Ifeoluwa Tugbobo February 13th, 2019

A Vicious Virus To Pregnant Women Worldwide: River Valley fever virus

River Valley fever (RVF) is a viral disease contracted by domesticated animals. Contact with the infected blood and organs of these animals often result in human infections. Notably, the spread of the disease to pregnant women has been found to affect human fetuses negatively.  In a New York Times article,“A Virus Even More Dangerous Than Zika to Pregnant Women”, published January 7th, 2019, by Emily Baumgaertner, revealed a recent study concerning human fetal tissue and the effect RVF may have on fetuses. The study claimed that RVF virus was far more dangerous than the notorious Zika virus. Baumgaertner informs readers about the development of severe illness that directly affects newborn babies by further explaining the implications of an disease and its relation to another terrifying infection. By employing this method, Baumgaertner wants to make readers aware of this condition so they may be prepared for it. Baumgaertner is successful in explaining the importance of this recently discovered disease  for her audience.

According to Baumgaertner which cites the World Health Organization, RVF virus targets sub-Saharan African cattle and other livestock. When the infection spreads, most pregnant cows produce stillborn calves, resulting in an essential monetary loss.. However, it is not uncommon for the virus to transfer to humans, including fever, muscle pain, joint pain, and severe headache. Mosquitos that carry the disease can be found in some areas of Europe and the Americas. There is no known vaccine prevention or treatments for RVF virus.  Baumgaertner introduces her article noting that RVF virus may cause fatal injury to fetuses given that the mother, unfortunately, contracts the disease. Baumgaertner interviewed lead researcher, Amy Hartman, to ask for the reasoning for such research in the first place. Hartman recalled how much the Zika virus caught the world by surprise and unprepared the world was to protect against such a pandemic. If there were preparedness, there would be protections in place for those most vulnerable: women(specifically, their fetuses) and their children . Hartman also commented that the climate change has drastically affected the emergence and spread of infectious diseases. Baumgaertner accounted for two cases involving human fetuses who had contracted the infection. Both were born with exceptional circumstances. Doctors noticed one had an enlarged spleen and liver whereas the other died shortly after being born.  It’s important to consider the fact that many pregnant women do not present symptoms of the disease, so Baumgaertner comments that other abnormal cases may have been misidentified as the cause of another disease instead of RVF. The study focused on the infected rat mothers and the effect on the mortality of their offspring. According to the research, 65% of the offspring died from the treatment group as compared to 25% of the offspring from the control group. More importantly, all the pups who had infected mothers contracted the disease. Researchers found the placenta of infected rat mothers contained the most virus than the other tissues in the body, despite the liver being the most damaged.

Baumgaertner wanted to inform readers of a potential threat and pandemic to pregnant women worldwide. The writing followed an objective style with journalistic writing. The science is presented in a non-logical manner with the results explained first and methods discussed later. The author did choose to include information not in the scholarly article such as non-personal anecdotes as examples and expert opinions from the researchers involved. Baumgaertner used the stories of two newborns who were tragically afflicted, adding pathos to her summary and allowing her audience to feel something for the victims of the disease.  The audience is explicitly targeted for pregnant women and their families because the symptoms of the disease would first impact them. However, the scope of the audience may be extended to doctors, other researchers, and students.

 

 

References

1. Baumgaertner E. 2019 Jan 7. A Virus Even More Dangerous Than Zika to Pregnant Women. The New York Times. [accessed 2019 Feb 17]. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/health/rift-valley-pregnancy-zika.html