the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. So what is the Zika virus - another bogeyman that should bring billions of dollars to pharmaceutical companies, or is it really a threat to humanity?
Not painful and not scary
The malicious virus was first discovered in 1947 in macaques in the Zika forest. It is a rainforest located near the port city of Entebbe in Uganda. Later, scientists found that mosquitoes of a certain species carry the virus. The disease has not been studied systemically, because it was not considered dangerous for the time being. First, since the discovery of the virus over the next 60 years, only 15 people have been officially diagnosed with Zika. Perhaps there were significantly more of them, but who will closely monitor the situation in the third world countries? After all, the spread of the virus is Black Africa and Southeast Asia.
The Zika virus had nothing to draw the world's attention to. Africans and Asians bitten by mosquitoes did not die in terrible agony, did not bleed or even infect others. A couple of days of nausea, mild headache, fever, joint pain, rash. And then these symptoms were observed (and are observed) only in every fifth patient. The rest found out that they were not healthy only after a blood test. They did not notice any signs of malaise. The number of deaths (even when in 2007, after a long "pause", the virus began to infect thousands of people) is zero. Our ARVI and ARI seem to be monsters against the background of Zika fever.
And suddenly everything changed. Having more or less successfully "defeated" various types of influenza - from avian to swine - and even the truly deadly Ebola fever, the world community suddenly decided to focus its efforts on the fight against the seemingly safe Zika virus. What has changed lately?
Money doesn't smell
Before we get back to Zika fever, let us remind our readers how the pharmaceutical giants make money on other "deadly" viruses. First, there is a large-scale information campaign promoting another disease - some kind of swine or bird flu, SARS, and so on. When the world's population begins to panic, medicines are thrown onto the market (essentially the same drugs for the flu, but much more expensive), which bring billions of dollars to sellers.
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You can recall the excitement this year was in Russia - in pharmacies, they literally swept away medical masks and drugs from the shelves that “reliably protected” from swine flu. At the same time, the mortality rate from it is no higher than from the usual flu. However, a competent PR campaign made people tremble with fear. But it is not only Russians who bring their money to pharmacies, but residents of different countries!
Another way to make money is to develop vaccines against the "virus that threatens humanity." The pharmaceutical giants in developed countries, receiving grants from governments, are urgently starting to produce millions of doses of vaccines. This was the case, for example, during the swine flu epidemic. Even with the current level of scientific development, the development of a vaccine and a full range of trials (especially in humans) takes at least 10 years. However, pharmacists are breaking all records, finding a cure for the "deadly" disease in the shortest possible time.
Then millions of doses of vaccine are purchased by the governments of countries fearing a pandemic. And then - the ampoules with the "life-saving remedy" gather dust for complete uselessness. After all, the virus turns out to be not as dangerous as it was painted. The incidence of them remains within the normal range, there is no talk of any pandemic. After some time, with a broad gesture, the stock of the vaccine, purchased at a huge price, is donated to the World Health Organization. And WHO doctors distribute it for free in third world countries. At the same time, the vaccine is also being tested in humans. So what if she turns out to be dangerous? Who there, in the African hinterland, will count the number of people killed by it or unborn children?
Did you know that … The worst pandemic in history is the Spanish flu, which killed about 100 million people during the First World War. More than 30% of the world's population has been ill with a Spanish woman.
It is probably this logic that France donated 91 of the 94 million doses of vaccine the government purchased during the peak of the fictional swine flu epidemic to protect citizens. With a generous hand, the UK unbuckled 55 of the 60 million doses accumulated by WHO.
And pharmaceutical corporations are calculating profits and preparing a new informational stuffing about a deadly virus. Now the next step is Zika.
Heavy artillery
The first serious outbreak of the disease occurred 60 years after its discovery - on the Yap Islands (Micronesia). Not a single death was recorded, so this event went virtually unnoticed. But in 2015, when Zika fever began to actively spread in South and Central America (primarily in Brazil), it became one of the main world sensations.
How to make people afraid of a minor sore that is spread by tropical mosquitoes, which means it is safe for most regions of the planet? That's right - to come up with the dire consequences of the disease, as well as new ways of transmitting it.
So, in the world there are several cases (by the way, not definitively proven) of alleged sexual transmission of Zika fever. For example, one of the American scientists who worked in Senegal and contracted a fever there, returning to the United States, transmitted the infection to his wife. But on the basis of this, again, not confirmed by science fact, the world's largest media is in a hurry to “please” their readers: “Now no one can feel safe, even where there are no tropical mosquitoes. The Zika virus is transmitted through sexual contact."
The trial balloon is launched. But people are not scared yet. Even if you catch a fever from your partner, it's okay. Sickness for a couple of days with guaranteed recovery - who are you scaring? And then heavy artillery is used. The Zika virus, it turns out, is extremely dangerous for pregnant women. More precisely, not even for themselves, but for the fruit they bear. After all, Zika can lead to microcephaly - an incurable decrease in the size of the brain and skull. Terrible news for women at risk. But what are these claims based on?
Lies and provocation
So, experts say that since 2015, when the Zika epidemic began in Brazil, "an unusually large number" of babies with microcephaly have been born in this country. Objectively - more sick newborns were born than before, the obvious cannot be denied. However, many factors may have contributed to this. First, Brazil has used significantly more pesticides in agriculture since the beginning of the 21st century than any other country. Including those prohibited in many civilized states, including Russia. This, of course, helps to solve the food problem, but pesticides clearly do not add health to expectant mothers. Maybe poisonous chemicals, getting in with food, gradually accumulated in the body, and finally it's time to reap the benefits of thoughtless use of pesticides?
We must not forget that since 2014 in Brazil, pregnant women have been given mandatory vaccinations against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. Moreover, pharmaceutical companies have not proven the safety of whooping cough vaccine for pregnant women! But their lobby is so strong that the Brazilian government took this very risky step, hiding behind good goals - caring for the health of women in labor. Maybe it's all the same in an incompletely researched vaccine?
And one more curious moment. The company of American billionaire Bill Gates, shortly before the outbreak of the epidemic, released genetically modified mosquitoes in Brazil, which were supposed to destroy their fellows carrying the Zika virus. However, something went wrong, and these mutants themselves became the spread of the disease, after which the cases of the disease increased tenfold! Was it an accident, a mistake by scientists? Maybe. True, in recent years, Bill Gates has been actively investing in pharmaceuticals. It's hard not to see the connection here …
And the last - when it comes to a pandemic, you should trust the conclusions of not engaged scientists (and there are, alas, enough of them!) And journalists serving the interests of business structures, but those who live for the sake of science and impartially record facts. So, at the moment, there are still no deaths from Zika fever. Sexual transmission has not been scientifically proven. And finally, in long-suffering Brazil, only six cases of microcephaly of newborns were recorded, when it was proved that these are the consequences of a future mother's illness with Zika fever. Six sick babies in a huge country!
However, in the coming months, I think, we will face escalating tensions and mass hysteria, and the harmless Zika virus will be officially declared the number one enemy of humanity. Frightened people will go to pharmacies for an extremely quickly developed drug, and directors of pharmaceutical corporations will calculate profits.
Oh yeah, we almost forgot! One of the world-famous pharmaceutical giants has already announced that it will launch the production of a vaccine against Zika this year. And where is the 10 years that are required for its development and testing? Draw conclusions.