Zika virus: Mother Nature's solution to over-population?

tidbit · Feb 7, 2016

The mosquito that carries the Zika virus has been hitchhiking across the South Pacific, and has now been found in 20 countries around the world, including the US. There are 500,000 known cases of infection in the world. The World Health Organization has called the rapid spread of the disease a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern".

While most people infected with the Zika virus are symptomless, Zika infection of a pregnant mother can cause a very serious birth defect called microcephaly which leaves babies with a smaller than average brain and serious developmental problems. Officials in many South and Central American countries are urging women to postpone getting pregnant until 2018; but that is not likely to happen as these women usually do not have a say in when they have sex, especially in countries where sexual violence is rampant. Officials are also discussing lifting bans on abortions for pregnant women who suspect they were or are infected with the virus.

What is most disconcerting about this virus is that it has been found in blood, semen, urine and saliva. The many modes of transmission (a blood transfusion, a kiss, sexual intercourse) of the Zika virus has the potential to make this disease very contagious. Not only that, but the mosquito that cause Zika infection, the Aedes aegypti is on the march, and can now be found in the southern US, and even in Nebraska.

The symptoms of infection with the virus are usually only mild; and only one in five people infected with the disease have symptoms. That means four out of five people infected with the disease do not know they have the disease, and therefore won't take precautions to prevent its spread. If infection of the virus from blood, semen and urine, and saliva is found to take place easily, this disease has the potential to reach pandemic levels. If that happens, very few women in the developed world will risk having a baby if there is a chance of it having a sever neurological birth defect. Women in the undeveloped countries might still have back-to-back pregnancies, but many of their children will be born with microcephaly. Their babies will most likely die in infancy; and if they survive, they will live their lives with sever developmental disabilities.

This sounds a little sadistic but it will be interesting to watch how this disease spreads, how the WHO handles it, how fast they can come up with a vaccine, etc. (Supposedly India has a vaccine for Zika virus but a patent battle is going to postpone its introduction for another 10 years). Will this be the cog in the wheel of population explosion? Maybe.

democrack · Feb 7, 2016

tidbit said: ↑

The mosquito that carries the Zika virus has been hitchhiking across the South Pacific, and has now been found in 20 countries around the world, including the US. There are 500,000 known cases of infection in the world. The World Health Organization has called the rapid spread of the disease a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern".

While most people infected with the Zika virus are symptomless, Zika infection of a pregnant mother can cause a very serious birth defect called microcephaly which leaves babies with a smaller than average brain and serious developmental problems. Officials in many South and Central American countries are urging women to postpone getting pregnant until 2018; but that is not likely to happen as these women usually do not have a say in when they have sex, especially in countries where sexual violence is rampant. Officials are also discussing lifting bans on abortions for pregnant women who suspect they were or are infected with the virus.

What is most disconcerting about this virus is that it has been found in blood, semen, urine and saliva. The many modes of transmission (a blood transfusion, a kiss, sexual intercourse) of the Zika virus has the potential to make this disease very contagious. Not only that, but the mosquito that cause Zika infection, the Aedes aegypti is on the march, and can now be found in the southern US, and even in Nebraska.

The symptoms of infection with the virus are usually only mild; and only one in five people infected with the disease have symptoms. That means four out of five people infected with the disease do not know they have the disease, and therefore won't take precautions to prevent its spread. If infection of the virus from blood, semen and urine, and saliva is found to take place easily, this disease has the potential to reach pandemic levels. If that happens, very few women in the developed world will risk having a baby if there is a chance of it having a sever neurological birth defect. Women in the undeveloped countries might still have back-to-back pregnancies, but many of their children will be born with microcephaly. Their babies will most likely die in infancy; and if they survive, they will live their lives with sever developmental disabilities.

This sounds a little sadistic but it will be interesting to watch how this disease spreads, how the WHO handles it, how fast they can come up with a vaccine, etc. (Supposedly India has a vaccine for Zika virus but a patent battle is going to postpone its introduction for another 10 years). Will this be the cog in the wheel of population explosion? Maybe.
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Too bad it didn't happen , when was Obama born again ???

tidbit · Feb 7, 2016

democrack said: ↑

Too bad it didn't happen , when was Obama born again ???
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Oh, that's what happened. I was wondering.

democrack · Feb 7, 2016

tidbit said: ↑

Oh, that's what happened. I was wondering.
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I wish

waltky · Feb 29, 2016

Zika 'might cause' paralysis syndrome...

Study shows Zika 'might cause' Guillain-Barré syndrome
Mon, 29 Feb 2016 - New research provides the first evidence that Zika virus might cause a severe neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome.

The study was carried out using blood samples from 42 patients who became ill in a previous outbreak. The Lancet authors say they developed the neurological problems around six days after Zika infection. Leading scientists described the study as "compelling". Zika was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in early February.

The virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, has caused alarm in central and south America because of its suspected links to under-developed brains in babies - a condition called microcephaly. But experts have also questioned whether Zika might be linked to another medical condition as well. Guillain-Barré syndrome leads to muscle weakness and, in severe cases, breathing problems requiring intensive care.

It is a rare response to infection, which sees the immune system attacking peripheral nerves. Researchers analysed the blood of patients who developed the disorder during a Zika outbreak in French Polynesia in the Pacific two years ago. From this work, they predict there could be one case of Guillain-Barré among every 4,000 people falling ill with Zika.

The lead author Professor Arnaud Fontanet, from the Institut Pasteur in Paris, said: "These patients tended to deteriorate more rapidly than we usually see with Guillain-Barré. "But once they were over the acute phase of the illness, their recovery tended to be better." None of the 42 patients died but some still needed help walking, several months after they became ill. The researchers say countries with Zika should prepare for extra cases of the nerve disorder.

