What I find interesting is the lack of information about the Zika virus in the Polynesian region of the S. Pacific. When a virus or disease affects small island populations and their tiny nations, the impact is usually very apparent and rapidly transmitted. I have not seen or heard anything about how Zika affected Tahiti, the Cook Islands or Samoa. What are they doing there about it? Is it the same virus as the one in Brazil? Or has it genetically mutated in Brazil to a stronger virus? How many babies were born with microcephaly in the S. Pacific? Somewhat of a mystery that hardly any information has been written or said about the impact of Zika on these Pacific Islanders at all.
5
Speaking as a medical epidemiologist, I think that the writers of the article confused case control study with cohort study. Comparing kids with and without microcephaly is a case-control study, as they correctly identified. However, following two sets of women with and without Zika virus and then looking at the outcome of their pregnancies is a cohort study. Unfortunately it was labeled as a case control study in the paragraph about the type of study that Dr. Heymann from WHO was proposing.
Usually in outbreaks a case control study is done first, to identify possible risk factors for disease (because you are comparing those with and without disease). However, a cohort study, comparing those with and without risk factor(s) is considered more definitive "proof" because you are studying people before they become ill and can better take into account for natural variations between the 2 groups of people (history of zika virus, dengue, alcohol, other environmental influences) and the outcome of interest (in this case kids with and without microcephaly).
Later in the article, the writers imply that both studies are being done. It is said that they have recruited 1000 women with Zika symptoms but I assume that they also recruited women without Zika symptoms to see what the rate of microcephaly is in each group. And if they are following healthy and microcephalic newborns in the same area, what are they looking at? Are they looking at past exposures or future outcomes?
Usually in outbreaks a case control study is done first, to identify possible risk factors for disease (because you are comparing those with and without disease). However, a cohort study, comparing those with and without risk factor(s) is considered more definitive "proof" because you are studying people before they become ill and can better take into account for natural variations between the 2 groups of people (history of zika virus, dengue, alcohol, other environmental influences) and the outcome of interest (in this case kids with and without microcephaly).
Later in the article, the writers imply that both studies are being done. It is said that they have recruited 1000 women with Zika symptoms but I assume that they also recruited women without Zika symptoms to see what the rate of microcephaly is in each group. And if they are following healthy and microcephalic newborns in the same area, what are they looking at? Are they looking at past exposures or future outcomes?
4
This could involve more than one factor. For instance, it has been brought up that changes in vaccination practice (or changes in the vaccine) may be the culprit. This may not be so far-fetched, not because ALL vaccinations are intrinsically bad (far from it!), but because a side-effect of that particular vaccination just might be that the elicited immune response could conceivably allow the virus to cross the placenta and infect the embryonic CNS, which normally would not occur.
There has to be a difference between the (affected) Brazilian and (unaffected) Columbian, Asian and African cohorts. If the virus has not mutated and thereby - regionally selectively - changed virulence, secondary intrinsic (genetic?) or extrinsic (environmental?) factors must be included in the model.
There has to be a difference between the (affected) Brazilian and (unaffected) Columbian, Asian and African cohorts. If the virus has not mutated and thereby - regionally selectively - changed virulence, secondary intrinsic (genetic?) or extrinsic (environmental?) factors must be included in the model.
2
Enough of the alarmism. This will be old news in a few months time.
Remember SARS?
Remember SARS?
2
Perhaps here. But it certainly will not be old news for the familes and friends and neighbors of those thousands of deformed children. They will be reminded for a lifetime.
4
I would encourage all Americans living within the two mosquito risk zones, year round and seasonal, as described on the graphic attached to this article, to verify the current mosquito control policy in their area. Please do not assume you have such a district. They are expensive and are frequently underfunded if one exists. They are sometimes contracted out with little oversight from state authorities.
But the good ones perform aggressive larvacide applications and others gather surveillance data for species that include the Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus), a potential carrier of ZIKV with a wide seasonal range in the US.
If your community is not served by a Mosquito Control District, you do not have the main method of defense that so many experts are saying distinguish the US from the developing world. If you do not have one, now is the time to write letters to your elected officials since they are not established overnight. I don't have any financial interest in mosquito control, but this is a gap in popular understanding and it would be wise to prepare.
But the good ones perform aggressive larvacide applications and others gather surveillance data for species that include the Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus), a potential carrier of ZIKV with a wide seasonal range in the US.
If your community is not served by a Mosquito Control District, you do not have the main method of defense that so many experts are saying distinguish the US from the developing world. If you do not have one, now is the time to write letters to your elected officials since they are not established overnight. I don't have any financial interest in mosquito control, but this is a gap in popular understanding and it would be wise to prepare.
4
Fourteen-year-old mothers having to cope with this condition in their babies is beyond their capabilities. Shame on the men who made them mothers so young. We have to get serious about birth control access throughout the world.
9
Well, at least we have something new to blame on Global Warming, even though doing so is about as helpful to understanding the virus as the explanations Medieval priests offered their parishioners for comets and other natural phenomenon.
To all the commenters making this about global warming: Long before mankind came along and bespoiled the earth, mosquitoes in the tropics, i.e., in the places where this virus first arose, have always had climates favorable to their year-round survival and propagation, even during the Ice Ages.
The difference today is international airline travel, which is a vector for viral propagation far more powerful than measly little mosquitoes.
To all the commenters making this about global warming: Long before mankind came along and bespoiled the earth, mosquitoes in the tropics, i.e., in the places where this virus first arose, have always had climates favorable to their year-round survival and propagation, even during the Ice Ages.
The difference today is international airline travel, which is a vector for viral propagation far more powerful than measly little mosquitoes.
1
Zika is a zooonotic (animal origin) virus, like ebola, SARS, rabies, MERS, avian flu, Hantavirus, and most likely HIV, which is now thought to have originated in Cameroon chimpanzees. If Zika can be so easily spread by the Tiger Mosquito, I wonder what insects, including bedbugs and ticks, can spread these other viruses? Some of these diseases, like SARS, MERS, and ebola, can be spread through "casual contact" including coughing, sneezing, spitting, kissing, perhaps even shaking hands then rubbing one's eyes. HIV does not seem to be spread "casually," not even by eating, so how did HIV jump from the chimpanzees to humans?
1
After having been in and out of Brazil for fifteen years (eight of them undertaking research in informal settlements), I am not surprised that Zika is being framed as a "mystery." Had initial cases cropped up in the central districts of major metropoles, rather than in poor areas of country's peripheral northeast, the government would have been on Zika as they were on the World Cup and now the Olympics. The confounding part is that large-scale action did not happen, and that no one considers how many people in Brazil still live without basic sanitation - a significant risk to mosquito infestation.
5
Maybe, a blood test before a marriage license as is the norm would prevent a few cases where there is a possibility. And before anyone criticizes me for my apparent belief in the puritanic stance, let me clarify that I am quite aware sex happens without a wedding band. I am no Republican, not even a centrist. I am just talking about practicing safe sex. If the willing partners understand all that is known of the Zika virus currently, precaution will go a long way. Besides it would'nt hurt to get a blood test when the couple is thinking about having a baby.
