Zika Virus Mosquitos Have Been Found…on Capitol Hill

[Disir]

We in the global north had not heard much about the tiny Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary transmitter of Zika virus, before the disease was linked to an epidemic of birth defects and the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome.

The mosquito was unfamiliar because it normally thrives no farther north than Alabama.

But recently scientists found an isolated population of Aedes aegypti that has managed to survive in a small bubble of warmth: Capitol Hill.


Found through much of the tropical and sub-tropical world, Aedes aegypti sometimes makes it north of the US’s gulf states before winter temperatures kill it off. But in a paper published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene last year, entomologists confirmed a group of Aedes aegypti living a few blocks from the Capitol. As far as they know, it’s the only documented Aedes aegypti population anywhere north of its typical range.

As of now, the Capitol Hill mosquitoes are free of Zika, but that could potentially change.

“It’s a small population, so the chances of human transmission are modest. But, for me, as an entomologist, it’s like a little red flag.” said Dave Severson, a medical entomologist with the University of Notre Dame, who has worked with the species most of his career. “It’s unprecedented for this mosquito to be breeding in this climate.”
There's a Group of Zika Virus Mosquitos Living in Washington, DC

I know, right? It's like right there.....gifted, even.

 

[waltky]

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'

See also:

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

 

[waltky]

Looks like it's gonna be `a day late and a dollar short'...

Senate Deal Reached on Reduced Zika Funding
May 12, 2016 - The U.S. Senate is set to vote on a bill to provide $1.1 billion in emergency funding to fight the Zika virus. The deal fell short of the $1.9 billion requested by the Obama administration.

The administration requested emergency funding to battle Zika in February, but Republicans controlling Congress have been slow to react, and that prompted the administration last month to tap more than $500 million worth of unspent Ebola funding to battle Zika. Senators are scheduled to vote Tuesday.

The White House said it welcomes any progress made on the issue. "I think at this point, given the delays and given the heightened stakes, we welcome any sort of forward momentum in Congress," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a briefing Thursday. But top Senate Democrat Harry Reid gave the proposal a frosty reception, saying it is "not enough, especially when the amount will likely be reduced further by House Republicans.''

The first death related to a Zika virus infection on U.S. soil was reported late last month in Puerto Rico. U.S. officials believe the Zika-carrying mosquito could spread to at least 30 U.S. states. The disease has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities. It also is suspected of causing a rare neurological disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can result in paralysis.

Senate Deal Reached on Reduced Zika Funding

 

[waltky]

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. That’s what’s 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. “That’s how imminent this threat is.”

She also blasted the Obama administration’s 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.

Former NY Lt. Gov: Brazil Olympics Will Spread Zika ‘Around the World’

 

[waltky]

Granny got her trusty ol' poof-can o' DDT she zaps mosquitoes dat come `round here with...

Mosquito Control Expert: Congress Should Ease Pesticide Regulation to Target Pesticide Resistant, Zika-Carrying Mosquitoes
June 16, 2016 | – T. Wayne Gale, president-elect of the American Mosquito Control Association and executive director of the Lee County Mosquito Control District in Florida, told Congress Wednesday that there may be a pesticide resistance issue in Zika-carrying mosquitoes.

Gale told Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) in a Capitol Hill briefing that addressed the possible spread of the Zika virus in Florida that an adequate response to the threat of the Zika virus “amounts to having personnel, pesticides, and equipment.” “Do we have that?” Hastings asked. “No, not statewide,” Gale said, adding “that right now is the focus of the money that is being provided by the health department in Florida is for personnel, pesticides, and equipment.” “These mosquitoes are very difficult to control, and we’re finding right now that we might have a resistance issue to the pesticides we use,” he later added. “There’s research going on right now to determine the extent of that.”

Gale told CNSNews.com that any legislation to streamline the approval process for pesticides “and make it less expensive, or at least provide some funding to help move new public health pesticides through, would be an important step in trying to get new materials and deal with the resistance issue.” CNSNews.com asked Gale what pesticides have proven effective in combatting the Aedes Aegypti and the Aedes Albopictus, Zika-carrying mosquitoes, and about Florida’s plan in dealing with pesticide resistance with the tools they have available. “Right now, we have two basic classes of compounds. What we call OPs or Organophosphates, Naled and Malathion, are probably the two primary that are used in public health pest control, and then the rest, most of the rest of the adult control materials are Synthetic Pyrethroids,” Gale explained. “That’s where we’re seeing - you know, spotty resistance, localized resistance in a lot of areas - and so there aren’t a whole lot of alternatives, so it’s a difficult problem.”

CNSNews.com asked Gale about the Zika Vector Control Act, formerly the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, which did not move forward when it was brought up for a vote in the House in May. The legislation was backed by the American Mosquito Control Association and aimed to ease regulation on pesticide development to combat Zika carrying mosquitoes. “The development process and the registration process for pesticides is very expensive, and it’s the federal government’s process that makes it so,” Gale said, “and so any legislation to kind of streamline that process and make it less expensive or at least provide some funding to help move new public health pesticides through would be an important step in trying to get new materials and deal with the resistance issue.”

Gale also told CNSNews.com that to his knowledge, Florida’s Department of Health only had about $400,000 to distribute to mosquito control efforts. “There’s funding that’s coming to the states from CDC. It’s through what they call ELC grants, which is Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Grants, and that money comes to the state health department, and the state health department distributes that money,” he explained.

Mosquito Control Expert: Congress Should Ease Pesticide Regulation to Target Pesticide Resistant, Zika-Carrying Mosquitoes

 

[waltky]

WHO askin' for $20 million to combat zika virus...

WHO Launches $121 Million Plan to Combat Zika Virus
June 17, 2016 — The World Health Organization is appealing for $121 million to combat the Zika virus over the next 18 months. The revised global Strategic Response plan supplants a previous plan launched in February, which requested around $20 million. The significant increase in the amount of money requested to tackle the Zika virus indicates the gravity with which the World Health Organization views this infection.

Microcephaly and Guillain Barre Syndrome

The Zika virus, which is now circulating in some 60 countries worldwide, is linked to microcephaly, an infection that causes brain abnormalities in newborn babies and Guillain Barre Syndrome, a neurological disorder. The epicenter of the disease is in Latin America. WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said the response to Zika requires an integrated approach that places support for women and girls of child-bearing age at its core.

Material to prevent Zika infection by mosquitoes are displayed at the 69th World Health Assembly at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, May 23, 2016. The World Health Organization is appealing for $121 million to combat the Zika virus over the next 18 months.​

Support for child-bearing women

“This strategy will place greater focus on preventing and managing medical complications caused by Zika virus infection by providing counseling and treatment, if necessary to pregnant women, partners, households, infected people — and will also work with communities trying to have enough capacities and health systems to provide necessary support to communities,” said Jasarevic. The plan highlights several specific characteristics of the Zika outbreak that need special vigilance and a global response.

Tainara Lourenco, who is five months pregnant, sits inside her house at a slum in Recife, Brazil.​

They include the potential for further international spread of the Zika virus by Aedes mosquitoes. The WHO says a lack of immunity in areas where the Zika virus is circulating for the first time could allow the disease to spread quickly. It says the absence of vaccines, treatments, and rapid diagnostic tests, as well as inequalities in access to sanitation and health services in affected areas are of concern and will require special care.

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

WHO Launches $121 Million Plan to Combat Zika Virus

 

[anotherlife]

Now we know what's behind Washington politics. Should I be surprised?