The Zika Panic

[TheOldSchool]

Drudge has 4 articles about it up right now. One is particularly harrowing, about 10 ( ) cases popping up in... of all horrors... the Dominican Republic!

4. Freaking. Articles.

Are republicans gearing up for Ebola 2016? Will they couple "Zika" with "foreigners" and try to terrify their rubes into a repeat of 2014? I think yes.

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

Drudge has 4 articles about it up right now. One is particularly harrowing, about 10 ( ) cases popping up in... of all horrors... the Dominican Republic!

4. Freaking. Articles.

Are republicans gearing up for Ebola 2016? Will they couple "Zika" with "foreigners" and try to terrify their rubes into a repeat of 2014? I think yes.

There are 4 cases now of Zika in United Kingdom.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Drudge has 4 articles about it up right now. One is particularly harrowing, about 10 ( ) cases popping up in... of all horrors... the Dominican Republic!

4. Freaking. Articles.

Are republicans gearing up for Ebola 2016? Will they couple "Zika" with "foreigners" and try to terrify their rubes into a repeat of 2014? I think yes.

There are 4 cases now of Zika in United Kingdom.

Well holy shit the UK is done for! Where are you planning on moving? America? The far east? What's your plan?

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

Drudge has 4 articles about it up right now. One is particularly harrowing, about 10 ( ) cases popping up in... of all horrors... the Dominican Republic!

4. Freaking. Articles.

Are republicans gearing up for Ebola 2016? Will they couple "Zika" with "foreigners" and try to terrify their rubes into a repeat of 2014? I think yes.

There are 4 cases now of Zika in United Kingdom.

Well holy shit the UK is done for! Where are you planning on moving? America? The far east? What's your plan?

We hear Zika in America also It's taking over HALF the world ALREADY Maybe Antartica is so far Zika-Free and I get along great with penguins!

 

[TheOldSchool]

Drudge has 4 articles about it up right now. One is particularly harrowing, about 10 ( ) cases popping up in... of all horrors... the Dominican Republic!

4. Freaking. Articles.

Are republicans gearing up for Ebola 2016? Will they couple "Zika" with "foreigners" and try to terrify their rubes into a repeat of 2014? I think yes.

There are 4 cases now of Zika in United Kingdom.

Well holy shit the UK is done for! Where are you planning on moving? America? The far east? What's your plan?

We hear Zika in America also It's taking over HALF the world ALREADY Maybe Antartica is so far Zika-Free and I get along great with penguins!

Oh shit! Hear that American conservatives?! Be scared! As terrified as possible!!!!

Foreigners are coming!!!!!

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

Drudge has 4 articles about it up right now. One is particularly harrowing, about 10 ( ) cases popping up in... of all horrors... the Dominican Republic!

4. Freaking. Articles.

Are republicans gearing up for Ebola 2016? Will they couple "Zika" with "foreigners" and try to terrify their rubes into a repeat of 2014? I think yes.

There are 4 cases now of Zika in United Kingdom.

Well holy shit the UK is done for! Where are you planning on moving? America? The far east? What's your plan?

We hear Zika in America also It's taking over HALF the world ALREADY Maybe Antartica is so far Zika-Free and I get along great with penguins!

Oh shit! Hear that American conservatives?! Be scared! As terrified as possible!!!!

Foreigners are coming!!!!!

It's imminent Bunker Time and heading for rural "Safe Areas", stocking up with canned goods and water....Alex Jones and InfoWars were correct all along!

 

[TheOldSchool]

Drudge has 4 articles about it up right now. One is particularly harrowing, about 10 ( ) cases popping up in... of all horrors... the Dominican Republic!

4. Freaking. Articles.

Are republicans gearing up for Ebola 2016? Will they couple "Zika" with "foreigners" and try to terrify their rubes into a repeat of 2014? I think yes.

There are 4 cases now of Zika in United Kingdom.

Well holy shit the UK is done for! Where are you planning on moving? America? The far east? What's your plan?