2
The virus only stays in the system 1-2 weeks. What good would a blood test do?
4
Probably just one of those coincidences, but had anyone correlated the first release of GMO mosquitos in Brazil to the timing just a few months later with this epidemic - especially if Zika is transmitted by mosquito bites?
2
The fact that Zika has been i) around for decades without ever having been associated with microcephaly, and ii) there is a sudden spike in microcephaly cases, mostly clustered in South America, not Asia or Africa, suggests that either the virus mutated from the original strain or that the genetic background of the South American population, as opposed to the African or Asian peoples exposed to the virus, is conducive for this particular pathology.
The CDC should have the answer to the first scenario - has the virus mutated as it jumped from Asia to South America - already. Sequencing and comparing the different genomes nowadays is simple and fast. It can literally be done in a couple of weeks. Answers to the second scenario - are genetic differences in the South American population to blame for the rise of microcephaly there - can be addressed epidemiologically by comparing the frequency of microcephaly in populations of different ethnic origin, i.e. Caucasian, African, Hispanic, Asian, etc. If only, or preferentially, one ethnic group is affected by the rise in microcephalic cases, then it is likely the genetic background of those people that mediates the increased incidence, with a mutation of the virus becoming less likely.
In the end it is a numbers game. I don't know if the numbers of cases in the different populations are large enough yet to allow a statistically significant conclusion, but ultimately we will be getting there.
The CDC should have the answer to the first scenario - has the virus mutated as it jumped from Asia to South America - already. Sequencing and comparing the different genomes nowadays is simple and fast. It can literally be done in a couple of weeks. Answers to the second scenario - are genetic differences in the South American population to blame for the rise of microcephaly there - can be addressed epidemiologically by comparing the frequency of microcephaly in populations of different ethnic origin, i.e. Caucasian, African, Hispanic, Asian, etc. If only, or preferentially, one ethnic group is affected by the rise in microcephalic cases, then it is likely the genetic background of those people that mediates the increased incidence, with a mutation of the virus becoming less likely.
In the end it is a numbers game. I don't know if the numbers of cases in the different populations are large enough yet to allow a statistically significant conclusion, but ultimately we will be getting there.
1
Sceptic:
This does not contradict my reasoning, it does support it. The difference between Columbia and Brazil could be manifold: i) Different genetic background of the population, ii) different vector, iii) and, as you point out, different environmental factors (i.e. vaccination history?). When I wrote my comment above, I had not mentioned environmental factors, because I ran out of allowable characters. Thanks for bringing this up!
Indeed, if the absence of microcephaly accompanying confirmed Zika infections in Columbia holds, then genetic background of the host, potential pathology altering differences in the vector (e.g. harboring another virus or parasite), viral heterogeneity (need sequence comparison of Columbian and Brazilian strains), or external factors (e.g. vaccinations during pregnancy) increase in likelihood.
Careful evaluation of the epidemiology will include/exclude any of these factors. The fact that this has not occurred yet suggests that the numbers simply are not high enough yet to allow statistically significant conclusions.
This does not contradict my reasoning, it does support it. The difference between Columbia and Brazil could be manifold: i) Different genetic background of the population, ii) different vector, iii) and, as you point out, different environmental factors (i.e. vaccination history?). When I wrote my comment above, I had not mentioned environmental factors, because I ran out of allowable characters. Thanks for bringing this up!
Indeed, if the absence of microcephaly accompanying confirmed Zika infections in Columbia holds, then genetic background of the host, potential pathology altering differences in the vector (e.g. harboring another virus or parasite), viral heterogeneity (need sequence comparison of Columbian and Brazilian strains), or external factors (e.g. vaccinations during pregnancy) increase in likelihood.
Careful evaluation of the epidemiology will include/exclude any of these factors. The fact that this has not occurred yet suggests that the numbers simply are not high enough yet to allow statistically significant conclusions.
but the epidemic in Columbia was later. As human gestation time approaches, (nine months or a bit less after the epidemic) the answer will be clearer. they are waiting, I read, with quite a bit of worry.
I just saw information claiming starting in May 2015, a new version of the DTap vaccine was given to women in Brazil who were 22 weeks pregnant, and who would have given birth starting October 2015, when the dramatic increase in microcephaly cases started happening. Isn't that something worth investigating? If the Zika virus was discovered so many years ago and never before associatesd with birth defects, why would it all of a sudden cause birth defects in such large numbers? Makes no sense at all. Will you investigate the possibility the DTap vaccine might be the cause?
7
Nah, they'll just call us crazy anti-vaxxers (even if we aren't) and conspiracy theorists. :(
It is possible, in principle, that Zika is a red herring, where a new viral infection not seen on the continent before coincides with a congenital malformation of different etiology. We would probably have had the same discussions had Zika (or another virus) first been noticed coinciding with thalidomide induced congenital malformations.
I think your point is valid and needs to be rigorously investigated. Could also be an additive used in the vaccine. Or a temporary window of a vaccine-induced altered immune response that allows Zika infestation of the developing embryonic CNS. Nothing can really be excluded at this point, but let's not jump to conclusions as yet.
I think your point is valid and needs to be rigorously investigated. Could also be an additive used in the vaccine. Or a temporary window of a vaccine-induced altered immune response that allows Zika infestation of the developing embryonic CNS. Nothing can really be excluded at this point, but let's not jump to conclusions as yet.
1
The current theories on Zika and its possible links with microcephaly, at least what appears in media, seem to be very simplistic and limited despite the fact that there are too many unknowns. I have not seen explanations on many issues, but especially on the frequency of cases and why the surge in Brazile -
There are 25,000 children born with microcephaly every year in the US. In Brazil, apparently the number of cases was 150 last year. US population is roughly 1.5 times of Brazil. So does US has high rate of microcephaly or was it overlooked in Brazil?
I am not convinced that the babies in some African countries where Zika existed for many decades are immune to such potentially strong virus. You do not hear much about mutations. If it is not mutation, then It is more likely that they occurred in rural areas where population is sparse, the cases were seen as isolate cases and overlooked.
There are 25,000 children born with microcephaly every year in the US. In Brazil, apparently the number of cases was 150 last year. US population is roughly 1.5 times of Brazil. So does US has high rate of microcephaly or was it overlooked in Brazil?
I am not convinced that the babies in some African countries where Zika existed for many decades are immune to such potentially strong virus. You do not hear much about mutations. If it is not mutation, then It is more likely that they occurred in rural areas where population is sparse, the cases were seen as isolate cases and overlooked.
1
There is strong evidence that the cause of microencephaly is NOT the Zika virus, which was identified more than 60 years ago, (and only last year was associated with birth defects) and MAY be certain vaccines given to pregnant women only in Brazil. See https://www.facebook.com/notes/marcella-piper-terry/why-did-the-general-...
2
The most likely underlying cause of the bizarre deformities is the widespread use in Brazil of banned-in-the-U.S. pesticides and herbicides. Probably at least one of those chemicals, or perhaps a combination of them, is teratogenic. Blaming the deformities on an insect is only a diversion, and a very effective one.
