As we all know,
Zika is a very prominent global health crisis right now. Due to this, coupled
with my interest in sexual health, I will be discussing a current approach that
Puerto Rico is using to try to combat this Zika problem.
So far, they
have had more than 8,700 confirmed Zika cases and by the end of the year, the CDC is predicting that 20-25% of the total
population will have been infected (Beaubien, 2016). The scary thing is, 900 of
the 8,700 confirmed cases are women who are currently pregnant and there is
nothing they can do to prevent the possible associated birth defects.
What they can do
is try to prevent this from happening to even more pregnant women. To do this,
obstetricians and gynecologists are offering free contraception to anyone that
wants it. In the past, Puerto Rico has had barriers to accessing contraception, so this is a radical initiative for them. The OB/GYN that is heading up this
initiative, Dr. Bracero, says that “condoms and birth control pills are
low-efficiency, low-compliant methods” so they are offering more modern,
long-lasting and expensive options such as implants and IUD’s as well as
condoms and pills (Beaubien, 2016).
Although they
are offering these options, Dr. Bracero mentions that the use of birth control
in Puerto Rico is still low, but does not mention why. I am assuming that due
to the fact that Catholicism is the dominant religion in the territory, women
are worried that taking advantage of this preventative measure will go against
their religion. But how far will people go to prevent the devastating potential
side effects of this virus? Hopefully this initiative will keep the number of
pregnant women infected with Zika to a minimum.
Beaubien, J. (2016, August
6). Puerto Rican OB-GYN's offer free birth control to fight zika. Retrieved
August 31, 2016, from
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/06/488992750/puerto-rican-ob-gyns-offer-free-birth-control-to-fight-zika
WOW! I did not know the rates were that high in Puerto Rico. That is very scary that a big chunk of those infected are pregnant women. I like that you said even though this number is high, we should still be taking preventative measures. I think it’s great what that doctor is doing and that modern, long-lasting contraception is now free. Because we have recently found out the Zika can be sexually transmitted as well, it is important that this population is educated on that as well. Although they may be protected from getting pregnant, they can still pass the virus to their partner if they are not wearing a condom. Although this is a terrible situation, it will be easy to see the absolute effects of Zika virus in pregnant women of this cohort.
ReplyDeletePuerto Rico is really taking a big hit. Do you think that part of the spread of Zika in Puerto Rico is due to impact of the economy of Puerto Rico on it's population? Most of the people in Puerto Rico are suffering and at one point, the director of Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, made an impassioned plea to Congress to bail out Puerto Rico. The cost of simple products have skyrocketed and people cannot keep up with the cost. With Zika, we are told to wear long clothing, well it's hot in Puerto Rico. Getting rid of standing water, but why is there standing water in parts of Puerto Rico. Are they using drums to collect water for future use because of the staggering cost. We have fixes that may work in the US, but may not necessarily work in other parts of the world if we don't understand their condition and the context in which things are occurring. I hope that Congress agrees to a budget to fight Zika because we can say wear a condom etc.etc, but that is not the crux of the situation. They are fighting for their live economically and now with this disease fighting for the health of the next generation. How long should they wait to have kids is another question.
ReplyDeleteThe latest figure in PR is 13,791. Of course, we have to stem the infections and treat the infected. As some of you have pointed out, of larger importance is how to treat the underlying causes of these vector borne diseases and the complex situation of PR now. The context and circumstances in PR now is critical and diseases like ZIKA are just waiting to happen.PR also is ranked low average in health rankings in the US states and territories and has a background of colonial conquests and inequalities. I think this huge ZIKA infection rates presents us with an emergency and also an opportunity.
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