The Zika Virus

[ben550]

There have been reports of a spreading virus called the "Zika Virus". It is said to be spreading throughout South and Central America and is expected to reach into the United States. The Zika Virus is transferred to people through mosquitoes. There is strong association between the Zika Virus and newborn birth defects affecting a baby's brain development and head size. The birth defect known as "Microcephaly" causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains. This defect is not currently proven to be liked to the Zika Virus but is strongly associated with it.

"A second surprise came in 2013 when chikungunya showed up on the sun-splashed Caribbean island of Saint Martin. A traveler — from the Far East according to genetic characteristics of the virus — apparently arrived in Saint Martin carrying the virus and was bitten by a local mosquito, which then spread it to other people, says Ann Powers, a molecular virologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo. This launched the epidemic in the West."

Due to the fact that these two viruses are related and have the same mode of transfer to humans... it is reasonable to believe the same incident can occur with the Zika virus... An infected person (who traveled to an infected region and was bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus) can return home to an uninfected region, be bitten by an uninfected mosquito which can then bite another uninfected person and transfer the virus...

Take the time to read some of these articles and be informed on the issue especially if you are considering having a child or are currently pregnant yourself or know someone who is.

Considering the Summer Olympics are in Rio this year, I wonder what impact the spread of the virus will have on the world.

Zika virus: Up to four million Zika cases predicted - BBC News

Why the Zika Virus Travel Warnings Matter?Even If You Aren?t Pregnant - Vogue

Zika Virus Outbreak in Brazil linked to Microcephalic Infants could spread to Southern U.S.

Brazil in Peril: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Zika Virus | The Nation

 

[cashmoney]

The Rio Olympics have bigger problems than the Zika virus to contend with.

 

[Thai]

Very sad to hear so many cases of microcephaly due to this virus! And it affects the next generation which makes it even worst for new parents. I am done repopulating the earth, but my prayers go out to the new (and expecting) parents in the affected region.

 

[ndcent]

Scary stuff.

 

[Thai]

Scary stuff.

I know that you're trying to be funny...but not cool dude.

 

[wadle5]

Scary stuff.

:withstupid:



Class

 

[ndcent]

Awe, didn't mean to touch a nerve. I though bucking that PC train was all the rage these days. Damned if you do.

 

[wadle5]

Awe, didn't mean to touch a nerve. I though bucking that PC train was all the rage these days. Damned if you do.

I'm just glad you deleted the picture. Sorry mocking death, deadly diseases, and child malformation isn't the norm where I come from?

 

[ben550]

In doing some research on the issue I found an interesting opinion on an alternate cause to the birth defects...

It appears that in late 2014 a TDAP vaccine was mandated for pregnant women before they were 22 weeks pregnant. That is in the middle part of the 2nd trimester... whereas in the US women are given the same vaccine after the 36 week mark of a pregnancy... well into the 3rd trimester... It is an interesting point of view. Now in late 2015 over 2,400 babies in Brazil have been born with microcephaly.

Could this TDAP vaccine be the cause of the surge in birth defects and brain damage in Brazil rather than the Zika virus? Too much dosage too early? Something to think about.

https://brazilianshrunkenheadbabies.wordpress.com/2016/01/17/the-story/

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Eh, I look at it this way... nature is trying to get rid of the disease that's infecting the planet. I'm sure we'll cheat our inevitable death only to further destroy our host like we usually do...

Shame about the kids I suppose, plenty of misery, pain, and suffering in the world already...

 

[Thai]

Good article on Zika: Zika: Here?s what we know about the virus alarming health experts worldwide | Ars Technica

[MENTION=98419]ben550[/MENTION], this quote from above article may help explain the link:

"While Zika is suspected to be the cause, the link is not yet definite. Researchers are currently collecting more data and setting up animal studies. The virus has shown up in amniotic fluid, placental tissue, miscarried fetuses, and in the brains of babies who died of microcephaly shortly after birth.