7
A strong epidemiological case can be made for a link between the TDaP Vaccine (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis) and microcephaly. At the end of 2014 the Brazilian government mandated TDaP for pregnant women because pertussis was on the rise despite high vaccination rates. (If it's not working, just inject more of it, right?) The Zika virus has been around perhaps forever, certainly for decades. The virus has been found only in a few of the microcephaly cases, whereas all or nearly all of the Brazilian women giving birth in the last few months to microcephalic babies had been vaccinated with the TDaP while pregnant. So of course the vaccine can't be causing the microcephaly. Of course the solution to the problem is another fast-tracked, poorly tested vaccine that will come with devastating side-effects and elicit the mutation and serum replacement of the Zika virus with more virulent varieties but also make the pharmaceutical industry and its hangers-on billions of dollars. And of course the main-stream media is silent about the TDaP link or dismisses any mention of it as just more conspiracy theory, because of course the pharmaceutical industry's primary focus is on human health and not making profits. Of course...
3
James J. Cook of Ann Arbor - Please state your scientific or medical credentials, if any.
1
I wonder that the microcephaly is so concentrated to the new world.
I wonder if the net has been cast wide enough.
Would it be possible to give these children a chance by removal of the top of the skull and eventual replacement with a plate?
I wonder if the net has been cast wide enough.
Would it be possible to give these children a chance by removal of the top of the skull and eventual replacement with a plate?
Do GM mosquitoes have anything to do with this outbreak or is this internet conspiracy....heard males were released in Brazil where microcephaly appeared
1
When soccer is more important than newborn babies, I know that there is a serious lack of values in the people of our world. "The Show Must Go On" does not apply when the risk is spreading a horrible epidemic around the world. These kinds of outbreaks cannot be stopped by "personal responsibility", although it could save individual lives. When the best prescription is "don't have sex with pregnant women", it makes me feel like the governments (ours included) really do not care to take action.
As for this article, it is a good article, but it does not describe the complete effects of microcephaly on a child's life. It can mean that the brain is underdeveloped or even missing parts of it. What's worse is anencephaly, where the child is born with NO HEAD. These are absolute horrors.
I just want my country, where I should have a say, to take this seriously. Fumigate planes. Restrict travel. Thoroughly screen anyone coming in from Brazil or other zika outbreak nations. Actually care about preventing an epidemic of Zika Virus in the US rather than placing MONEY before people.
As for this article, it is a good article, but it does not describe the complete effects of microcephaly on a child's life. It can mean that the brain is underdeveloped or even missing parts of it. What's worse is anencephaly, where the child is born with NO HEAD. These are absolute horrors.
I just want my country, where I should have a say, to take this seriously. Fumigate planes. Restrict travel. Thoroughly screen anyone coming in from Brazil or other zika outbreak nations. Actually care about preventing an epidemic of Zika Virus in the US rather than placing MONEY before people.
2
It is true that it took and airplane to get the virus to the Americas but it could have been any airplane, not just an airplane carrying sports fans. Now that it's here, it doesn't need airplanes to become endemic in the whole of the area in the Americas that has the species of mosquito it uses as a vector. People travel, they commute, goods travel, and even if they didn't, the mosquitos travel on their own.
Microcephaly, like most everything else, was under-reported in Brazil before this outbreak and now it is certainly being over-reported, so we don't yet have a good idea of how many cases there are. And we don't know how many cases of Zika there have been either. There may have been a huge number of Zika cases and the rate of microcephaly might be pretty low. It is very, very likely that people who've had the virus have immunity to it and that immunity will very very likely protect their unborn child as well. So once the virus is endemic, it will only very rarely cause microcephaly. This has probably been the situation in parts of Africa and Asia for decades.
Microcephaly, like most everything else, was under-reported in Brazil before this outbreak and now it is certainly being over-reported, so we don't yet have a good idea of how many cases there are. And we don't know how many cases of Zika there have been either. There may have been a huge number of Zika cases and the rate of microcephaly might be pretty low. It is very, very likely that people who've had the virus have immunity to it and that immunity will very very likely protect their unborn child as well. So once the virus is endemic, it will only very rarely cause microcephaly. This has probably been the situation in parts of Africa and Asia for decades.
This is very scary stuff,
It appears that by the time a expectant woman shows signs of being infected and can be treated it might be too late to prevent the infant developing in her
to become infected.
Therefore the only way they can stop this is to produce some kind of vaccine that would prevent her from getting it and even this might not work as it is possible the pregnant woman will not get ill from the germ because she is
immune but the infant might not have that protection and the germ could be still be transmitted from her to her child with the same resulting condition in that child.
It appears that by the time a expectant woman shows signs of being infected and can be treated it might be too late to prevent the infant developing in her
to become infected.
Therefore the only way they can stop this is to produce some kind of vaccine that would prevent her from getting it and even this might not work as it is possible the pregnant woman will not get ill from the germ because she is
immune but the infant might not have that protection and the germ could be still be transmitted from her to her child with the same resulting condition in that child.
Strange that the outbreak happened in the exact same location in Brazil where GMO mosquitos were released to control Dengue fever. The resultant mosquito larvae were supposed to self destruct in the absence of tetracycline. Did someone not know that Brazil has one of the worlds highest utilizations of tetracycline in livestock?
Just sayin....
Just sayin....
3
.... and building 7 was brought down by a GMO mosquito imported by Larry Silverstein to collect on the insurance .
2
Informative, well researched and a pleasure to read.
Donald G. McNeil Jr., Simon Romero and Sabrina Tavernise remind us what a feature story in a respected newspaper can be.
Journalism at its best.
Well done.
Donald G. McNeil Jr., Simon Romero and Sabrina Tavernise remind us what a feature story in a respected newspaper can be.
Journalism at its best.
Well done.
1
As a nominal world medical health leader, an American nation that denies the scientific basis and reality of evolution and climate change determining whether or not the Zika virus and birth defects involves coincidence and correlation instead of consequence and causation.
1
I am so grateful for such highly specialized Brazilians doctors who identified a likely link between the virus and a spike in birth defects involving incomplete brain development specially the doctors of The Metropolitan Region of Recife has the 2nd largest medical pool in Brazil, after Sao Paulo.
1
Why didn't this article include the consequences of babies born with microcephaly? Is there brain disorder or mental retardation? Other health problems?
1
In a previous article, it was explained that it depends on the severity and the cause. Since this is a new cause, the prognosis is unknown.
1
CDC warns young women of childbearing age not to have unprotected sex, and drink; to avoid fetal alcohol syndrome.
In Brazil, the advice to women of childbearing age: don't get pregnant.
And everywhere, contraceptives and abortion are under attack.
Perhaps all the men having sex should use condoms, all the time. Do it for the women of this planet; do it for the babies that might be born. Men play a role, here. Perhaps they should act like it.
In Brazil, the advice to women of childbearing age: don't get pregnant.
And everywhere, contraceptives and abortion are under attack.
Perhaps all the men having sex should use condoms, all the time. Do it for the women of this planet; do it for the babies that might be born. Men play a role, here. Perhaps they should act like it.
6
In June 2016, Met Life Stadium in Bergen County, NJ will host the Copa America, a very large soccer tournament with players from Brazil and South America-
What are the chances that the Zika virus could explode in the metropolitan area of NY, NJ & CT from this event, and should it be postponed?
