Pope Suggests Contraception Use May Be 'Lesser Evil' For Those Fearing Zika

[Political Junky]

This is a different Pope than a former Pope's attitude towards AIDS prevention.

Pope Suggests Contraception Use May Be 'Lesser Evil' For Those Fearing Zika

In wide-ranging comments aboard the papal plane, Pope Francis suggested to reporters that it might be acceptable for those fearing the Zika virus to use contraception.
The pope did not explicitly approve the use of contraception as he spoke during the flight from Mexico to Rome. But he drew a distinction between the use of abortion to respond to the threat of Zika — which he categorically opposed — and the hypothetical use of contraception.

There are concerns that the Zika virus, currently raging across Latin America, may be linked to cases of microcephaly, a severe birth defect.

A reporter on the plane had asked the pope how he felt about advice from some authorities that women at risk of Zika have abortions, and whether contraception would be the lesser of two evils, The Associated Press reports.
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[irosie91]

Thank-you Popsey

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Remember the pope who went to Africa and told starving people not to use condoms?

How is that "christian"?

SSDD - "pro-life" really means pro-death.

 

[waltky]

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.

Chile reports first case of sexually transmitted Zika

See also:

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."

Genetic Study Tracks Start of Zika's Invasion of Americas Back to 2013

 

[Stephanie]

the left finally has a pope they can now worship. Maybe even draw them back to attending church. how about that: because they hated on the last one BIG TIME

 

[irosie91]

as far as I understand from ardent catholics I have known in the past----allowing
contraception because there is a virus going around is a BIG TIME departure
from the old time religion

 

[waltky]

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.

Fauci Warns of Sexual Transmission of Zika Virus – From Men to Men

See also:

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."

MORE

 

[Katzndogz]

Zika in men is pretty harmless as long as they keep in among gays.

 

[waltky]

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 today—very 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 Tuesday’s 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, “it’s 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 there’s a number of reasons for that.” “Aedes aegypti is a much different mosquito: it bites in the day, at night, it goes indoors, outdoors, it’s 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 we’ll 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 don’t know the answer.”

Dr. Fauci: Brazil Eliminated Zika-Carrying Mosquitoes Historically--Using DDT

 

[waltky]

Zika Could Infect More Than 93 Million in Americas...

Projections: Zika Could Infect More Than 93 Million in Americas
July 25, 2016 - As the Zika viral epidemic continues across the Americas, it’s projected that 93.4 million people in total could become infected before the epidemic burns itself out.

According to a new model developed by U.S., English and Swedish researchers, 1.6 million women of childbearing age could contract Zika from infected mosquitoes. Experts say women who are infected with Zika during the early months of their pregnancy are at highest risk of giving birth to babies with microcephaly. Babies born with microcephaly have small heads and brains, causing mental and physical disability, seizures and sometimes death. Experts say not every pregnant woman infected with Zika will give birth to a child with severe birth defects.

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen in a mosquito cage at a laboratory in Cucuta, Colombia​

But Alex Perkins, one of the model’s developers from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, says the number of newborns born with the birth defect could nonetheless be significant. “If you want to think about the numbers in terms of microcephaly and things like that, I think somewhere on the order of tens of thousands is what our numbers would suggest,” he said. Since the end of June, there have been almost 1,650 confirmed cases of microcephaly in five countries. The Zika projection model, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, is the most comprehensive estimate to date for Zika spread.

Jackeline, 26, holds her son who is 4-months old and born with microcephaly, in front of their house in Olinda, near Recife, Brazil​

In developing their forecast, Perkins and colleagues used data from past epidemics of Dengue and Chikungunya. Dengue is in the same flavivirus family as Zika. Chikungunya, while in a different viral family, is also spread by mosquitoes and is endemic in the Americas. All three can cause similar symptoms of headache, muscle ache and fever. But 80 percent of people who contract Zika have no symptoms at all. Researchers also analyzed data on blood samples collected from people who have been infected with Zika so far. That gave them information to forecast the rate of transmission at the local level.

Unique model

The model is unique in that it also took into account a phenomenon called herd immunity, a tipping point in an epidemic when so many people contract an illness, others are protected against the disease. “So really there’s going to be a large proportion of the population that remains uninfected after the epidemic," Perkins said. "And the epidemic is going to extinguish itself before it’s able to infect everyone.” Other than herd immunity, there is currently no vaccine to shield people and pregnant women against Zika, which the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency earlier this year.

Projections: Zika Could Infect More Than 93 Million in Americas

See also:

Zika found in sperm after record 93 days: report
July 22, 2016 • The Zika virus has been found alive in a man's sperm after a record 93 days, according to a new report that adds to the many unknowns surrounding the foetus-harming germ.

The 27-year-old Frenchman's semen tested positive for Zika in March this year, three months after he experienced symptoms of an infection picked up while travelling in Thailand last October and November. The case was reported in The Lancet medical journal this week. The previous longest recorded virus survival in semen was 62 days after the onset of symptoms.

Benign in most people, Zika has been linked to microcephaly -- a shrinking of the brain and skull -- in babies, and to rare, potentially-fatal adult-onset neurological problems. It is transmitted mainly though the bites of infected mosquitoes, in rare cases via sex, but also through the placenta to unborn children. In an outbreak that started last year, about 1.5 million people have been infected with Zika in Brazil, and more than 1,600 babies born with microcephaly, according to the World Health Organization.

The new case highlights that people returning from areas where Zika is non-endemic, such as Thailand, can also be infected, said the report authored by health specialists from Toulouse in southern France. The possibility of "protracted" virus presence should be kept in mind when people plan to have children, it added. The existing six-month period for monitoring virus survival in infected people "should be expanded to patients returning from non-epidemic areas," wrote the team.

Zika found in sperm after record 93 days: report

 

[Political Junky]

Thank you, Pope Francis.