We hear Zika in America also It's taking over HALF the world ALREADY Maybe Antartica is so far Zika-Free and I get along great with penguins!

Oh shit! Hear that American conservatives?! Be scared! As terrified as possible!!!!

Foreigners are coming!!!!!

It's imminent Bunker Time and heading for rural "Safe Areas", stocking up with canned goods and water....Alex Jones and InfoWars were correct all along!

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

There are 4 cases now of Zika in United Kingdom.

Well holy shit the UK is done for! Where are you planning on moving? America? The far east? What's your plan?

We hear Zika in America also It's taking over HALF the world ALREADY Maybe Antartica is so far Zika-Free and I get along great with penguins!

Oh shit! Hear that American conservatives?! Be scared! As terrified as possible!!!!

Foreigners are coming!!!!!

It's imminent Bunker Time and heading for rural "Safe Areas", stocking up with canned goods and water....Alex Jones and InfoWars were correct all along!

If Alex Jones right all along about this....he must be right about *gasp* the "goings on" at *gasp* Bohemian Grove, the human sacrifices to The Giant Owl with all the world leaders joining in

 

[Steve_McGarrett]

This is clearly Obama's fault for having an open borders policy allowing infected migrants into the U.S..

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

This is clearly Obama's fault for having an open borders policy allowing infected migrants into the U.S..

OMG! It's going to like being in the film "Outbreak" crossed with "Night of The Living Dead"....freak diseases and Zombies everywhere

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

This is clearly Obama's fault for having an open borders policy allowing infected migrants into the U.S..

Seriously Steve, you need to form a plan, you need to get to rural Idaho or somewhere....avoid the freak diseases and Zombies on the rampage!

 

[waltky]

Zika virus 'likely to spread across Americas'...

Zika virus: Outbreak 'likely to spread across Americas' says WHO
25 Jan.`16 - The Zika virus is likely to spread across nearly all of the Americas, the World Health Organization has warned.

The infection, which causes symptoms including mild fever, conjunctivitis and headache, has already been found in 21 countries in the Caribbean, North and South America. It has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains and some countries have advised women not to get pregnant. No treatment or vaccine is available.

The virus was first detected in 1947 in monkeys in Africa. There have since been small, short-lived outbreaks in people on the continent, parts of Asia and in the Pacific Islands. But it has spread on a massive scale in the Americas, where transmission was first detected in Brazil in May 2015. Large numbers of the mosquitoes which carry the virus and a lack of any natural immunity is thought to be helping the infection to spread rapidly.

Mosquito

Zika is transmitted by the bite of Aedes mosquitoes, which are found in all countries in the region except Canada and Chile. In a statement, The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the regional office of the WHO, said: "PAHO anticipates that Zika virus will continue to spread and will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found." PAHO is advising people to protect themselves from the mosquitoes, which also spread dengue fever and chikungunya.

It also confirmed the virus had been detected in semen and there was "one case of possible person-to-person sexual transmission" but further evidence was still needed. Around 80% of infections do not result in symptoms. But the biggest concern is the potential impact on babies developing in the womb. There have been around 3,500 reported cases of microcephaly - babies born with tiny brains - in Brazil alone since October. PAHO warned pregnant women to be "especially careful" and to see their doctor before and after visiting areas affected by the virus.

MORE

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

Zika virus 'likely to spread across Americas'...

Zika virus: Outbreak 'likely to spread across Americas' says WHO
25 Jan.`16 - The Zika virus is likely to spread across nearly all of the Americas, the World Health Organization has warned.

The infection, which causes symptoms including mild fever, conjunctivitis and headache, has already been found in 21 countries in the Caribbean, North and South America. It has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains and some countries have advised women not to get pregnant. No treatment or vaccine is available.

The virus was first detected in 1947 in monkeys in Africa. There have since been small, short-lived outbreaks in people on the continent, parts of Asia and in the Pacific Islands. But it has spread on a massive scale in the Americas, where transmission was first detected in Brazil in May 2015. Large numbers of the mosquitoes which carry the virus and a lack of any natural immunity is thought to be helping the infection to spread rapidly.