What are the chances that the Zika virus could explode in the metropolitan area of NY, NJ & CT from this event, and should it be postponed?
2
Not much because supposedly the mosquito in question doesn't live in NY, NJ. But there is a related mosquito that does and would be active in June. I don't think they're too sure about that related mosquito (Aedes albopictus) as a vector but it probably isn't much of a threat. Zika is coming regardless, but hopefully with the mosquito control we have in this country, it will be like Dengue, not that many cases. Of course you could say that any cases are a potential tragedy and cut off all travel to and from south of the boarder. But it would still come, only a little later.
1
Rubella--which also secondarily causes Guillain-Barré and microcephaly--also has symptoms of flat/fine red rash, low fever, bloodshot eyes, and joint pain.
Northeast Brazil had a meningitis outbreak in 1997, associated with a particular measles-mumps-rubella vaccine used in their "inocculation day." (The numbers were not terribly high, but were visible because of the single-day vaccination campaign.) At the time, researchers worried that "Media coverage of such outbreaks and the potential for a reduction in vaccination compliance in further campaigns has generated concern among public health officers and campaign administrators." If there happens to be a resulting un-inoculated or under-inoculated cohort in NE Brazil, is it possible that what we're seeing is Rubella--and that Zika, while also present (and thus showing up in DNA tests) is not the causative agent? If so, it would explain the explosive spread, because Rubella, unlike Zika, is highly contagous, and is not mosquito-borne. The timing is roughly right for girls who were children in 1998-2005 (and perhaps avoidant of the MMR vaccine, following bad publicity) to be mothers now.
This would also explain why Zika outbreaks elsewhere have not been associated with microcephaly.
Northeast Brazil had a meningitis outbreak in 1997, associated with a particular measles-mumps-rubella vaccine used in their "inocculation day." (The numbers were not terribly high, but were visible because of the single-day vaccination campaign.) At the time, researchers worried that "Media coverage of such outbreaks and the potential for a reduction in vaccination compliance in further campaigns has generated concern among public health officers and campaign administrators." If there happens to be a resulting un-inoculated or under-inoculated cohort in NE Brazil, is it possible that what we're seeing is Rubella--and that Zika, while also present (and thus showing up in DNA tests) is not the causative agent? If so, it would explain the explosive spread, because Rubella, unlike Zika, is highly contagous, and is not mosquito-borne. The timing is roughly right for girls who were children in 1998-2005 (and perhaps avoidant of the MMR vaccine, following bad publicity) to be mothers now.
This would also explain why Zika outbreaks elsewhere have not been associated with microcephaly.
4
But rubella symptoms are well known, and different from Zika symptoms?
The recommendation that women avoid getting pregnant due to Zika or avoid alocohol if able to get pregnant is moronic. For so much of the world, even the US, the legal system and partners have more control over a woman's fertility than a woman does. How about asking men, society, politicians, and the legal system to man-up. Better yet why not a major campaign for vasectomies?
4
HIV in the '80s. Now Zika! Both hit reproduction of humans. That makes these diseases so frightening.
But because its not gay people infected there will be a cure or vaccine within a year.
In high school, 50+ years ago we were taught the difference between endemic and epidemic forms of disease. Many of the writers here might look it up. It helps in understanding what is thought to be happening. A managed environment can delay infection and bring forth a worse form of a disease in adults. Or a in new population.
And oh, yes, it seems a bit odd to advise women not to get pregnant as though men had no part in the process.
And oh, yes, it seems a bit odd to advise women not to get pregnant as though men had no part in the process.
10
In Brazil scientists, wanting to reduce dengue fever caused by a Aedes aegypti mosquito (fatal) which also causes Zika, they modified by Aedes mosquito to produce sterile males. This is done by modifying (The Zika and Dengue carrying mosquito) by using the ('jumping' sequence of DNA used in the genetic engineering process to introduce the new genes into the target organism). Then they released the genetically altered mosquito to see if it t controlled Dengue fever. After the release of 500,000 of these sterile Aedes aegypti mosquitos they reduced their numbers by 95%. But, later another scientist found enough of the mosquitos survived and bred. Tetracycline used in farming caused this situation to be worse.
In 2001 Dr Mae Wan Ho stated "These particular sequences of DNA are heavily used by genetic engineers, whose goal is to create 'universal' systems for transferring genes into any and every species on earth. Almost none of the geneticists has considered the hazards involved ...Now it has been discovered that the Zika mosquitos have developed the ability to alter human DNA. One implication is that the action of the gene could be blocked by giving pregnant women tetracycline in order to block its activity. The chances of success are probably low, but it has to be worth trying.
In 2001 Dr Mae Wan Ho stated "These particular sequences of DNA are heavily used by genetic engineers, whose goal is to create 'universal' systems for transferring genes into any and every species on earth. Almost none of the geneticists has considered the hazards involved ...Now it has been discovered that the Zika mosquitos have developed the ability to alter human DNA. One implication is that the action of the gene could be blocked by giving pregnant women tetracycline in order to block its activity. The chances of success are probably low, but it has to be worth trying.
4
All viruses that infect humans have the ability to alter human DNA, all of them. If they didn't they couldn't reproduce. And several viruses, including rubella, are know to cause birth defects as a consequence of the infection. And it's likely that the birth defects of Zika aren't caused by altered DNA, but instead by the death of cells that are key to development. The cells die because they're killed by the virus in the course of the infection.
1
The difference between that and these viruses is huge. This is a man-made DNA alteration, with a chosen sequence to make it easy for scientists to alter the DNA. There are potentially millions of these "dna sequences" that are getting into things. The Zika Mosquitos can carry their "DNA altering sequence to anything". This is the leading way to genetically alter anything. It travels to humans, other insects, and it is so dangerous that in Brazil they are advised not to reproduce. No the DNA sequence, gets into the DNA of the fetus.
The Zika virus is harmless and will not hurt anyone. The problem is this is a genetically modified insect, that has a piece of code that can be inserted into other insects, or people. This is more like HIV than it is Rubella. The scientists are still chasing this theory down, but you must read some links to the original articles. This summer they are releasing some other insects who will alter our genome, possibly. Fruit flies show some of this characteristic.
Among the reasons for this and other outbreaks is the short-sighted overreaction that banned DDT. DDT was overused in the past causing unacceptable environmental consequences. To protect public health, it's time to reintroduce the use of DDT in a measured and responsible way.
7
There is one piece of the puzzle that does not make sense. If the virus started in Asia, Polynesia, how come no cases of babies born with microcephaly have been reported or detected in those regions? It is hard to believe that, if it is the same virus, it is only causing microcephaly in the Americans but not in Asia/Polynesia.
6
There were 12 cases of microcephaly during the French Polynesia outbreak.
http://www.vox.com/2016/1/28/10861094/microcephaly-zika-virus-birth-defe...
http://www.vox.com/2016/1/28/10861094/microcephaly-zika-virus-birth-defe...
2
Genetic susceptibility could be involved. Alternatively, there could be two viruses in play at the same time. Zika, which is novel; Rubella, which is known to cause all of the same symptoms (including, following 1st or even 2nd trimester exposure: microcephaly, sensoneural deafness, blindness and Guillain-Barré).