Researchers can only speculate as to why they’re seeing a link between Zika and microcephaly now, decades after the virus was first discovered. It may be because there were only a few small outbreaks in the past, which didn’t provide the numbers to see such rare effects. Or, it may be the case that the virus has continued to experience genetic changes that have given it new, disease-sparking capabilities."
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Here is a USA case of Zika-microcephaly: Zika Virus Cases Appearing in U.S. - US News

"Texas and Hawaii have also reported cases, including one linked to a baby born in Oahu with microcephaly, a condition involving a malformed skull and brain. The Hawaiian newborn was the first in the U.S. to be born with the Zika-associated congenital defect"
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Microcephaly from Zika is also distinct from other infectious causes of microcephaly: Brazilian Study Of Babies Born With Microcephaly Finds 'Profound Abnormalities' : Goats and Soda : NPR

"The doctor points out that in these Zika-related cases, the muscles in the upper body and neck are unusually stiff. And that's very different from cases of microcephaly caused by other infections.

Dr. João Ricardo de Almeida says the infants born to mothers who were infected in the first trimester seem to suffer the most brain damage. And that kind of damage also appears to be different than what you would see with microcephaly caused by other types of infections.

"Regarding Zika there seems to be some particular abnormalities that we do not see in [microcephaly cases caused by] toxoplasmosis or cytomegalovirus or rubella."

"We are seeing cases in the hospital of children who have normal size heads but are having neurological lesions and eye lesions," he says. "And we are extremely concerned ... this might suggest that [the microcephaly cases] are just the tip of the iceberg."

In other words, even children who appear normal may suffer from a range of developmental delays. So the deeper the investigation goes into this outbreak, the more worrying it becomes."
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So, while the Tdap vaccine may look enticing to blame, i doubt it.

 

[MtnT4R]

Eh, I look at it this way... nature is trying to get rid of the disease that's infecting the planet. I'm sure we'll cheat our inevitable death only to further destroy our host like we usually do...

Shame about the kids I suppose, plenty of misery, pain, and suffering in the world already...

The human population has quadrupled in one century. If you look at species that reproduce quickly there are well documented cycles of unmanageable growth followed by fast and brutal declines. Viruses and cancers share remarkable qualities with homo sapiens.

 

[Thai]

Crap...now transmitted thru sex!

Link: https://www.yahoo.com/health/zika-virus-transmitted-through-sexual-contact-in-210356877.html

 

[JB.]

Crap...now transmitted thru sex!

Alright, this has gone too far.

I'm going to insist on speaking to a supervisor.

 

[Thai]

Case Reports Add to Evidence Linking Maternal Zika Infection with Microcephaly
By Kelly Young
Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, FASAM

The Zika virus has been observed in the brain tissue of fetuses with microcephaly in several case reports published Wednesday. In the New England Journal of Medicine, editorialists say the evidence strengthens the Zika-microcephaly link.

In NEJM, researchers describe a pregnant woman who was working in Brazil and became ill with Zika-like symptoms in her 13th week of gestation. She returned to Europe at 28 weeks' gestation, and an ultrasound the following week indicated fetal anomalies. A subsequent ultrasound found calcifications on the brain and placenta, microcephaly, and blurred brain structures. The woman decided to terminate the pregnancy. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and electron microscopy of fetal brain tissue found Zika virus. The researchers also discovered the complete genome sequence of Zika in the tissue.

In MMWR, CDC researchers report similar results in four cases in Brazil: two infants born with microcephaly at 36 and 38 weeks' gestation who died within a day of birth and two fetuses that were lost at 11 and 13 weeks' gestation. Again, all four mothers had signs of Zika infection but were not tested for antibodies. All cases tested positive for Zika and negative for dengue virus.

 

[Bluesky 07]

FWIW, I was in Sao Paulo last week on business and saw no concern about Zika or mosquitoes in general. Granted, I was in a city, and one that is quite distant from the epicenter in Recife, but I was frankly surprised not to see one person applying bug repellent or any other sign that something out of the ordinary was going on.