Mosquito

Zika is transmitted by the bite of Aedes mosquitoes, which are found in all countries in the region except Canada and Chile. In a statement, The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the regional office of the WHO, said: "PAHO anticipates that Zika virus will continue to spread and will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found." PAHO is advising people to protect themselves from the mosquitoes, which also spread dengue fever and chikungunya.

It also confirmed the virus had been detected in semen and there was "one case of possible person-to-person sexual transmission" but further evidence was still needed. Around 80% of infections do not result in symptoms. But the biggest concern is the potential impact on babies developing in the womb. There have been around 3,500 reported cases of microcephaly - babies born with tiny brains - in Brazil alone since October. PAHO warned pregnant women to be "especially careful" and to see their doctor before and after visiting areas affected by the virus.

MORE

This is not good. Also AGAIN something else horrific we have to thank the African waste for....AIDS and Zika.

Zika discovered in 1947 in UGANDA.

This is why the African waste should NOT be allowed to travel, the entire African Continent needs to be sealed and then let nature through their diseases, including Ebola which they give themselves by eating apes, because they have NOT developed that much from the apes themselves, showing that they're the LOWEST FORM of Untermenschen in history.

Western Civilisation doesn't need them, actually we'd should accept all the African apes, because the apes are significantly more intelligent than the Untermenschen.

 

[waltky]

Brazil activates 220,000 troops in fight against zika virus...

Brazil deploying 220,000 soldiers in awareness fight against Zika virus
Jan. 26, 2016 -- Brazil plans to deploy 220,000 soldiers to pass out information as the government continues its fight against the mosquitoes spreading the Zika virus.

Soldiers are expected to go from home to home throughout the country starting Feb. 13 to hand out leaflets that will inform residents on how to stop the spread of the Zika virus by eradicating mosquito breeding grounds, BBC News reported. Health Minister Marcelo Castro recently said Brazil was "losing badly" in the fight against the Zika virus, adding that its spread is one of the greatest public health crises in Brazilian history.

The epidemic is blamed on the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which transmits the Zika virus -- along with dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. Hospitalizations and fatalities are rare, with symptoms such as rash and fever lasting from a few days to one week. The virus was first isolated from a monkey in Uganda's Zika forest in 1947.

The Zika virus has also been linked to an epidemic of microcephaly -- a developmental defect resulting in a smaller-than-normal head or brain -- in newborns in Brazil, and the birth defect has been found in other children where the Zika virus has been confirmed. The first case of Zika in the United States was confirmed in Puerto Rico on Jan. 1, with the first baby with microcephaly born in Hawaii two weeks later.

Brazil deploying 220,000 soldiers in awareness fight against Zika virus

See also:

Denmark Resident Tests Positive for Zika Virus
January 27, 2016 - Health officials in Denmark said Wednesday a resident who had traveled to South and Central America has tested positive for the Zika virus.

According to the World Health Organization, the mosquito-borne virus could be linked to 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly in Brazil, a condition that results in abnormally small heads in newborns and can affect brain development. There is no treatment or cure for Zika virus infections, and an outbreak in Brazil and at least 20 other countries and territories in the Americas has prompted public health warnings. Authorities in El Salvador and Colombia have recommended women postpone getting pregnant.

In Brazil, 200,000 troops are traveling to homes to distribute pamphlets with advice on mosquito eradication, while crews are also fumigating areas that will be used for upcoming carnival celebrations and this year's Olympics. The WHO's regional office in the Americas said Monday the most effective ways to stop the virus from spreading are to reduce mosquito breeding sites and for people to protect themselves from bites with insect repellent, nets, screens and clothing that covers as much of the body as possible.

The White House said President Barack Obama met with senior health advisers on Tuesday and emphasized the need to accelerate the development of diagnostic tests, vaccines and treatments, and to make sure Americans have the information they need to protect themselves from infection. Health officials in the U.S. state of Virginia said Tuesday a man there tested positive for the virus, but that there was no risk of it spreading to others because it is not mosquito season there. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned pregnant women against traveling to areas with Zika virus outbreaks.

