5/12/16 Unit 4c

DEET Seen as Safe for Pregnant Women to Avoid Zika Despite Few Studies

Link - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/health/zika-virus-deet-pregant-women-safety.html

Summary - As the Zika virus continues to ravish South and Central America, pregnant women are turning to controversial ways, such as the use of DEET, to protect their unborn children. DEET is used to repel the mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus, and while it is effective, the use of DEET may prove to be as harmful as the Zika virus to the unborn child. The EPA and the CDC are running tests to see if the use of DEET is harmful to the fetus. These tests are few and show few results yet pregnant women continue to protect themselves with DEET.

Analysis - The bureaucracies part in this crisis is extremely important. The more the EPA and CDC learn to prevent and control the Zika virus the safer we, as Americans will be when the virus comes to our shores. As these agencies run more tests we will learn safer ways to protect ourselves from the mosquitos that spread it. It would be highly recommended for Congress to increase the budget of these agencies.