1
It's time to restrict international travel. Worldwide events like the Olympics that move hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world into a single city are a threat to the health and survival of the human species.
3
Survival of the human species? Puhleeze. People who get infected (many never have symptoms) develop an immunity. That's what happened in Africa where Zika has been present for decades.
The human species will survive.
The human species will survive.
5
Humans are worse than this virus when it comes to the number of deaths caused everyday. Nobody cares about this unfortunately.
2
There are absolutely many tragedies going on in the world every day.
This story of unravelling a mystery is a good story about international cooperation and the heroic efforts of public health and medical scientists around the world to advance human knowledge and save lives.
This story of unravelling a mystery is a good story about international cooperation and the heroic efforts of public health and medical scientists around the world to advance human knowledge and save lives.
1
Including medical staff in the war zones trying to put together bodies put in pieces by a variety of bombs at the risk of lives. This of course is rarely mentioned in the media.
Of course, heroic work is going on in war zones. The special interest in this article is about international cooperation among smart and dedicated public health professionals. There's no contest between those medical professionals who literally dodge bullets and bombs to treat the injured and others who devote their lives to understanding diseases that threaten millions.
2
Great read. Critical to highlight that 4 out of 5 patients are asymptomatic meaning they feel/show no sign to be carrying the Zika virus. Everyone should take precautions. Unfortunately for Brazil, 2016 is looking more and more like the perfect storm.
8
When the threat is real and nearly immediate and tragically affects human reproduction, how quickly (and advisedly) we seek the advice of scientists!
At the same time, we eschew the contributions of science in climate studies, declaring anthropocentric global warming a hoax perhaps because it upsets or willingness to profit from extractive industries.
In the words of the advertising world, sorry, Charlie. It's the same scientific process whether in emerging diseases or changing climate. Nature bats last.
At the same time, we eschew the contributions of science in climate studies, declaring anthropocentric global warming a hoax perhaps because it upsets or willingness to profit from extractive industries.
In the words of the advertising world, sorry, Charlie. It's the same scientific process whether in emerging diseases or changing climate. Nature bats last.
17
For us, the conspiracy theorists, I recommend "zika outbreak epicenter in same area where gm mosquitos were released in 2015" and "who owns the zika virus?".
6
And while this is a topic, it might be wise to discuss other viral links to birth defects related to sexual transmission.
4
It's interesting that several people said "never heard of Zika". There are lots of virus's/diseases we have never heard of , but they are in remotes parts of the world and only a few people get them. It's only when a new place starts having an issue that it is publicized. Likely there are another 100 or even a 1000 things like Zika waiting for the right conditions to spread.
I do wonder though, who will turn out to be right. Is Zika spreading so fast and causing the birth defects, because of 1) lack of immunity ? 2) or because of some interaction with specific genes of people in South America 3) because of some other environmental issue (a few were mentioned, lack of folic acid, other pollutants etc) 4) or perhaps the Microphely is not caused by Zika, but a coincidence and is caused by something else, unknown.
I do wonder though, who will turn out to be right. Is Zika spreading so fast and causing the birth defects, because of 1) lack of immunity ? 2) or because of some interaction with specific genes of people in South America 3) because of some other environmental issue (a few were mentioned, lack of folic acid, other pollutants etc) 4) or perhaps the Microphely is not caused by Zika, but a coincidence and is caused by something else, unknown.
2
You've raised lots of unanswered questions that will play out in upcoming months.
I admit I was sort of surprised to read that Brazil has a scientific community that seems knowledgeable and persistent enough to have gotten more or less to the bottom of the "mystery ailment" and is maybe capable of coming up with a response to it.
I believe the jury is still out on the degree to which the Brazil medical community has its hands around this epidemic.
This article is fascinating, alarming and an excellent example of how diligent news reporters can provide a valuable understanding of the news. In a world of twitter feeds, there are still excellent reporters out there doing their jobs.
16
In reading a couple of comments, I noticed that some people wondered why people and health agencies hadn't taken action sooner. Sluggishness is par for the course when in comes to new maladies.
I remember it all so clearly in the case of AIDS. Most of the country was silent in the early years. When the country did realize that we faced a health crisis and emergency, it for the most part elected to do nothing and wait for the undeserving to die. It took years until adequate attention and concern was directed toward AIDS.
People always seem to be slow when it comes to public health. It seems as if they have never heard of the bell shaped curve: At first there are a few cases, then there are many, towards the end they decline. Plot it on a graph and you have a bell. IN other words if you see 1 case of a new disease in week 1, and then 4 in week two, then 9 in week 3, pretty soon you'll be up to 1000 cases in a week because the virus is leaping upwards in perfect squares like a parabola on a plane.
If we have already had quite a few confirmed cases of Zika in this country, then in a short while we will, I fear, see lots and lots of babies who were maimed in the womb.
I remember it all so clearly in the case of AIDS. Most of the country was silent in the early years. When the country did realize that we faced a health crisis and emergency, it for the most part elected to do nothing and wait for the undeserving to die. It took years until adequate attention and concern was directed toward AIDS.
People always seem to be slow when it comes to public health. It seems as if they have never heard of the bell shaped curve: At first there are a few cases, then there are many, towards the end they decline. Plot it on a graph and you have a bell. IN other words if you see 1 case of a new disease in week 1, and then 4 in week two, then 9 in week 3, pretty soon you'll be up to 1000 cases in a week because the virus is leaping upwards in perfect squares like a parabola on a plane.
If we have already had quite a few confirmed cases of Zika in this country, then in a short while we will, I fear, see lots and lots of babies who were maimed in the womb.
3
Note that the link between Zika and microcephaly has yet to be scientifically proven
2
Zika is Rubella times100. Microcephaly in a severe form is the saddest. The children the neediest. What I am afflicted with is trivial to what these babies will endure. My condition- Congenital Rubella Syndrome, profound deafness Had my mother not been infected while pregnant with me, I would have been born a healthy child, not a damaged one.
Dare I suggest a stepped up effort to find a viable Zika vaccine? IF Zika is going to continue being a causative agent in producing microcephalic babies, a vaccine is imperative.
Rubella, while not completely eradicated, has lessened dramatically through vaccination. The same needs to be said SOON for Zika.
Dare I suggest a stepped up effort to find a viable Zika vaccine? IF Zika is going to continue being a causative agent in producing microcephalic babies, a vaccine is imperative.
Rubella, while not completely eradicated, has lessened dramatically through vaccination. The same needs to be said SOON for Zika.
18
You are absolutely correct. As a retired pediatrician, I recall the parallels with Congenital Rubella and waiting for them to be highlighted. 1. Virus etiology. 2. Mild illness in adults and children (after all, it is the Three Day Measles), characterized by morbiliform (measles-like) rash, fever, malaise, then gone. 3. The infection during pregnancy affects neurological tissue formation and development (microcephally from poor brain formation). 4. Universal vaccination will prevent occurrence of outbreaks, epidemics, and individual cases in pregnant mothers. Zika is different in that it is apparently spread by mosquitoes. So, while we wait for a vaccine, we do as much primary prevention as possible by limiting the vector.