Obama Urges Development of Tests, Treatments for Zika Virus

Related:

Obama calls for rapid Zika research as virus seen spreading
Wed Jan 27, 2016 - President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for the rapid development of tests, vaccines and treatments to fight the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects and could spread to the United States in warmer months.

U.S. health officials are stepping up efforts to study the link between Zika virus infections and birth defects, citing a recent study estimating the virus could reach regions where 60 percent of the U.S. population lives. Obama was briefed on the potential spread of the virus by his top health and national security officials on Tuesday. "The president emphasized the need to accelerate research efforts to make available better diagnostic tests, to develop vaccines and therapeutics, and to ensure that all Americans have information about the Zika virus and steps they can take to better protect themselves from infection," the White House said in a statement.

The virus has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya, which causes mild fever and rash. An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, making it difficult for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected. On Monday, the World Health Organization predicted the virus would spread to all countries across the Americas except for Canada and Chile.

In a blog post, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins cited a Lancet study published Jan. 14 in which researchers predicted the Zika virus could be spread in areas along the East and West Coasts of the United States and much of the Midwest during warmer months, where about 200 million people live. The study also showed that 22.7 million more people live in humid parts of the country where mosquitoes carrying the virus could live year round.

Given the threat, Collins said "it is now critically important to confirm, through careful epidemiological and animal studies, whether or not a causal link exists between Zika virus infections in pregnant women and microcephaly in their newborn babies." Microcephaly results in babies being born with abnormally small heads.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Outbreak of microcephaly cases due to zika...

Brazil: 270 of 4,180 suspected microcephaly cases confirmed
Jan 27,`16 -- New figures released Wednesday by Brazil's Health Ministry as part of a probe into the Zika virus have found fewer cases of a rare birth defect than first feared.

Researchers have been looking at 4,180 suspected cases of microcephaly reported since October. On Wednesday, officials said they had done a more intense analysis of more than 700 of those cases, confirming 270 cases and ruling out 462 others. But what that means is hard to say, according to some experts. It does not answer whether the tropical Zika virus is causing the babies to have unusually small heads. Nor does it really tell us how big the problem is. "I don't think we should lower our alarm over the Zika outbreak," said Paul Roepe, co-director of Georgetown University's Center for Infectious Disease.

Municipal workers sprays insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus at the Imbiribeira neighborhood in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. Brazil's health minister Marcelo Castro said that nearly 220,000 members of Brazil's Armed Forces would go door-to-door to help in mosquito eradication efforts ahead of the country's Carnival celebrations​

Brazilian officials still say they believe there's a sharp increase in cases of microcephaly and strongly suspect the Zika virus, which first appeared in the country last year, is to blame. The concern is strong enough that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month warned pregnant women to reconsider visits to areas where Zika is present, and officials in El Salvador, Colombia and Brazil have suggested women stop getting pregnant until the crisis has passed. But the World Health Organization and others have stressed that any link between Zika and the defect remains circumstantial and is not yet proven scientifically. And the new figures were a reminder of just how little is known about the disease and its effects.

The arrival of the mosquito-borne illness in Brazil initially caused little alarm as the virus' symptoms are generally much milder than those of dengue. Then late last year, after noting what they said was a spike in the birth defect, Brazilian authorities for the first time asked doctors to report cases of patients in their care. So there are no solid numbers to compare with the new tally. In 2014, only about 150 cases were reported in Brazil in a year - a surprisingly small amount for a large country with nearly 3 million births a year. The United States, with about 4 million births a year, has an estimated 2,500 cases of microcephaly a year, said Margaret Honein, a CDC epidemiologist.

MORE

See also:

Brazil urges joint Zika fight, airlines offer refunds
27 Jan.`16 - Brazil urged its neighbors to unite in fighting the Zika virus, blamed for a surge in brain-damaged babies, as airlines offered refunds to pregnant mothers afraid to travel to the region.