'Don't be frightened'
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Study: 1st evidence that Zika may cause temporary paralysis
Feb 29,`16 -- Scientists may have the first evidence that Zika can cause temporary paralysis, according to a new study of patients who developed the rare condition during an outbreak of the virus in Tahiti two years ago.

Zika is currently spreading with alarming speed across the Americas. The World Health Organization declared the epidemic to be a global emergency several weeks ago based on suspicions it may be behind a surge in disturbing birth defects and in Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological illness that mostly lasts a few weeks. Before reaching South America last year, the mosquito-spread Zika had triggered outbreaks in the South Pacific on Yap island in Micronesia and in French Polynesia, including its largest island, Tahiti.

Researchers in Tahiti, France and elsewhere went back and analyzed blood samples from all 42 adults diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome from the 2013-14 outbreak; nearly everyone showed signs of a previous Zika infection. They were compared with patients who did not have the condition and did not have any Zika symptoms but were treated at the same hospital for other illnesses. Tests showed only half of that group of 98 had apparently been infected with the normally mild virus.

Army soldiers set up a sign that reads in Portuguese "A mosquito is not stronger than an entire country" at the Central station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as troops across Brazil try to tackle the Zika virus. Scientists may have the first evidence that Zika causes temporary paralysis, according to a new study of patients who developed the rare condition during an outbreak of the virus in Tahiti two years ago. The research was published online Monday, Feb. 29 in the journal, Lancet.

The research was published online Monday in the journal Lancet. "The evidence that links Zika virus with Guillain-Barre syndrome is now substantially more compelling," said Peter Barlow, an infectious diseases expert at Edinburgh Napier University who was not part of the study. But he noted in a statement that more research was needed before reaching the same conclusion about the outbreak in the Americas, where local factors may be playing a role. Zika is mostly spread by mosquito bites and in most people causes symptoms including fever, muscle pain and a rash. About 80 percent of people who catch the disease don't report any illness.

Guillain-Barre syndrome is typically seen after a viral or bacterial infection so a possible connection to Zika isn't entirely unexpected. It occurs when the body's immune system attacks the nervous system, often for unknown reasons. It can cause muscle weakness and breathing problems; about 5 percent of patients die from the disorder. Of the patients observed in Tahiti, none died and three months after leaving the hospital, about 40 percent could walk unaided.

MORE
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Spooky · Mar 1, 2016

There is no overpopulation problem.

cerberus · Mar 1, 2016

Spooky said: ↑

There is no overpopulation problem.
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There is in Europe!

waltky · Mar 16, 2016

Zika outbreak in Tahiti had 1% birth defects risk two years ago...

Women with Zika in Tahiti had 1 percent birth defects risk
Mar 15,`16 -- Women who got pregnant during a Zika outbreak in Tahiti two years ago had about a 1 percent chance of having a baby with an abnormally small head, according to a new study published Tuesday. It's a surprisingly low risk that experts say might not match the threat of the epidemic now spreading explosively in the Americas.

The World Health Organization declared Zika to be a global emergency last month, based on suspicions it is causing a spike in a worrying birth defect known as microcephaly as well as a rare condition that sometimes results in temporary paralysis. Before reaching the Americas last year, the mosquito-spread Zika triggered epidemics in the South Pacific and in French Polynesia, including its biggest island, Tahiti. Most people who are infected don't get sick or only have mild symptoms. After a surge in microcephaly was detected in Brazil, international scientists combed through records from the 2013-14 Tahiti outbreak to see if the same thing had happened there.

They found only eight such cases after tracking about 8,000 pregnant women. Seven occurred near the end of the outbreak, which researchers said suggested their mothers had been infected early in their pregnancies. Of those cases, five of the pregnancies were terminated. The researchers created a mathematical model that estimated about 1 out of every 100 pregnant women infected with Zika during their first trimester might have a baby with an unusually small head. The paper was published online Tuesday in the journal, Lancet.

Gleyse Kelly da Silva, 27, holds her daughter Maria Giovanna, who was born with microcephaly, outside their house in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Women who got pregnant during a Zika outbreak in Tahiti two years ago had about a 1 percent chance of having a baby with an abnormally small head, according to a new study published Tuesday, March 15. Its a surprisingly low risk that experts say might not match the threat of the epidemic now spreading explosively in the Americas. The World Health Organization declared Zika to be a global emergency last month, based on suspicions it is causing a spike in a worrying birth defect known as microcephaly as well as a rare condition that sometimes results in temporary paralysis.

But another researcher not involved in the study said the figure seems too low given the birth defects seen in Brazil. Laura Rodrigues, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said she expected the figure to be closer to 10 percent "If 1 percent is right, then that would be great news," said Rodrigues, who has spent time in Brazil researching the outbreak. "But it just seems a bit implausible right now." Other viruses that cause the birth defect carry higher risk - like rubella, which has a 40 to 100 percent risk of birth defects when women are infected during their first trimester of pregnancy.

Simon Cauchemez, the study's lead author, warned that the widespread Zika infections seen in French Polynesia - where two thirds of the population were sickened - could have serious consequences for the outbreak in Brazil. "If you take 1 percent of the many pregnant women infected, clearly this is a big concern for public health," Cauchemez said. Other experts said Zika might have mutated into a more dangerous form since it first appeared in French Polynesia. "Something in the virus could have changed to make it more or less harmful to the fetus," said Dr. Ganeshwaran H. Mochida, a neurologist at Boston Children's Hospital. Rodrigues said it would likely be several more months before any definitive conclusions can be reached. "We will soon have more pieces of the puzzle," she said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-03-15-20-17-17
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waltky · Mar 23, 2016

Gettin' closer to figurin' out zika...

