Author(s)

Alberto Krayyem Arbex^1,2, Vagner Rosa Bizarro³, Mikele Torino Paletti³, Odirlei Joanir Brandt³, Ana Luísa Conceição de Jesus⁴, Ian Werner⁵, Luiggi Miguez Dantas⁶, Mirella Hansen de Almeida^3,7

¹Post Graduation in Public Health and Bioethics, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
²Former Visiting Scholar, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA.
³Post Graduation in Endocrinology, IPEMED Medical School, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁴School of Medicine, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil.
⁵Graduation in Chemistry, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁶Division of Infectology, Central Air Force Hospital, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁷Division of Endocrinology, Central Air Force Hospital, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The current knowledge of the Zika Virus epidemic clearly lacks a comprehensive understanding of its determinants and clinical outcomes. Until recently regarded as a “simple” dengue-like infection, it nowadays turned into a real challenge to Public Health around the world. The Zika Epidemic shows a quick spread, affects unprepared health systems, and presents with severe neurological complications of newborns—a concrete threat to pregnancies. This re-emerging infectious disease is a source of deep doubts and harsh debates regarding Public Health and even bioethical issues. Several doubts still remain on how to deal with the various possible transmission ways of the disease, the surge of a generation of thousands of microcephalic newborns (and questions on how to handle them within limited health systems), and severe malformations concentrated so far in Northeastern Brazil. Finally, a debate is raised about how the “Endemic State” of Brazil, deeply merged in a health care crisis for almost 40 years now, currently confronts 3 current epidemics of the arboviruses Dengue, Chikungunya and now Zika, all associated with a lack of basic sanitation. Brazil must deal with these biological threats in the context of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, since Chikungunya has probably been brought to Brazil during the FIFA Soccer World Cup (2014) and Zika Virus spread is associated with the Soccer Confederations Cup (2013).

Zika Virus, Epidemic, Microcephaly, Bioethics, Public Health, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Rio 2016, Chikungunya, Dengue, Olympic Games, Legacy, Basic Sanitation

Arbex, A. , Bizarro, V. , Paletti, M. , Brandt, O. , de Jesus, A. , Werner, I. , Dantas, L. and de Almeida, M. (2016) Zika Virus Controversies: Epidemics as a Legacy of Mega Events?. Health, 8, 711-722. doi: 10.4236/health.2016.87074.