As alarm rose over the latest world health scare, US President Barack Obama called for faster research on the quick-moving virus, which has infected travelers from the United States and Europe. Brazil has been the country hardest hit by the outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus, which is blamed for a sharp rise in infants born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads. The outbreak is particularly concerning officials as the country prepares to host the Olympics, which will bring hundreds of thousands of travelers from around the world to Rio de Janeiro in August.

Graphic illustrating how viruses Zika, Dengue and Chickunguya, spread by a mosquito, affect humans.​

Zika has spread to some 20 countries in Latin America and the World Health Organization (WHO) expects it to spread to every country in the Americas except Canada and Chile. Denmark and Switzerland joined a growing number of European countries to report Zika infections among travelers returning from Latin America. There is currently no specific treatment for Zika and no way to prevent it other than avoiding mosquito bites.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said she had asked a summit of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to launch "cooperative action in the fight against the Zika virus." An American Airlines spokesman said the company was offering refunds to pregnant women with flights booked to Brazil and 10 other countries and territories affected by the virus. Another US airline, Delta, said some its passengers may also qualify for a refund or a change to their tickets.

- Anti-mosquito campaign -

Related:

Zika virus could become 'explosive pandemic'
27 Jan.`16 - US scientists have urged the World Health Organisation to take urgent action over the Zika virus, which they say has "explosive pandemic potential".

Writing in a US medical journal, they called on the WHO to heed lessons from the Ebola outbreak and convene an emergency committee of disease experts. They said a vaccine might be ready for testing in two years but it could be a decade before it is publicly available. Zika, linked to shrunken brains in children, has caused panic in Brazil. Thousands of people have been infected there and it has spread to some 20 countries.

The Brazilian President, Dilma Roussef, has urged Latin America to unite in combating the virus. She told a summit in Ecuador that sharing knowledge about the disease was the only way that it would be beaten. A meeting of regional health ministers has been called for next week. Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Daniel R Lucey and Lawrence O Gostin say the WHO's failure to act early in the recent Ebola crisis probably cost thousands of lives.

They warn that a similar catastrophe could unfold if swift action is not taken over the Zika virus. "An Emergency Committee should be convened urgently to advise the Director-General about the conditions necessary to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern," Mr Lucey and Mr Gostin wrote. They added: "The very process of convening the committee would catalyze international attention, funding, and research." White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Wednesday the US government intended to make a more concerted effort to communicate with Americans about the risks associated with the virus.

No cure

 

[waltky]

Spreading like a plague...

Zika virus 'spreading explosively': WHO chief
28 Jan.`16 - The Zika virus is "spreading explosively" in the Americas and the region may see up to four million cases of the disease strongly suspected of causing birth defects, the World Health Organization warned Thursday.

As the number of suspected cases of microcephaly -- thought to be linked to the virus -- surged in Brazil, WHO head Margaret Chan said an emergency committee would meet Monday to determine whether the Zika outbreak amounts to a global health emergency. Microcephaly causes babies to be born with an abnormally small head and brain. Cases have soared in Brazil from 163 a year on average to more than 3,718 suspected cases since the outbreak, and 68 babies have died, according to the health ministry. Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica and Puerto Rico have warned women to avoid getting pregnant for the time being.

Jitters over Zika have spread far beyond the affected areas to Europe and North America, where dozens of cases have been identified among people returning from vacation or business abroad. France -- which has logged five cases contracted by its citizens while travelling -- urged women not to travel to French overseas territories in South America and the Caribbean. There is currently no treatment for Zika and a top US health chief warned Thursday the hunt for a vaccine could take years. For decades after Zika's discovery in 1947, in a Ugandan forest from which it takes its name, the mosquito-borne virus was of little concern, sporadically causing "mild" illness in humans.

But the WHO's chief Chan told an assembly of member-states in Geneva the severity of the current outbreak was unprecedented. "The situation today is dramatically different. The level of alarm is extremely high," she said, with Zika also possibly linked to a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome. "A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth malformations and neurological syndromes has not yet been established, but is strongly suspected," Chan said. She told WHO members the virus "is now spreading explosively," in the Americas, where 23 countries and territories have reported cases. The virus is not known to be transmitted person to person, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was aware of one reported case of Zika through possible sexual transmission, and a second where the virus was found in semen two weeks after a man exhibited symptoms.