Proof of Zikas Link to Neurological Disorders Grows
March 22, 2016 The World Health Organization has convened seven meetings since early February with experts on various aspects of the Zika virus. While the body of scientific knowledge about the virus is building rapidly, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan says the more that is known, the worse things look.

WHO reports there is growing evidence that Zika is linked with Guillain-Barre syndrome, microcephaly a brain disorder in children and other severe disorders of the central nervous system. "A pattern has emerged in which initial detection of virus circulation is followed within about three weeks by an unusual increase in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, Chan said. Detection of microcephaly and other fetal malformations comes later, as pregnancies of infected women come to term."

Lara, who was born with microcephaly, is examined by a neurologist at the Pedro I hospital in Campina Grande, Paraiba state, Brazil

WHO reports 6,480 cases of microcephaly are suspected, mostly from northeast Brazil. Investigations have been carried out on 2,212 cases, and 863 are confirmed to have brain abnormalities. Panama has reported one suspected case of microcephaly, and Colombia is investigating several cases of the abnormality in babies for a possible link with Zika. In other countries and territories, Chan says the virus has not been circulating long enough for pregnancies to come to term. A WHO team is in Cape Verde to investigate the country's first reported case of microcephaly.

No time to waste

Chan says a high-level meeting convened by WHO looked at the scientific evidence linking Zika infections with malformation and neurological disorders. "Though the association is not yet scientifically proven, the meeting concluded that there is now scientific consensus that Zika virus is implicated in these neurological disorders, she said. The kind of urgent action called for by this public health emergency should not wait for definitive proof."

Blood samples from pregnant women are analyzed for the presence of the Zika virus, at Guatemalan Social Security maternity hospital in Guatemala City

Currently, the Zika virus is circulating in 38 countries and territories. Chan says it is difficult to predict whether the virus will spread to other parts of the world. However, she warns, the world will face a severe public health crisis if the same pattern is confirmed beyond Latin America and the Caribbean.

http://www.voanews.com/content/proof-grows-zika-virus-link-neurological-disorders/3249911.html
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FreshAir · Mar 23, 2016

we have the technology to wipe out mosquitoes that bite us, I think we shoudl do it

https://cogito.cty.jhu.edu/43255/up-for-debate-should-we-eradicate-all-mosquitoes-from-the-world/

.

waltky · Mar 27, 2016

First case of sexually transmitted Zika found in Chile...

Chile reports first case of sexually transmitted Zika
26 Mar.`16 - Authorities Saturday reported the first sexually transmitted case of Zika in mainland Chile, where there is no known presence of the mosquito generally blamed for passing on the virus suspected of causing birth defects.

The Health Ministry said a 46-year-old woman contracted the virus from a man who had become infected in Haiti. "This is the first documented case of Zika virus through sexual transmission in mainland Chile, where there is no presence of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits the disease," the ministry said in a statement. "To date, we have confirmed 10 cases of Zika contracted abroad and reported in the country, including eight in 2016."

In early March, Chile reported the first imported case of Zika in a pregnant woman whose son was born healthy. While not present in mainland Chile, the Aedes aegypti mosquito has been detected on remote Easter Island in the Pacific. Zika, which has been spreading through Latin America, has been linked to microcephaly in babies born to mothers infected while pregnant.

Microcephaly is a serious birth defect that leaves babies with small heads and incomplete brain development. The World Health Organization has declared an international health emergency over the apparent link.

https://news.yahoo.com/chile-reports-first-case-sexually-transmitted-zika-172308692.html
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Genetic Study Tracks Start of Zika's Invasion of Americas Back to 2013
March 24, 2016 The Zika virus currently sweeping through the Americas looks to have hitched a ride on a plane into Brazil in 2013 and begun its invasion of the continent from there, scientists said Thursday.

In the first genome analysis of the current Zika epidemic, which has been linked in Brazil to cases of a birth defect known as microcephaly, researchers said the virus' introduction to the Americas almost three years ago coincided with a 50 percent rise in air passengers from Zika-affected areas. The strain of the virus circulating in the current outbreak is most closely related to one from French Polynesia, the scientists said, although it is also possible that Zika was introduced separately to the Americas and French Polynesia from Southeast Asia.

Oliver Pybus, a biologist at Britain's Oxford University who co-led the research with a team from Brazil's Evandro Chagas Institute, said the findings suggested increased international travel helped the virus extend its reach. "We looked at broad-scale patterns of human movement and focused on air passengers who traveled to Brazil from countries that had reported Zika since 2012," he said. "From late 2012 onwards, there was a 50 percent rise in the number of passengers traveling to Brazil from countries with Zika."

Gustavo Henrique, a 2-month-old born with microcephaly, reacts to stimuli during an evaluation session with a physiotherapist at the Altino Ventura rehabilitation center in Recife, Brazil

Global emergency

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus an international health emergency. This declaration was largely based on evidence linking Zika to microcephaly, marked by babies having small heads and underdeveloped brains. It is not yet clear whether the Zika virus actually causes microcephaly in babies, but the WHO and other infectious-disease experts say evidence for a causal link is growing. For this study, Pybus' team sampled several Zika virus genomes linked to the recent Brazilian outbreak including one from a blood donor, one from a fatal adult case, and one from a newborn baby with congenital malformations and microcephaly.

Using next-generation genetic sequencing, the researchers mapped the samples' gene codes and found there was little genetic variability among them. This suggests there was a single introduction of Zika into the Americas, probably between May and December 2013 more than a year before virus was first reported in Brazil. Nuno Faria, a researcher at Oxford and at the Evandro Chagas Institute who worked on this study, said these first genomic data from the Brazil outbreak provided "a good baseline for future research."

http://www.voanews.com/content/genetic-study-tracks-start-zika-americas/3253089.html
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waltky · Apr 3, 2016

Zika virus structure map developed...

