There are several short animations about Zika virus, five of which I will review here.
1. How Zika spreads (and who's to blame) a one minute infomatic by Sohail Aljamea.
Malaria as the most dangerous disease spread by Aedes aegypti but the film focuses on the danger of yellow fever rather than dengue, a much more widespread condition which unlike yellow fever, has no available vaccine. A map of the United States showing the distribution of Aedes mosquitoes as far north as Iowa, Ohio and New York does not correspond to the likely areas of spread of Zika; the virus thrives in areas of warm temperature, dense population, open drains which are largely absent from the areas shown in red on the map.
The information is essentially accurate but the style is dramatic and might cause non-professionals to overestimate the risk of Zika infection in many of the 30 American states implicated.
Who's to blame? Presumably the Aedes aegypti mosquito, rather than any person or government.
2. "O odioso do Egito".Watch with English subtitles. roughly translated as 'Hateful from Egypt'. A mainly black and white 'woodcut style' animation from Brazil's ministry of Health, accompanied by a song in Portuguese. The film begins with a wanted poster for the mosquito. Three closely related viruses are shown: Zika, dengue and Chikungunya. Mosquito larvae are shown in an open bottle. Rain highlights the danger of any open water, Insecticide is spread on water and earth is added to the base of pot plants, a lid is put on a water tank.
While the control measures are vital, Aedes aegypti has some defences against each of these measures: by living outside houses, laying eggs above the water level, having eggs that hatch after variable intervals, being resistant to many insecticides and entering through fine gaps to breed in covered tanks.
3. A scientifically accurate model of the Zika virus. Visually stunning, tactile, silent film showing the RNA in the centre of the the virus, protein capsid, lipid membrane and the triangular arrangements of enveloipe proteins. Probably of most use to people already familiar with an understanding of viral structure. A fascinating insight but the lack of comparative scale might make people think the virus is larger than 10nm. Doesn't explain any biological properties of the virus.
4. From Aedes to Zika: what we know and what we don't A scientifically sound film in which Professor Jason Rasgon puts the disease in context with a list of symptoms and a map showing the spread of Zika in the last twenty years. 4/5 people have no symptoms but may be carriers of the disease. Infants with microcephaly are shown. Although the link is unproven, RNA virus particles from Zika have now been isolated from a child with microcephaly, supporting a causal link. Insecticides are shown being sprayed in towns in Brazil.
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5. Alerta Dengue, Chikungunya e Zika A health information film in Portuguese encouraging four preventive steps:
1. How Zika spreads (and who's to blame) a one minute infomatic by Sohail Aljamea.
Malaria as the most dangerous disease spread by Aedes aegypti but the film focuses on the danger of yellow fever rather than dengue, a much more widespread condition which unlike yellow fever, has no available vaccine. A map of the United States showing the distribution of Aedes mosquitoes as far north as Iowa, Ohio and New York does not correspond to the likely areas of spread of Zika; the virus thrives in areas of warm temperature, dense population, open drains which are largely absent from the areas shown in red on the map.
The information is essentially accurate but the style is dramatic and might cause non-professionals to overestimate the risk of Zika infection in many of the 30 American states implicated.
Who's to blame? Presumably the Aedes aegypti mosquito, rather than any person or government.
While the control measures are vital, Aedes aegypti has some defences against each of these measures: by living outside houses, laying eggs above the water level, having eggs that hatch after variable intervals, being resistant to many insecticides and entering through fine gaps to breed in covered tanks.
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5. Alerta Dengue, Chikungunya e Zika A health information film in Portuguese encouraging four preventive steps:
Use insecticide, cover water, remove water from old tyres and fill the bases of plant pots.
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