Thank you so much, Sheryl, for reminding us.
Thank you so much, Sheryl, for reminding us.
I have seen several comments calling for the Olympics in Brazil to be cancelled due to the Zika outbreak. However, I wonder how many realize that the U.S. will be hosting a major international soccer tournament, the Copa America, in June, at venues throughout the country. Other than the U.S., all of the 16 teams competing are from South America, Latin America, or the Carribbean, and are likely to have a large contingents of supporters coming to watch their teams. I mention this to point out that the Olympic Games is only one of many possible avenues of transmission. International travel, in all it's forms, is likely to continue to be the conduit for virus transmission, with no simple or easy solution at hand.
29
Ban all the sporting events. Restrict international travel to only what is essential.
4
All of the world is now watching Carnival and concerned about its Zika hangover...
2
Whoa... tell that to the Rio Olympics Committee!
1
Quote from the first mention in the Times of the Zika virus, from a 1995 book review:
Wayne Biddle's new book, "A Field Guide to Germs," which considers pathogenic microbes from adenoviruses to Zika fever ("You'll never see it, but we needed a Z," Mr. Biddle writes)
Oh harsh irony
Wayne Biddle's new book, "A Field Guide to Germs," which considers pathogenic microbes from adenoviruses to Zika fever ("You'll never see it, but we needed a Z," Mr. Biddle writes)
Oh harsh irony
9
I read some comments from Brazilians on another news blog and they all claim that Brazilian authorities knew for a long time about Zika but were instead more concerned about the upcoming Olympic preparations and did very little to start research and preventative measures for this virus. Money and world PR are more important than their citizens health and well being.
6
Yes, and the Rio Olympics Committee and the Brazil government are downplaying it in relation to the Summer Games in August.
1
Perhaps the high rate of birth defects in Brazil is the result of an intersection of two things: Zika infection and poor nutrition. Many of the mothers mentioned are from poor rural areas. It may be that the perfect storm is a lack of folic acid in their diets and exposure to Zika. In addition to mosquito eradication, a big push could be made to get folic acid supplements to all women.
11
And others have suggested even other reasons for microcephaly like DDT spraying and DPT innoculations.
3
Your theory sounds very plausible since apparently no increase in microcephaly cases was reported in the Asia/Polynesia areas where the virus hit before hitting Brazil.
I doubt most of these women are vitamin deficient. Many of them are malnourished for sure, but one would be surprised by amount of vitamins they get for the little food they eat. I live in NY, but I am currently in Recife visiting my parents. Yesterday I had a ripe mango that just fallen from a tree. I guarantee you from its taste it had much more vitamins and enzymes than you than ones ones buys in a supermarket in the US. Food is good, nutritious and relatively cheap in the Northeastern part Brazil near the litoral. Some of these things are virtually or very cheap free here (fruits, eggs, local cheese, yuca and even some types of meat). Obesity a problem now here. Doubt vitamins deficiency played any role on this.
What I find somewhat incredible is that only in the last month or so has any of the world's major international health organizations publicly issued statements (WHO, CDC). While the Zika virus was being researched to a certain extent, this epidemic has seemingly caught the staffs off-guard, and they are now scrambling. Quite possibly, had Brazil better analyzed this alarming trend earlier, and then better informed the world's agencies sooner, we would have a better jump on this travesty.
2
they were more concerned about the upcoming Olympics than in Zika.
1
Please read the article before making patronizing and inaccurate comments. Also please apologize to the brilliant health care professionals in Brazil and around the world who identified this problem so quickly.
2
I think you expect too much from modern medicine. At first, cases start appearing. It is misdiagnosed as dengue or chikungunya. The symptoms are milder than either and there is a rash associated with it. Healthcare workers start to recognize this unknown disease. Enough reports come in to the medical system that public health experts like epidemiologists are sent out to collect data on where it is occurring, where and when it might have originated. The virus is eventually identified. Then some other pathologies appear to be associated with Zika, such as Guillain-Barré and microcephaly. The word goes out to scientists around the world, slowly at first, and then international medical institutions like WHO start getting involved. That is where we are now. It has all happened very fast, especially compared to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
1
If you're a woman who wants to have a baby the best plan might be to try to get infected asap so that you can gain immunity asap. Instead of a vaccine injection, just get the virus and endure the mild symptoms. Especially if you don't have access to birth control this would be a safer strategy than expecting your husband (and you) to go without sex indefinitely.
5
Note that science (e.g., CDC) has not reached the same "immunity" advice you have stated. There are just too many unknowns that require further study.
13
Infection does not automatically confer immunity.
3
GBS, while not that common, is not a "mild" symptom.
2
Something don't follow about this Zika story, first the Zika virus was comparable to dengue (like getting a bad flu)- now it affects the fetus and even Dr. Fauci said in a interview that there isn't a definite link to this virus and fetus abnormalities, also these are really poor countries where pathogens and parasites abound, so the reasons could be many for abnormalities, also now linking transmissions to transfusions and intercourse, are these just assumptions,where are the facts or evidence?
2
In many cases, the health agencies are simply raising alerts, while recognizing that the science still has to catch-up to provide sound answers.
The mosquitos (Aedes) spreads the disease. In the U.S. this has been limited to the southern tier of states. Mosquito eradication controls Dengue and can be expected to control Zika. The question of sexual and other spread can be addressed but more research needs to be done on how long the virus persists...presumably it is gone after the immune system revs up.
There is recent (last weeks) definitive research done in Brazil that proves the link. They detected on type of the Immunoglobulin that is only made by fetus in meningeal liquid of 12 microlencenphalic babies. They also found the type made by the mother in the same liquid. This was done with help of the CDC and it hard evidence that that Zika and the cases are linked.
Please report on any efforts being put in place to help families where children with microcephaly have been born. Any systematic outreach with therapies, life long care, support to parents, etc.?
Whatever the cause, and whether or not the epidemic has peaked or will keep spreading, these children have been born and they and their families will need tremendous amounts of care and support. What are Brazil and other countries doing about this? This need is as urgent as finding the cause of the microcephaly epidemic, and identifying whether it is Zika virus or some other cause.
Whatever the cause, and whether or not the epidemic has peaked or will keep spreading, these children have been born and they and their families will need tremendous amounts of care and support. What are Brazil and other countries doing about this? This need is as urgent as finding the cause of the microcephaly epidemic, and identifying whether it is Zika virus or some other cause.
9
The WHO, CDC, NIH, and likely dozens more int'l health communities are now ratcheting their research.
brazils doing very little...........rest of world must act now............
I wonder if Zika virus existed since caveman era. If it did, what happen since. And why it's back. May be Zika is really something new...
1
If you haven't already done so, read "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston.
2
Mosquitoes are the most lethal animal, by far, on the planet.
14
great comment.......................
1
No. Humans are the most lethal animal, by far, on the planet.
5
"Mosquitoes are the most lethal animal, by far, on the planet."
Homer disagrees. He says "Humans are the most wretched living thing on the earth!"
Homer disagrees. He says "Humans are the most wretched living thing on the earth!"
