Zika Virus Spreading in Florida: Nine New Cases Confirmed

agree , course dire effects only occur in pregnant womans unborn babies I think Tundraman !!
 
yes you're tight. plus the hippies are already making up a batch of 'Zika' weed to be funny and cool because naming your pot after deadly viruses is cool I guess
 
Zika may be a Greater Health Threat Than Ebola...

Zika Feared to Be Greater Health Threat Than Ebola
January 31, 2016 - The Zika virus outbreak in Latin America could be a bigger threat to global health than the Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people in Africa.
That's according to several public health experts who spoke with the Guardian and Examiner newspapers ahead of an emergency meeting of the World Health Organization on Monday, which will decide whether the Zika threat should be rated a global health crisis. Brazilian public health authorities are reporting an increase in cases of microcephaly, a fetal deformation where infants are born with abnormally small heads. The incidence of the normally rare birth defect is 10 times higher than normal. The cause is under investigation, but there appears to be a correlation between the condition and Zika infections in expectant mothers.

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Sueli Maria (obscured) holds her daughter Milena, who has microcephaly, (born seven days ago), at a hospital in Recife, Brazil​

Silent infection

"In many ways the Zika outbreak is worse than the Ebola epidemic of 2014-15," Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust, told the Guardian. "Most virus carriers are symptomless. It is a silent infection in a group of highly vulnerable individuals, pregnant women, that is associated with a horrible outcome for their babies." There is currently no prospect of a vaccine for Zika, in contrast to Ebola, for which several are now under trial. "The real problem is that trying to develop a vaccine that would have to be tested on pregnant women is a practical and ethical nightmare," said Mike Turner, head of infection and immunobiology at the Wellcome Trust. 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.

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Threat to US

Dr. Peter Hotez told the Examiner newspaper that the Zika outbreak in Brazil poses a "far greater threat to the United States than Ebola," A Zika outbreak has "never been seen on this scale," Hotez said, despite its prevalence in Africa, Asia and the Pacific islands. Zika is a viral illness spread from human to human through the bite of a mosquito. Two species of mosquito are known to carry the virus, the Yellow Fever mosquito and the Asian Tiger mosquito. Both species are found throughout most of the Americas. The Yellow Fever mosquito can be found along the Gulf Coast of the United States while the Asian Tiger mosquito can be found as far north as New York City.

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A municipal worker sprays insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus, at the Imbiribeira neighborhood in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil​

Avoiding affected countries

Meanwhile, health authorities in several Asian countries have advised travelers, particularly pregnant women, to avoid trips to Central and South America. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned pregnant women against traveling to areas with Zika virus outbreaks. 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. Colombia's National Health Institute has recommended couples delay pregnancy for six to eight months.

US, Brazil agree on joint efforts
 
damn. seeing those babies is depressing. one of these diseases is gonna wipe us all off the map if we aren't careful.
 
WHO declares global zika emergency...

WHO declares global emergency over Zika virus spread
Feb 1,`16 -- The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the explosive spread of the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas, calling it an "extraordinary event" that poses a public health threat to other parts of the world. The U.N. agency took the rare step despite a lack of definitive evidence proving the mosquito-borne virus is causing a surge in babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads in Brazil and following a 2013-14 outbreak in French Polynesia.
Monday's emergency meeting of independent experts was called in response to the spike in babies born with microcephaly in Brazil since the virus was first found there last year. Officials in French Polynesia also documented a connection between Zika and neurological complications when the virus was spreading there two years ago, at the same time as dengue fever. "After a review of the evidence, the committee advised that the clusters of microcephaly and other neurological complications constitute an extraordinary event and public health threat to other parts of the world," WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said.

WHO, which was widely criticized for its sluggish response to the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa, has been eager to show its responsiveness this time. Despite dire warnings that Ebola was out of control in mid-2014, WHO didn't declare an emergency until months later, after nearly 1,000 people had died. "If indeed, the scientific linkage between Zika and microcephaly is established, can you imagine if we do not do all this work now and wait until the scientific evidence comes out?" Chan said. "Then people will say, 'Why didn't you take action?'"