Zika Virus Structure Mapped
April 01, 2016 - Map reveals information that one day could lead to development of better medicines or vaccines to combat virus

Researchers have determined the structure of the Zika virus. The near-atomic level map shows Zika to be similar to the dengue virus, and other flaviviruses. The one key difference lies in a key surface protein, according to research funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The discovery could lead to a better understanding of how the virus works in the human body, which in turn, could lead to better drugs and vaccines.

Researchers said that the variation in the E glycoprotein of the Zika virus could explain the ability of the virus to attack nerve cells, as well as the associations of Zika virus infection with birth defects and the autoimmune-neurological Guillian-Barré syndrome.

A representation of the surface of the Zika virus is shown. A team led by Purdue University researchers is the first to determine the structure of the Zika virus, which reveals insights critical to the development of effective antiviral treatments and vaccines.

Created by researchers at Purdue University, the map was done by freezing particles of the virus and shooting high-energy electrons to create tens of thousands of two-dimensional electron micrograph images that are then combined to yield a composite high-resolution, three-dimensional view of the virus.

Scientists have known about Zika since it was discovered in Uganda in 1947, but only recently have realized its potential danger. Starting in October, the mosquito-borne virus began to spread, particularly in Brazil, where it has been potentially linked to a birth defect called microcephaly, in which fetal brains are abnormally small.

http://www.voanews.com/content/mht-zika-virus-structure-mapped/3264959.html
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Alternative Therapy Soothes Brazil Babies Suffering Defects Linked to Zika
March 30, 2016 Daniele Santos only wanted to comfort her boy, Juan Pedro, one of Brazil's growing number of babies born with a birth defect linked to the Zika infection his mother had while pregnant. Just 3 months old, Juan Pedro's shrill and constant crying typical of babies born with microcephaly drove his mother to desperation.

According to Santos, the boys fussing was so intense it led to her husband abandoning the family. The child is receiving traditional care at a hospital in Recife in northeastern Brazil, the epicenter of the Zika epidemic and the capital of the state seeing most of the birth defects associated with the mosquito-borne virus. Zika, which has spread rapidly through the Americas, has not been proven to cause microcephaly in babies, but there is growing evidence that suggests a link. The condition is defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems.

Therapist Rozely Fontoura (L) teaches Daniele Santos Shantala massage on her baby Juan Pedro, who has microcephaly, in Recife, Brazil

Modern medicine has not been enough for Santos and many other mothers. That is where a type of parental group therapy called "Room to be a Mother" came in to bring relief to Santos and others. The group's instructors this month held two free workshops in Recife for the mostly impoverished mothers of babies born with birth defects related to the Zika virus, teaching natural techniques to soothe the children.

Those include a traditional Indian shantala massage for babies, using a simple sling that keeps babies tightly held to their mother's chest for comfort throughout the day, and the use of a specially shaped bucket for warm baths meant to mimic the womb. Santos now uses the massage, sling and bucket soaks each day. "His crying after the massages and baths became less shrill," Santos said, noting that Juan Pedro is "much calmer."

Daniele Santos carries her baby, Juan Pedro, who has microcephaly, in a sling while washing dishes in her home

Therapist Rozely Fontoura, who follows up with the mothers after they take the therapy classes, said the shantala massage is particularly helpful, as it works by producing endorphins and by reducing the stress hormone cortisol. "Babies with microcephaly are generally very irritable, they are very sensitive to stimulants, they become very irritated and are difficult to calm down," she said. "So the production of [endorphins] and the reduction of cortisol helps a lot." Brazil has said it has confirmed more than 900 cases of microcephaly, and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating nearly 4,300 additional suspected cases of microcephaly.

http://www.voanews.com/content/alte...l-babies-birth-defects-zika-link/3261833.html
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Related:

Health Agency Convenes Summit to Prepare US for Zika Virus
April 01, 2016 - The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said the U.S. needs funding to provide the protection that Americans deserve against the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne virus that's been linked to serious birth defects in Latin America and has infected hundreds in Puerto Rico.

"Zika is already in the U.S. and territories, said Tom Frieden, director of the CDC. It's already infected hundreds of Americans who've traveled to Zika-affected places. It's already spreading widely in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the U.S. territories. We expect it to continue to spread."

Frieden said the most urgent issue is to reduce the risk to pregnant women and their developing fetuses. The Zika virus has been associated with severe birth defects in newborns.

This photo from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Local, state and federal government officials, health experts, pharmaceutical companies and others are gathering Friday at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta to prepare for the likelihood of mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus in some parts of the United States.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa already are experiencing active Zika transmission. The mosquito that carries the virus is abundant in the southern coastal states.

http://www.voanews.com/content/health-agency-cdc-summit-prepare-us-zika-virus/3264992.html
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waltky · Apr 12, 2016

Zika linked to acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM...

Study Links Zika to 2nd Brain Disorder
April 11, 2016 - Scientists in Brazil have found evidence of a second brain disorder linked to the Zika virus - one with symptoms so similar to multiple sclerosis that some medical personnel initially have difficulty telling them apart.

The new disorder, called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM, is identified in an abstract authored by Brazilian scientist Maria Lucia Brito Ferreira. She is set to present her findings at an international meeting of neurological scientists meeting April 15-21 in Vancouver, British Columbia. ADEM is described as a short-term, intense immune attack on the central nervous system, targeting the brain and spinal cords in patients who have recovered from a range of viral or bacterial infections. Brazilian news site G1 reported that Ferreira, a neurologist at Restoration Hospital in Recife, Brazil, based her findings on the study of 151 patients who visited the hospital between December 2014 and June 2015.

