Thursday, December 8 at 7:00 pm:
From America Abroad: According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been more than 4,000 cases of Zika reported in the continental US and almost 30,000 in US territories.
For most people Zika is a fairly harmless mosquito borne virus, it causes minor discomfort in some people and is usually over in a week. But for pregnant women, Zika can lead to major birth defects. An estimated 64 million pregnancies are at risk globally. Experts fear limited testing capacity combined with symptoms that can sometimes take a year to manifest in infants, could be causing a hidden epidemic.
In this episode of America Abroad we examine the response to Zika and America’s role in the global effort to fight infectious diseases. Also we compare Singapore to India in their efforts to eradicate mosquito borne viruses. Finally we discuss what individuals can do to protect themselves against Zika. Anchored by Madeleine Brand