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Musicians play samba at a street carnival parade during which health workers distributed kits with information about the Zika virus, on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. The sign reads in Portuguese : "Get out Zika." Originally from Africa, Zika spread to Asia and was first registered in Brazil in the middle of last year, spreading like wildfire through the northeast thanks in part to the region's widespread poverty, equatorial heat and chronic infestations of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue fever and chikungunya.​

WHO estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the Americas in the next year, but no recommendations were made to restrict travel or trade. "It is important to understand, there are several measures pregnant women can take," Chan said. "If you can delay travel and it does not affect your other family commitments, it is something to consider." "If they need to travel, they can get advice from their physician and take personal protective measures, like wearing long sleeves and shirts and pants and using mosquito repellent."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has advised pregnant women to postpone visits to Brazil and other countries in the region with Zika outbreaks, though officials say it's unlikely the virus could cause widespread problems in the U.S. On Monday, health officials added four more destinations to a list that now includes 28 locations, most of them in Latin America and the Caribbean. The last time WHO declared a public health emergency was for the devastating Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people. Similar declarations were made for polio in 2013 and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Such emergency declarations are meant as an international SOS signal and usually trigger increased money and efforts to halt the outbreak, as well as prompting research into possible treatments and vaccines. There are currently no licensed treatments or vaccines for Zika.

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See also:

Zika-linked condition: Rio Olympics 'to go ahead' despite virus
1 Feb.`16 - There is no chance that the Rio Olympics will be cancelled because of a Zika virus outbreak, Brazil has said. The authorities said there was no risk to athletes and spectators - except pregnant women - at the August event.
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned a disease linked to Zika posed a global public health emergency requiring a united response. The infection has been linked to cases of microcephaly, in which babies are born with underdeveloped brains. Experts are worried that the mosquito-borne virus in Latin America is spreading far and fast, with devastating consequences.

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The Rio Olympics will be staged on 5-21 August​

House inspections

"We have to explain to those coming to Brazil, the athletes, that there is zero risk if you are not a pregnant woman," Reuters quoted President Dilma Rousseff's chief of staff Jaques Wagner as saying. President Rousseff earlier authorised health and sanitary inspectors to use force if necessary to gain access to private buildings, as part of the government's efforts to eradicate breeding grounds for mosquitoes - especially stagnant waters. Inspectors are now able to call in the police if necessary, and more than 200,000 troops have been deployed to make such inspections. The Brazilian health ministry says about 25% of the country's 49 million homes have so far been inspected.

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Brazil says about 25% of the country's 49 million homes have so far been inspected​

Time to act

Meanwhile, WHO Director General Margaret Chan called Zika an "extraordinary event" that needed a co-ordinated response. "I am now declaring that the recent cluster of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin America following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014 constitutes a public health emergency of international concern." The WHO alert puts Zika in the same category of concern as Ebola. It means research and aid will be fast-tracked to tackle the infection. There have been around 4,000 reported cases of microcephaly in Brazil alone since October. The WHO faced heavy criticism for waiting too long to declare the Ebola outbreak a public emergency.

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Stopping Zika

Currently, there is no vaccine or medication to stop Zika. The only way to avoid catching it is to avoid getting bitten by the Aedes mosquitoes that transmit the infection. The WHO has already warned that Zika is likely to "spread explosively" across nearly all of the Americas. More than 20 countries, including Brazil, are reporting cases. Most infections are mild and cause few or no symptoms, although there have been some reported cases of a rare paralysis disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome. The bigger health threat though is believed to be in pregnancy, to the unborn child.

More on the Zika crisis:
 
damn. seeing those babies is depressing. one of these diseases is gonna wipe us all off the map if we aren't careful.
----------------------------- agree of course , especially about the babies !!
 
US has 'sexually transmitted' Zika case...

Zika virus infection 'through sex' reported in US
Wed, 03 Feb 2016 - A rare case of the Zika virus being transmitted through sex, not a mosquito bite, has been reported in the US.
A patient infected in Dallas, Texas, is likely to have been infected by sexual contact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) told the BBC. The person had not travelled to infected areas but their partner had returned from Venezuela. Zika is carried by mosquitoes and has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains. It is spreading through the Americas and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the disease linked to the virus a global public health emergency.

The American Red Cross has meanwhile urged prospective blood donors returning from Zika-hit countries to wait at least 28 days before donating their blood. The "self-deferral" should apply to people returning from Mexico, the Caribbean or Central or South America during the past four weeks, the Red Cross said in a statement.

Elsewhere:

* Two cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed in Australia. Officials said the two Sydney residents had recently returned from the Caribbean.
* Zika has also been found in two unrelated cases in the Republic of Ireland, officials there said. A man and an older woman, who have both recovered, had a history of travelling to a Zika-affected country.
* The UK has announced people will not be able to donate blood for 28 days after returning from a Zika-affected country.

Meanwhile, Brazil - the country worst hit by the outbreak - has revealed it is investigating 3,670 suspected cases of microcephaly in babies linked to the Zika virus.

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ok now that's scary. hey ladies, abstinence sounds better than ever, just don't follow the Bristol Palin version
 
I have never heard of this. Not going to look at the babies either.

umm why mosquito? Isn't it sexually transmitted? I admit I didn't read it all.
 

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