A health agent scoops water from a boat docked at the Jurujuba beach during an operation to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito, in Niteroi, Brazil, March 8, 2016. Scientists in Brazil found a brain disorder linked to the Zika virus.

Ferreira observed the patients who had been infected with arboviruses, which include Zika, dengue and chikungunya. Out of these patients, six were diagnosed with Zika. Five patients reported motor dysfunction, vision problems, and one had cognitive decline. Zika has already been linked with the autoimmune disorder Guillain-Barre that causes swelling in the brain and spinal cord that damages the myelin, a white protective coating that surrounds never fibers resulting in loss of balance and vision, numbness, and weakness. Encephalomyelitis, is a serious condition, regardless of etiology. It is more serious than the Guillain-Barré, Ferreira told G1.

Zika is also linked to microcephaly, which causes a spectrum of birth defects, miscarriages and deaths in infants, as well as paralysis in adults. In January, the World Health Organization called the virus an international public health emergency because of its link to microcephaly. Brazilian officials confirmed more than 940 Zika cases in mothers. The country is investigating another 4,300 suspected cases of microcephaly. President Barack Obama asked Congress in early February for $1.9 billion in emergency funding to fight the Zika virus. Reuters reported that at least 13 countries have reported cases of Guillain-Barré linked with outbreaks of Zika. WHO believes Zika is likely the cause. Scientists have known about Zika since it was discovered in Uganda in 1947.

http://www.voanews.com/content/brazil-study-links-zika-to-brain-disorder/3279845.html
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waltky · Apr 18, 2016

Man-to-man zika sexual transmission...

Fauci Warns of Sexual Transmission of Zika Virus – From Men to Men
April 18, 2016 | Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of allergy and infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the mosquito-born Zika virus can also be transmitted sexually and that there was even a case of transmission from men to men through sexual contact.

“The CDC, in real time, always examines what the situation is, and makes recommendations accordingly. For example, we just found out over a period of several weeks that there's now sexual transmission from men to women. So, there is -- and from men to even a male sexual partner. There was a case of that,” Fauci said. “So, recommendation now that if you're a man and you to go this area, and you might be infected and come back, you should refrain from sex or use safe sex for at least six months if you don't have a pregnant partner, or if you have a pregnant partner, for the entirety of the pregnancy,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found one such case of a man infecting another man through sexual transmission in January, when Dallas County health officials confirmed that someone who had traveled to Venezuela contracted the virus and passed it onto his sexual partner. "The present case report indicates Zika virus can be transmitted through anal sex, as well as vaginal sex," the CDC and Dallas health officials wrote in the CDC's weekly report, according to NBC News.

The Zika virus has been linked to brain damage in babies. Fauci said there have been “no local transmitted cases” of the Zika virus so far. “From a public health perspective, what should pregnant women or women who are thinking of becoming pregnant in the United States, what should they do?” CBS host John Dickerson asked. “Well, if you are staying in the United States right now, there are no local transmitted cases, so women in the United States getting pregnant should not be worried about anything regarding pregnancy,” Fauci said. “If you're pregnant, thinking of becoming pregnant, might be pregnant, definitely you should not travel to the areas where there are outbreaks, such as South America, the Caribbean and Central America,” he added. “So, the CDC travel advisory should be adhered to by pregnant women.”

“What if there does become a local case in the United States. Does that totally change the equation?” Dickerson asked. “Well, yes, it depends on the extent of local case in the United States. If you just have a couple of clusters that you can essentially sustain the suppression of it by not allowing it to become widespread, very likely any major change there -- but if we do get widespread changes, then we are going to have to reexamine,” Fauci said.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article...-warns-sexual-transmission-zika-virus-men-men
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Fauci: 'Local Outbreak' of Zika Virus 'Likely' in USA
April 18, 2016 | Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says he wouldn't be surprised if the Zika virus starts spreading within the United States this summer. "Well, it is likely we will have what's called a local outbreak," Fauci told "Fox News Sunday."

Right now, there are more than 350 "imported cases" in the United States among people who have become infected in another country and then returned to the U.S. "The concern is, once one comes back, would a mosquito...bite someone and then locally transmit it to someone who's never left the country? It would not be surprising at all, if not likely, that we're going to see a bit of that because we've seen similar types of things with other similar types of infection, like Dengue," Fauci said. "We've been able to control it so that it doesn't become sustained or widespread. But the threat of at least having some local outbreak is -- is -- is likely, I would think. It's up to us now to make sure when it happens, we contain it."

Host Chris Wallace asked Fauci, "So are we talking about hundreds of cases?" "Yes," he replied. "Are we talking about thousands of cases?" Wallace asked him. "No," Fauci said. "When we say local, we talk not about thousands of cases, we're talking about scores of cases, dozens of cases at the most that historically with Dengue were able to be contained." (Dengue is spread by the same type of mosquito.) "The other interesting thing that's important is that it is sexually transmitted. And that's another added dimension to it that is well documented now, that it can be sexually transmitted. So there's an issue there of someone who can transmit it...to someone who's not been bitten by a mosquito."

Although the Zika virus mainly threatens the brains of developing fetuses, Fauci said there are no warnings for women in this country to delay pregnancy: "Well, right now in the United States this should not be that concerning," he said. "We do not have local transmission here. So I think the idea about people in the continental United States delaying pregnancy is not -- is not even an issue for discussion at this point. "The issue is, when you're dealing in countries in which you have outbreaks like in South America, particularly Brazil or Puerto Rico, is a concern about what you might advise women. Right now the recommendation from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) are consult your physician about the kinds of options you might have.