What is this cavalier advice to women where Zika is rampant? Put off pregnancy? Birth control is not readily available to poor women in Catholic countries. Men may not cooperate. Why can't we use our imaginations to take us beyond the safer bedrooms of affluence?
84
Brazil, the Catholic country this article's about, has one of the world's largest condom giveaway programs.
IUDs supplied free and on demand to anyone woman who wants one until there is a treatment
10
35,000,000 souls died of AIDS without the help of a single insect vector. Hoping for better with Zika for all those at risk and from all who seek to lower the risk.
2
This reporting is extremely frustrating. How is it possible that the virus has been around for 70 years--Africa & Asia & South Pacific, and we have never had this kind of effect reported from those areas of the globe? Clearly there is something else going on -- either the virus has changed since it was brought to Brazil, or there is an interaction of the virus with some genetic or environmental factor in Brazil that does not exist in the other areas. Or was there just no reporting of rampant microcephaly from these other areas of the world?-- unlikely.
The NTY should address those really obvious questions by investigative reporting prior to putting this as top of page 1.
The NTY should address those really obvious questions by investigative reporting prior to putting this as top of page 1.
39
Other populations were gradually exposed to it and individuals developed immunity before childbearing age. Now it is moving rapidly into a non-immune population, so people of all ages are being exposed to it. In a year there will be widespread immunity. Until then, it appears that pregnant women are at risk.
10
Not everyone in Africa/Asia is immune. People there do get zika. So, as Carol asks, do their children have microcephaly? If not, why not?
Reports have stated that the Brazil population is pre-disposed to this virus.
Media coverage of Zika is confusing. As far as I can understand, Zika is endemic to Asia with a range similar to dengue. Reporting on Zika describes it as a new worldwide pandemic but reports only on the Americas. Which is it?
2
While having origins in Africa, it is rampantly spreading throughout South America and northward.
1
Thanks.
yes on the wind vector
I suggest people take a deep breath and calm down. It seems the entire spectrum of X-files conspiracy theories has been trotted out: GMO (which have never been scientifically proven to cause anything and which are, in any case, a technique, not a product); vaccines; global pandemics...I love apocalyptic sci-fi but it is called fiction for a reason. Zika is a virus that may cause birth defects, like rubella. Otherwise it is far less dangerous than flu that kills tens of thousands every year. Eventually there will be a vaccine against it. Meanwhile if you have Zika and are pregnant, don't carry it to term; and if you are not pregnant but want to be, postpone it for a year. I am sad about the mothers who will have to care for their microcephalic offspring but there are many children born with birth defects every year, especially in third-world countries.
4
All so easy fory ou to say.
23
Safe and legal abortions are not available in Brazil and many of other South and Central American countries, nor are they available in the US during the third trimester, which is when Zika-induced microcephaly would be diagnosed.
2
Your comment is totally out of line. The article thoroughly documents the science. There is no question whatsoever that this is a public health emergency. And you shouldn't cavalierly give advice to pregnant women like this. As clearly stated in the article (which you obviously didn't read very well), there is no way that most expectant mothers can know if they have been exposed to Zika. And microcephaly cannot typically be detected in time for abortion to be a real option. Go crawl back in your cave.
2
Most children with microencephaly are severly disabled, cannot take food, is feed intravenously, and suffers terrible pain. I have read reports that the children with microencephalitis suffer neural seizures.
Having witnessed the suffering and the enormous expense of having a child with such a condition, wherein he or she will never develop normally and always be dependent on his or her parents or the state, I would recommend not having children at all, including aborting a fetus if developing a fetus now.
That might be strong, but lets consider another source of genetic mutations in our environment to cause women of child bearing age to have concern.
There is the vast amount of nuclear radiation that is pooring into the Pacific which is carried into the clouds above it from Japan. The radioactive water falls onto the Pacific Coast of the Americas.
We live in the new dark ages.
Having witnessed the suffering and the enormous expense of having a child with such a condition, wherein he or she will never develop normally and always be dependent on his or her parents or the state, I would recommend not having children at all, including aborting a fetus if developing a fetus now.
That might be strong, but lets consider another source of genetic mutations in our environment to cause women of child bearing age to have concern.
There is the vast amount of nuclear radiation that is pooring into the Pacific which is carried into the clouds above it from Japan. The radioactive water falls onto the Pacific Coast of the Americas.
We live in the new dark ages.
6
may god give you sabr keep praying il pray for your child...................abortion no I think a vaccine plus help the afflicted.
Until a vaccination is in place bring back DDT to eliminate mosquitoes.
3
DDT causes birth defects.
9
Not feasible. Elimination of bird populations through eggshell destruction would devastate world ecosystems.
12
Mosquitoes cannot possibly be eliminated.
1
This article raises a few questions:
1. Why if the Zika virus has been around for 70 years, there wasn't an outbreak of microcephaly before?
2. Why if the Zika virus has spread to other South America countries, only Brazil has cases of microcephaly?
3. If no direct link between the Zika virus and microcephaly has been found, why is it being reported by many media outlets that there is a direct link?
The social behavior associated to this case might as well be called "Psychological Stampede".
1. Why if the Zika virus has been around for 70 years, there wasn't an outbreak of microcephaly before?
2. Why if the Zika virus has spread to other South America countries, only Brazil has cases of microcephaly?
3. If no direct link between the Zika virus and microcephaly has been found, why is it being reported by many media outlets that there is a direct link?
The social behavior associated to this case might as well be called "Psychological Stampede".
2
In other populations individuals were infected and developed immunity before adulthood and childbearing age. This is a case of a new virus moving rather quickly into a non-immune population.
There is no clear causal link, but enough frontline healthcare workers are convinced that there is some connection that a previously reluctant WHO has been persuaded to act.
Rather than wait for a vaccine, women should put off pregnancy, get infected, and develop immunity. Once immunity is confirmed, and it has been demonstrated that immunity is transferred to the fetus, then it should be safe to get pregnant.
There is no clear causal link, but enough frontline healthcare workers are convinced that there is some connection that a previously reluctant WHO has been persuaded to act.
Rather than wait for a vaccine, women should put off pregnancy, get infected, and develop immunity. Once immunity is confirmed, and it has been demonstrated that immunity is transferred to the fetus, then it should be safe to get pregnant.
2
"In other populations individuals were infected and developed immunity before adulthood and childbearing age."
Do you have data that supports this assertion?
Do you have data that supports this assertion?
Other countries are now reporting cases of microcephaly (Colombia, Venuzuela).
1
Humans are seeking to eradicate mosquitoes, and for good reason – they incubate and spread damaging and lethal diseases and introduce irritations to otherwise enjoyable summertime activities. It seems that today's best attempts at reducing the insect's impact on our lives rely on genetic engineering. Zika immediately brought to mind a particular approach (did I hear it on a Radiolab podcast?) which renders the offspring of mosquitoes sexually inert or physically disabled.
Now, our offspring similarly are at risk. It's a strange irony.
Now, our offspring similarly are at risk. It's a strange irony.
5
Perhaps the airlines should consider fumigating airplane cabins before takeoff from mosquito-infested areas both in and outside of the U.S. When I traveled to the southeastern part of the United States, it wasn't that unusual to see a mosquito or fly on board for the ride...