- 3 to 4 million cases -

See also:

Microcephaly: What is happening to the babies?
28 Jan.`16 - Pregnant women are being urged to think twice before travelling to Latin American and Caribbean countries battling a rise in cases of microcephaly -- a rare but brutal condition that shrinks the brains of unborn babies.

The increase has coincided with an outbreak of the usually benign Zika virus. But the virus and the birth defects have not been scientifically linked, leaving many questions about what is happening to these children in the womb. We asked the experts.

The CDC is advising pregnant women against travel to 14 countries that have seen an increase in Zika virus infections​

Q: What is microcephaly?

A: Babies with microcephaly have an abnormally small brain and skull for their age, in the womb or at birth, with varying degrees of brain damage as a result. It has many potential causes: infections, viruses, toxins or unknown genetic factors.

- Jean-Francois Delfraissy of France's Inserm medical research institute.

Illustrated description of microcephaly, a rare condition that shrinks the brains of unborn babies.​

Q: What are the consequences for the child?

A: In serious cases, early death. If the brain is under-developed, the body cannot function properly. In French Polynesia (one of the regions affected), these deformities have caused most of the babies to be stillborn, as the unborn infants simply cannot survive.

- Andre Cabie, infections disease head at the University Hospital of Martinique.

A: For children who survive pregnancy and are born with microcephaly, the future is bleak. In the worst cases, children will be severely intellectually and physically handicapped. But even those less severely affected will likely struggle with psychomotor impairment -- characterised by slow thought, speech and physical movements. "It is a real tragedy."

- Delfraissy

Q: How does a virus affect an unborn child?

Related:

Zika vaccine may be ready for emergency use this year: developer
28 Jan.`16 - A vaccine for the Zika virus, which has been linked to severe birth defects in thousands of infants, could be ready for emergency use before year-end, one of its lead developers said on Thursday, a timetable well ahead of estimates by U.S. officials.

Canadian scientist Gary Kobinger, part of a consortium working on the vaccine, told Reuters in an interview that the first stage of testing on humans could begin as early as August. If successful, that may allow the vaccine to be used during a public health emergency, in October or November. "The first thing is to be ready for the worst," Kobinger, who helped develop a trial vaccine that was successful in fighting Ebola in Guinea, said. "This vaccine is easy to produce. It could be cranked to very high levels in a really short time.” He did not say when it could be widely available.

A woman holds a zika virus flyer from an information campaign by the Chilean Health Ministry at the departures area of Santiago's international airport, Chile January 28, 2016. The flyer reads: "Zika virus recommendations."​

The United States has two potential candidates for a Zika vaccine and may begin clinical trials in people by the end of this year, but there will not be a widely available vaccine for several years, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The mosquito-transmitted virus has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil. There is no proven vaccine or treatment for Zika, a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya, which causes mild fever and rash. An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, making it difficult for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected.

In Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that Zika is spreading "explosively" and could affect as many as four million people in the Americas. Kobinger, the lead scientist on this project from Quebec City's Laval University and head of special pathogens at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, is working with the University of Pennsylvania, led by scientist David Weiner, Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc and South Korea's GeneOne Life Science Inc. Joseph Kim, chief executive of Inovio, said the timeline to make the vaccine available by year's end is aggressive, but possible. "I believe this will be the first to go into human testing. We believe we're ahead of the pack in the race for a Zika vaccine," he said in an interview.

MORE

 

[PaintMyHouse]

Don't panic, and don't get knocked up. My wife is excited, travel discounts...

 

[BULLDOG]

Good news. Mosquitos carrying Zika can't penetrate tin foil, so most right wingers should be OK.

 

[waltky]

Epidemic of zika virus in Colombia...