"But a direct recommendation to delay has been given by countries. For example, El Salvador has actually said you should delay if you could. The confounding issue, Chris, about that, that's in countries in which you may not have good access to birth control, and that's one of the things that confounds that question." "If we begin to see localize outbreaks here in the United States, besides birth control, what can men and women do to protect themselves?" Wallace asked. "Protect yourself against mosquitos," Fauci said. "The government and local authorities can do it by cleaning up the environment to not allow mosquitos to breed. They breed in still water, pots, pans, tires or what have you. But the critical issue is, if you're in this country...stay indoors, if you can, with air conditioning and screen. "When you're outdoors, dress in a way that covers most of your body, but use DEET-containing insect repellents. DEET at 30 percent, it's safe. It's safe for a woman that's pregnant. It's safe for babies older than six months old. We shouldn't hesitate to use insect repellant."

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Herkdriver · Apr 20, 2016

Zikas role as a cause of severe birth defects confirmed

Its official: Zika virus causes microcephaly and other birth defects.

A new analysis by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms what many earlier studies had suggested: The virus, typically passed via the bite of an infected mosquito, can travel from a pregnant woman to her fetus and wreak havoc in the brain.

There is no longer any doubt that Zika causes microcephaly, CDC director Tom Frieden said in a news briefing Wednesday. The findings, reported April 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine, follow a March 31 report from the World Health Organization that concluded nearly the same thing.

Because the connection between a mosquito-borne illness and such birth defects is so unprecedented, the CDC took time to carefully weigh the evidence, Frieden said. Never before in history has there been a situation where a bite from a mosquito could result in a devastating malformation.
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Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/sc...e-cause-severe-birth-defects-confirmed?tgt=nr

Zika sitrep: http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/situation-report/31-march-2016/en/

From 1 January 2007 to 30 March 2016, Zika virus transmission was documented in a total of 61 countries and territories. Four of these (Cook Islands, French Polynesia, ISLA DE PASCUA Chile, and New Caledonia) reported a Zika virus outbreak that is now over. Six countries have now reported locally acquired infection in the absence of any known mosquito vectors, probably through sexual transmission (Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand and the United States of America).

waltky · May 1, 2016

Scientists raise fear of higher Zika risk...

Zika virus: Risk higher than first thought, say doctors
Mon, 02 May 2016 - The Zika virus may be even more dangerous than previously thought, affecting one in five pregnant women who contract it, scientists in Brazil say.

Leading doctors have told the BBC that Zika could be behind more damaging neurological conditions, affecting one in five pregnant women who contract it. Rates of increase in Zika infection in some parts of Brazil have slowed, thanks to better information about preventing the disease.

But the search for a vaccine is still in the early stages. And Zika continues to spread across the region. Most doctors and medical researchers now agree that there is a link between the Zika virus and microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads because of restricted brain development.

While it is estimated that 1% of women who have had Zika during pregnancy will have a child with microcephaly, doctors in Brazil have told the BBC that as many as 20% of Zika-affected pregnancies will result in a range of other forms of brain damage to the baby in the womb.

A separate study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, said that "29% of scans showed abnormalities in babies in the womb, including growth restrictions, in women infected with Zika".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36184799
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waltky · May 5, 2016

Mebbe bring out a limited usage of DDT to stop Zika...

Dr. Fauci: Brazil Eliminated Zika-Carrying Mosquitoes Historically--Using DDT
May 4, 2016 Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said on Tuesday that Brazil was able to eliminate the Zika-virus-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito when, in the 1950s and 1960s, it made "a very aggressive attempt" to do so that included "very heavy use of DDT."

He cautioned that the means used to eradicate the mosquito then "might not be acceptable now." The Zika virus can cause birth defects such as microcephaly. Now, years ago in the fifties and the sixties, Fauci said, Brazil itself made a very aggressive attempt to eliminate the Aedes aegypti mosquito. They did it successfully but they did it in a way that would be almost non-feasible todayvery heavy use of DDT, very aggressive use going into homes, essentially, spraying in homes, cleaning up areas, things that I think the general public would not be amenable to accepting. So, it can be done," Fauci said. "But historically it was done in a way that might not be acceptable now."

Currently, the mosquito-borne Zika virus is spreading in South America and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warn that the mosquitoes which carry Zika will populate much of the United States this summer. At Tuesdays news conference, Dr. Fauci said, The mosquito that is the predominant mosquito that spreads Zika is called Aedes aegypti. Aedes aegypti is a very difficult mosquito to control and eliminate. It will require a very aggressive, concerted effort, Fauci cautioned of attempts to eliminate the mosquitoes. Their ability to exist and stay in places that are difficult to eliminate; mosquitoes, for example, they like to stay indoors as well as outdoors, which make the spraying, the outdoor spraying, ineffective for those mosquitoes. What one would have to do is raise public awareness, he said, have cooperation at the community level to get people as best as they possibly can where they can to eliminate and diminish standing water of any type, as well as to push and to try to utilize environmentally friendly larvicides and insecticides. Having said all of that, he continued, its still going to be very, very difficult to do.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released maps of the estimated range of the Aedes aegypti in the United States last month, as well as the Aedes albopictus, another mosquito that is capable of transmitting Zika. The CDC verified to CNSNews.com that the map of potential exposure includes all but 10 states in the United States. Fauci emphasized that while Aedes albopictus has a greater estimated range in the United States than the aegypti mosquito, overwhelmingly the dominant mosquito that spreads it is Aedes aegypti and theres a number of reasons for that. Aedes aegypti is a much different mosquito: it bites in the day, at night, it goes indoors, outdoors, its very difficult to eliminate, only likes to bite humans, he explained. The albopictus and other mosquitoes they get distracted, they bite animals, they bite a variety of other species. So when you have Zika and you have Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, the chances are overwhelming that Aedes aegypti is going to be the major factor.

