Ronald Blanton, M.D./M.Sc. – Professor of International Health at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Dear Colleagues:

The Zika virus was first identified in Uganda, in 1947. Transmission to humans was identified in 1952. Into the 1980s, it was tracked in mosquitoes through western Africa and occasional observations in Asia. But in spite of rare evidence of human exposure, illness was rare and disease was regarded, as WHO reports, as “benign.”

In 2007 the first outbreak of identified zika-related disease occurred on the Pacific island of Yap. In 2008 sexual transmission was documented between a U.S. scientist, infected in Senegal, and his wife in Colorado. The first large outbreaks occurred in French Polynesia in 2013-14. In early 2015 Brazil reported an outbreak of skin rash disorders that would be traced to Zika. In November Brazilian studies suggested a link between Zika virus and microencephaly in infants. Subsequent research in Brazil and Polynesia has strengthened that link. By February of 2016, WHO reported that, “Human Zika virus infection appears to have changed in character while expanding its geographical range.” By August Zika diseases were spreading in the United States, with at least 21 cases of birth defects, hundreds of infections among pregnant women, and the FDA ordered blood banks to screen for the virus. In February President Obama requested $1.9 billion in new funding for responses such as mosquito control, but Republicans have demanded that the money be redirected from other spending, or attached it to attacks on Planned Parenthood.

What the heck is going on? What do we know about the threat? How did it happen? What do we know about responses? Join us as Professor Blanton, an expert in mosquito-borne diseases whose field work focuses on Brazil, shares his perspectives.

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies 

About Our Guests

Dr. Ronald E. Blanton of CWRU’s Center for Global Health and Diseases works to integrate basic bench research with fieldwork in tropical medicine. His research includes immunology, genetics and molecular biology. Much of his work involves a field component in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil – and so he was close to the scene when Zika burst into prominence last year. Two main lines of his research involve infection by and treatment of the diseases caused by Schistosoma parasites (“snail fever”), and similar issues regarding dengue fever, for which the main disease vector is the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Much of the Zika transmission has been by the same mosquito, and the paths and developments of Zika and the dengue fevers have sometimes been difficult to distinguish. His recent publications address issues such as the social factors that shape persistence of urban schistosomiasis, and the comorbidities that could increase risk that patients’ dengue fevers could become dengue hemorrhagic fever. Dr. Blanton received his M.D. from CWRU in 1979 and his M.Sc. in Genetic Epidemiology from CWRU in 2003.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. This week we meet in Guilford House, the yellow building with a nice porch at 11112 Bellflower Road, just east of the Tinkham Veale University Center. The main entrance of Guilford faces east, towards the fountain that almost never is running, and the talk will be next to the entry hall. During most other weeks we will meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library; the room will always be announced in these e-mails and on our website.

Parking Possibilities

Participants who wish can park in the lot underneath Severance Hall. From that lot they could take elevators to the surface either labeled “Thwing Center” or as entries to the Tinkham Veale University Center. They then could walk down the sidewalk with the University Center on their left and Thwing on their right. They will pass Mather Dance on the left and see Guilford ahead to their left. Some lucky persons may find parking on Bellflower Road. The lots at the Church of the Covenant and the Ford Garage are also fairly close to Guilford. From the Church lot, go down the stairs at the west side of the church; turn right on the walkway and follow that to Guilford. From the Ford Garage, walk out on Ford; turn left to walk up to Bellflower; turn left and you will soon see Guilford on your left.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

September 16: The Chinese Business System. With Steven Feldman, Professor of Design and Innovation, Weatherhead School of Management.

September 23: Politics, Economics, and International Trade. With Joe White, Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy.

September 30: What Next for the British Labour Party? With Luke Reader Ph.D., SAGES Lecturer.

October 7: The Lake Erie Wind Farm and the Future of Wind Energy. With David Matthiesen, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Director, Wind Energy Research and Commercialization Center.

October 14: Living Black: Social Life in an African-American Neighborhood.. With Mark S. Fleisher, Research Professor, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Alternate Location: Mather House Room 100.

October 21: The DARPA Robotics Challenge and the Future of Robotics. With Wyatt S. Newman, Professor of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering.

October 28: Macroeconomic Challenges for the Next Administration. With Mark S. Sniderman, Executive in Residence and Adjunct Professor of Economics, Weatherhead School of Management, and former Research Director, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. November 4: Biennial Political Science Department Pre-Election Forecast Discussion.

November 11: The Unrealized Promise of Libertarianism. With Gus Dizerega, Ph.D., independent political theorist.

November 18: Can Democracy Meet the Challenge of Polarization? With Mark Chupp, Assistant Professor, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Social Sciences.

November 25: Thanksgiving Break.

December 2: Putin’s Russia. With Kelly M. McMann, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director, International Studies Program.

December 9: Health Care Report Cards – Time for Second Thoughts? With J.B. Silvers, John R. Mannix Medical Mutual of Ohio Professor of Health Care Finance.