Over 2,000 Pregnant Women Infected With Zika in Colombia
January 30, 2016 - The Zika virus is spreading rapidly in Latin America and Asian governments have issued advisories attempting to contain the mosquito-borne disease. Zika could be linked to birth defects such as brain damage in newborns and could cause temporary paralysis, according to medical professionals.

Health authorities in several Asian countries have advised travelers, particularly pregnant women to avoid trips to Central and South America. They have asked people coming or returning from those areas, who display symptoms such as fever and rashes to immediately report to health centers. Doctors are also required to immediately report suspected cases.

Pietro Rafael, who has microcephaly, reacts to stimulus during an evaluation session with a physiotherapist at the Altino Ventura rehabilitation center in Recife, Brazil​

Meanwhile, Colombia's National Health Institute said that the country has recorded 20,297 cases of Zika infection, including 2,116 in pregnant women. In a statement released Saturday, the institute recommended that couples delay pregnancy for six to eight months. The latest numbers, reported in the institute's epidemiological bulletin, would make Colombia the second most affected country in the region, after Brazil.

US, Brazil pledge to fight Zika together

In face of Zika outburst, the presidents of the United States and Brazil have agreed on "the importance of collaborative efforts" to combat the spread of the Zika virus. After the two leaders spoke Friday, the White House issued a statement saying Barack Obama and Dilma Rouseff recognize the significance of working together "to deepen our knowledge, advance research, and accelerate work to develop better vaccines and other technologies to control the virus."

Virus spreading rapidly

The World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Pan American Health Organization warn the Zika virus is spreading rapidly through the Americas and could affect as many as four million people. The Zika virus has been tentatively linked to 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly in Brazil, a condition that results in abnormally small heads and brains in newborns. There is no treatment for microcephaly or the virus.

Brazil launches nationwide campaign

See also:

Caught Off-guard by Zika, Brazil Struggles With Deformed Babies
January 29, 2016 — Angela Rocha, a pediatrician in northeastern Brazil, measures the head of a child born with microcephaly, a tragic neurological complication linked to Zika, the mosquito-borne virus sparking a health scare across the Americas.

Outside the room, seven mothers cradling infants with abnormally small heads line up for hours for tests. More than 1,000 cases of microcephaly have been reported in just a few months in Pernambuco state, the epicenter of the Zika outbreak. "We were taken by surprise," says Rocha, a veteran infectious disease specialist at the Oswaldo Cruz University in the state capital of Recife, where doctors are struggling to care for 300 babies born with the condition. Surprise is an understatement. For a country that for years has battled the Aedes aegypti mosquito - responsible for previous epidemics of dengue, yellow fever and other tropical diseases - the outbreak of Zika has caught the government, public health administrators and doctors entirely off guard.

Mothers with their children, who have microcephaly, await medical care at the Hospital Oswaldo Cruz, in Recife, Brazil​

A tropical climate, dense cities, poor sanitation and slipshod construction provided ideal conditions for mosquito breeding grounds and the spread of the Zika virus in Brazil's northeast, across the country and to more than 20 others throughout the Americas. "We just didn't have the conditions or resources necessary to stop the mosquito or the virus," says Maria da Gloria Teixeira, an epidemiologist in the neighboring state of Bahia and a director of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health, a grouping of public health professionals.

Gleyse Kelly da Silva holds her daughter Maria Giovanna as she sleeps in their house in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil​

Amid warnings from governments and multilateral health agencies, pregnant women in Brazil and beyond are now seeking to avoid exposure to the mosquito, at least until contagion is contained or scientists develop a vaccine, which could still take years. Brazilian health officials this week said they plan to reach an agreement with the U.S. National Institutes of Health to work on a vaccine. Some Latin American countries have advised women to delay getting pregnant.

Overwhelmed

 

[Redfish]

global warming caused zika. Its the prophet algore's fault. But don't worry, Gore promised that most of the carribean islands would be under water by now, drowning those mosquitos.

Maybe the Gore foundation can set up some huge fans to blow the evil little bastards back to Africa.

much ado about nothing folks. put some bug spray on and continue your lives.