Fauci also stressed that the real concern over the Zika virus is the association of Zika infection in a pregnant woman with congenital abnormalities, predominantly microcephaly in a variable percentage of babies born of Zika infected mothers. Fauci cited a small cohort study from Brazil that found that 29 percent of Zika-infected mothers had abnormalities in sonograms of their unborn children. Fauci also cited a study that found that 1 percent of Zika-infected mothers had children with birth defects. Fauci said another cohort study, The Zika in Pregnancy Study, is underway and will enroll thousands of pregnant women in South America, predominantly Brazil. When we get the data from that study well be able to answer the question of precisely what that percentage (of Zika-infected women with birth defects) is, he said, but today in May of 2016 we dont know the answer.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article...quito-was-eliminated-brazil-60s-heavy-use-ddt
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waltky · May 12, 2016

EPA hinderin' efforts to fight zika virus...

Mosquito Control Experts Say EPA Regs Hamper Efforts to Fight Zika-Carrying Mosquitoes
May 11, 2016 Members of the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) gathered on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to request the help of Congress in combatting the Zika-carrying Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, particularly urging Congress to ease the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) regulation of insecticides and products being developed to kill the mosquitoes.

Karl Malamud-Roam, Public Health Pesticides Program Manager at Rutgers University, said at the Mosquito Control to Minimize Zika Virus Risk event that the tools in place to confront the Aedes breed of Zika-carrying mosquitoes were okay, we will do a good job with the tools we have, theyre good tools. But, he added, Theyre not good enough to do wide area, consistent low-cost patrol of the Aedes. There are some challenges, these are hard mosquitoes to kill, chemical resistance is a big problem if any one class of pesticides is used too often, he explained, adding that there are regulatory challenges. I think its important that you know the toolbox is safe, we know its safe, and that the customers know its safe, he said. But if the expense of proving safety becomes so high that products get thrown out, thats throwing out the baby with the bath water and we have lost products. Im very concerned that we may lose products without federal help supporting the vector control toolbox, said Roam.

Vector control is a method to limit or eradicate organisms, in this case mosquitoes, called vectors, which transmit disease pathogens like Zika. Roam asked Congress to encourage EPA to retain vector control products as part of the public good. We see vector control products a lot like the pharmaceutical industry sees vaccines. Its in the public interest that we have a vaccine supply, and companies 12 years ago were going out of business because theres a liability and small market share, and federal action was taken to support the private sector. Were getting to a similar point with vector control, he said.

Roam asked for encouragement of an expedited review process for products that could help combat the Aedes aegypti. Senator [Al] Franken (D-Minn.) has a bill right now that would give expedited review for pharmaceuticals useful against Zika, said Roam. I think something similar could be very helpful to give an expedited review pathway for Aedes-control tools going through EPA. We dont want to waste our funds because theyre limited, yet we have been required by the regulation to be wasteful of those funds, said Steve Mulligan, manager of the Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District in California's Central Valley and AMCA member.

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waltky · May 18, 2016

Zika virus could spread to Europe...

Zika virus may reach Europe this summer
Wed, 18 May 2016 - The Zika virus could spread to Europe this summer, although the likelihood of an outbreak is low to moderate according to the World Health Organization.

Areas most at risk are those where Aedes mosquitoes may spread the virus, like the Black Sea coast of Russia and Georgia and the island of Madeira. Countries with a moderate risk include France, Spain, Italy and Greece, while the risk in the UK is low. The UN agency is not issuing any new travel advice at this time. The WHO is calling on countries to eliminate mosquito breeding sites and to make sure that people - particularly pregnant women - have information on the potential harmful consequences of the disease. The agency says most countries that could be affected are well prepared to pick up any new cases and deal with them quickly - but others must bolster their ability to diagnose the virus.

Brain defects

Zika has been linked to a rise in brain defects in babies and the virus has been seen in more than 50 countries during this outbreak. And WHO experts say the risk of spread increases in late spring and summer as Aedes mosquitoes - thought to carry the virus - become more active. The report suggests 18 countries are at moderate likelihood of seeing Zika cases while the UK is one of 36 countries which have a low, very low or no likelihood of transmission. Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, at the WHO, said: "We call particularly on countries at higher risk to strengthen their national capacities and prioritise the activities that will prevent a large Zika outbreak."

Baby with microcephaly

Meanwhile Prof Jimmy Whitworth, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the the risk of Zika spreading to Europe was real and called for holidaymakers to heed health advice. He added: "The main mosquito vector for Zika, Aedes aegypti, is only found in Madeira and around the Black Sea, but another mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is more widespread and is capable of transmitting Zika, although not very efficiently. "Countries in Southern Europe, including France and Italy, need to be especially vigilant and it's important that holidaymakers follow public health advice while abroad, including taking all the necessary precautions to avoid getting bitten. "This is especially so for pregnant women, or women planning to become pregnant, travelling to areas where there is Zika, as there is now a proven link with microcephaly and other birth defects."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36320826
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waltky · May 27, 2016

Move Olympics over Zika, scientists say...

Zika crisis: Rio Olympics 'should be moved or postponed'
Fri, 27 May 2016 - More than 100 leading scientists say the Rio Olympics should be moved or postponed due to the Zika outbreak, in a letter to the World Health Organization.

