TITLE:
Survey of Students Regarding Zika Infection: Is the Next Generation Aware of the Dangers?
AUTHORS:
Joseph V. Pergolizzi, Jo Ann Le Quang, Robert Taylor, Peter Magnusson, Megan Nalamachu, Claudio Pergolizzi, Virginia Bingol, Domenico Foti, Charles Wollmuth, Sumiyo Umeda-Raffa, Robert B. Raffa
KEYWORDS:
Zika Virus, Microcephaly, Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Survey, High-School Students
JOURNAL NAME:
Pharmacology & Pharmacy,
Vol.11 No.11,
November
19,
2020
ABSTRACT: In 2016 and 2017 an outbreak of the Zika virus in new locales shocked
populations into
awareness of the disease and of its imputed ability to cause serious fetal
abnormalities, particularly microcephaly. There was a major reduction in travel
by people of child-bearing age. But the temporary regression in the spread, and preoccupation
with COVID-19, seem to have overshadowed concern about Zika virus. In order to
investigate this phenomenon, we conducted an online survey of 157 high-school
students from four schools in different parts of the United States regarding
their knowledge, practices, and attitudes about Zika virus. The mean age of the
respondents was 16.4 ± 1.1 years, 55% were girls, and 60% attended
public (rather than private) schools. Most students (70%) had taken no steps to
prevent Zika, but said they would tell their parents or a physician if they
were exposed. They relied primarily on school and the internet (76% and 72%,
respectively) as trusted sources of information about the virus. The majority
(73%) said they would spend some time to learn more about Zika; girls exhibited
more concern than did boys. Half (50%) of respondents knew the signs and
symptoms of Zika, but only 20% knew all the ways Zika could be transmitted and
31% why Zika prevention was crucial for pregnant women and their partners. The
results of this study suggest that comprehensive national preventive healthcare
educational programs are needed.