The group says new findings about the virus make it "unethical" for the games to go ahead in an open letter to the World Health Organization. They call on the WHO to urgently revise its guidelines on Zika, which is linked to serious birth defects. The International Olympic Committee said in May it sees no reason to delay or move the games due to Zika. The outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease began in Brazil a year ago, but now more than 60 countries and territories have continuing transmission. Zika's symptoms are mild, but in the letter the experts say it causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and may also cause a rare and sometimes fatal neurological syndrome in adults.

The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro overlooks the Maracana Stadium

The letter is signed by 150 international scientists, doctors and medical ethicists from such institutions as Oxford University and Harvard and Yale universities in the United States. They cite the the failure of a mosquito-eradication programme in Brazil, and the country's "weakened" health system as reasons to postpone or move the Olympics in "the name of public health". "An unnecessary risk is posed when 500,000 foreign tourists from all countries attend the Games, potentially acquire that strain, and return home to places where it can become endemic," the letter says. The biggest risk, it adds, is if athletes contracted the virus and returned home to poor countries that had not yet suffered a Zika outbreak.

The Rio Olympics take place between 5-21 August. The WHO, which has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency, is yet to comment on the letter. On Thursday, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose advice is quoted approvingly in the letter, said the threat did not warrant halting the games. "There is no public health reason to cancel or delay the Olympics," Dr Tom Frieden said. But he also urged the US to act more quickly to prevent pregnant women contracting Zika, amid congressional deadlock over the release of $1.9bn (£1.3bn) in funding.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36401150
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waltky · Jun 7, 2016

Granny says, "Dat's right - we all gonna die...

Brazil Olympics Will Spread Zika Around the World
June 7, 2016 Former New York Lt. Governor and health care advocate Betsy McCaughey warned Sunday against attending the Olympic games in Brazil this summer saying that it would spread the Zika virus around the world.

If you were going to design a method to take a very severe disease and spread it worldwide really quickly, what would you do? McCaughey asked on The Cats Roundtable" Sunday radio show. You would hold an event at the epicenter of that disease - Brazil - and invite 500,000 people to attend. Thats whats being done here, and I sympathize with the athletes who have trained and especially with the Brazilian economy, but the fact is this is going to spread this disease around the world, she said.

Mosquitoes that transmit Zika are very prevalent, and the health authorities in the United States have already said expect local transmission, expect people to be bitten by these infected mosquitoes and get the disease in the coming weeks, McCaughey warned. Thats how imminent this threat is.

She also blasted the Obama administrations handling of the crisis, calling for more funding for local mosquito control efforts. We have to arm our local health departments with the money, the resources to destroy these mosquitoes, but President Obama wants to send a half a billion dollars to South America instead of spending it in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, the parts of our own country that are very vulnerable to this, she said,

The Centers for Disease Control currently estimates that there are 195 pregnant women with any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection in the United States. The CDC verified to CNSNews.com in April that the map of potential exposure to the two Zika-carrying mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, includes all but 10 states in the United States.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article...brazil-olympics-will-spread-zika-around-world
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Deckel · Jun 7, 2016

At least once a year, sometimes twice, there is something new that is going to kill us all. West Nile, bird flu, swine flu, 16 new types of influenza, ebola, Weird Baby Head virus...I am confident by next year Zika will be replaced by something else.

tecoyah · Jun 7, 2016

Zika virus: Mother Nature's solution to over-population?
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I would think that "Mother Nature" has significantly more potent tools to control population....Plague comes to mind.

waltky · Jun 28, 2016

Deadlock on Capitol Hill for zika funds...

U.S. lawmakers deadlock on Zika virus funds
June 28, 2016WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers deadlocked over funding to fight the Zika virus on Tuesday, as Senate Democrats blocked a Republican proposal they said fell short of the challenge posed by the mosquito-borne virus and hurt other health priorities.

Amid political recriminations by both parties, the Republican plan to provide $1.1 billion in funding to combat Zika, which had already passed the House of Representatives, failed to get the 60 votes needed in the Senate to clear a procedural hurdle. The vote was 52 in favor and 48 against on a mostly party-line vote. It was unclear when Congress would revisit the issue. Democrats urged bipartisan talks, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said lawmakers would address the matter again sometime after the July 4 national holiday next week.

Both sides warned the other that there could be a political price to pay in an election year for stalling on Zika funding, with the summer mosquito season under way and with it the threat of the virus spreading. "Here we are, in an utterly absurd position, playing political games as this public health crisis mounts here in our country," McConnell said. The Zika virus, which has swept through the Americas and Caribbean since last fall, has been linked to thousands of cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect, in Brazil, as well as to neurological disorders. It has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.

There have not yet been any cases reported of local transmission of the Zika virus in the continental United States, but there have been 820 cases that were acquired from travel to areas with active Zika outbreaks, or through sexual transmission. There have been more than 1,800 cases of Zika infection reported in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean. Health experts expect local transmission to occur in the continental United States with warmer weather. Democrats have been urging Republicans for months to agree to Zika funding. The Republican plan would have funded mosquito control efforts by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, as well as vaccine research by the National Institutes of Health, and money for community health centers in areas that are experiencing the highest rates of Zika transmission.

But Democrats complained that Republicans locked them out of drafting the $1.1 billion funding plan, which would have made $750 million in budget cuts elsewhere. The Republican plan, rushed through the House last week, would have taken money from battling the Ebola virus as well as from funds set aside for implementing the Obamacare health insurance program in U.S. territories. The Senate last month agreed to a bipartisan bill allocating the same amount - $1.1 billion - to fight Zika, but without cutting any other programs.

DISPUTE OVER PLANNED PARENTHOOD
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Selivan · Jun 28, 2016

Americans are so stupid ...
They believe "ZIKA" and "Physics" - are one and the same ...
-------------------------
Therefore, write in one section ..

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