10
yes agreed deet the cabins baggage etc.
Fumigate the airplane? You can be the first person on board after that.
I have noticed in recent years the strange and unprecedented phenomenon of being bothered by mosquitoes well into November and December, much later than I was accustomed to in all the years I've lived here. I attributed this to global warming. Reading this article, it is beyond frightening to think of the potential ramifications of these types of drastic environmental changes.
49
Also ticks on NY.
2
Although the virus has apparently spread to many/most counrties in the Americas, the only cases of microcephaly appear to be in Brazil. Why is that?
1
Because Brazil is ground-zero, at the epicenter of the Zika virus. It is now spreading throughout the Americas, and Venuzuela and Colombia are now reporting microcephaly cases.
3
"They have led health ministers of five countries to say something so unthinkable that none had ever uttered it before: Women, please delay having children.
. . . Many of the mothers were young, one just 14. ... “They come with nothing,” she said. “No food. They travel by bus for hours, arrive at 7 a.m., and wait for hours to be seen.” . . . Many were young rural women with no understanding of why their children looked so different. A 16-year-old showed up with her own mother..."
Will someone explain how these impoverished, powerless girls and women are supposed to "delay having children"? Is birth control even available to them? Do men and the church allow them to use it? If no birth control methods are available, I very much doubt they have the liberty to say no to their male partners.
. . . Many of the mothers were young, one just 14. ... “They come with nothing,” she said. “No food. They travel by bus for hours, arrive at 7 a.m., and wait for hours to be seen.” . . . Many were young rural women with no understanding of why their children looked so different. A 16-year-old showed up with her own mother..."
Will someone explain how these impoverished, powerless girls and women are supposed to "delay having children"? Is birth control even available to them? Do men and the church allow them to use it? If no birth control methods are available, I very much doubt they have the liberty to say no to their male partners.
147
Viruses are interesting semi-life forms, as is animal resistance to them. Cases of healthy men carrying infected with HIV but carrying nearly non-existent viral loads and in good health mystify scientists.
In the case of the the Zika virus, we have to be good scientists and cautious about the kind of hysteria that whips up around influenza. It seems there may be pregnant woman birthing these malformed children who may have the virus, but then lots of other women with the virus not birthing these poor kids.
Is mercury poisoning a part of it at all? There are numerous other potential causative factors, such as methylmercury poisoning, listed on any website such as the Mayo Clnics. Which raises the question, were these mother's given any mercury containing vaccines? Mayo says that ME can be the result of a variety of genetic and environmental factors. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday that there's no evidence Zika has caused any cases of the birth defect known as microcephaly in his country, though it has diagnosed 3,177 pregnant women with the virus. Perhaps what we have in Brazil is a perfect storm of local factors. World-wide people's immune systems have been systematically weakened by air, water, and noise pollution, as well as denatured foods like white bread, white sugar, and factory farmed animal protein. We should look really objectively and beware of yet another profit driven vaccine for the already overvaccinated. www.bodymindwellnesscenter.com
In the case of the the Zika virus, we have to be good scientists and cautious about the kind of hysteria that whips up around influenza. It seems there may be pregnant woman birthing these malformed children who may have the virus, but then lots of other women with the virus not birthing these poor kids.
Is mercury poisoning a part of it at all? There are numerous other potential causative factors, such as methylmercury poisoning, listed on any website such as the Mayo Clnics. Which raises the question, were these mother's given any mercury containing vaccines? Mayo says that ME can be the result of a variety of genetic and environmental factors. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday that there's no evidence Zika has caused any cases of the birth defect known as microcephaly in his country, though it has diagnosed 3,177 pregnant women with the virus. Perhaps what we have in Brazil is a perfect storm of local factors. World-wide people's immune systems have been systematically weakened by air, water, and noise pollution, as well as denatured foods like white bread, white sugar, and factory farmed animal protein. We should look really objectively and beware of yet another profit driven vaccine for the already overvaccinated. www.bodymindwellnesscenter.com
1
You are concerned about hystaria being whipped up around a virus that has epidemiological evidence to suggest a link to a serious birth defect but in the same breath try to drum up your own hystaria about vaccines? Then you have the gall to say that we need to be objective? Shame on you.
46
Brazil has a mercury problem, but it has nothing to do with vaccines. It has to do with gold mining. And I wouldn't trust South American presidents. They tend to have pretty limited medical education.
2
Nothing short of a vaccine will eliminate this threat. Your ignorance of the value of vaccines is exceeded only by your arrogance in promoting rank quackery over science based medicine.
7
Pregnant women was advice not travel to Brazil,call me crazy but, I was specting something like one of this day's, Zones on red with high population.
1
"...and there is no new thing under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9
I sincerely doubt that Zika has appeared suddenly in the last few years.
I sincerely doubt that Zika has appeared suddenly in the last few years.
2
The article makes clear that it was discovered in 1947 in Africa. The point is mutation and migration.
16
Ships have been going back and forth across the Atlantic for hundreds of years, so I don't know...
Just read a different article that states there are activists in Brazil saying it's not the Zika virus but rather the fact that all pregnant women were recently required to get a version of the Tdp vaccine. They claim that is when the microcephalic babies increased. The vaccine by its own admission apparently states it had no research on its safety in pregnant women. After reading this article I am even more interested in this line off thinking since Guillan Barre has also increased which can also be related to certain vaccines. Very interesting!
please explain zika and microcephalic infants in mothers w/out Tdp, and also the millions of Tdp innoculated mothers with normal infants, dee.
10
And the IOC continues to ignore the serious threat of a pandemic, while encouraging visitors worldwide to go to the Olympics in Brazil. A more effective way of ensuring a pandemic is hard to imagine, but the IOC wants its billions, so of course the risk to world health is well worth it. It's tantamount to war crimes against infants and pregnant women by the millions.
28
insurers should refuse to insure latin Americas visitors and the s Americas visitors
It all seems to be different wavelets that seems to be growing larger, gaining in intensity and joining into one great tsunami. The earth, the weather and nature are all conspiring against us and we are distracted by immature and simple mindedness. There is not one area that we are thinking or acting like a semi mature species.
n
n
8
I don't want to be alarmist, but I have been telling my isolationist friends for over a year that they should watch the movie "Children of Men", which shows the spreading international cultural and economic effects of a virus which makes women sterile.
Europe has been battered by migration driven by war and economic stagnation; add on to that migration driven by health fears, and the US could be directly affected.
Europe has been battered by migration driven by war and economic stagnation; add on to that migration driven by health fears, and the US could be directly affected.
1
If you don't want to be alarmist then don't compare the Zika outbreak to "Children of Men."
8
CHILDREN OF MEN YES I watched that amazing film and relevant to this discussion........................
Don't watch the film, which was truly awful, instead read the much better book.
1
Maybe we should rethink earth's history? Perhaps a tiny humble invisible bug wiped out the dinosaurs with all the co-infections scrambling to be heard wiped out the dinosaurs and only the ice age saved the mammals by keeping worse bugs and viruses from domination of the earth
Genesis 11
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
2
The beauty of the Bible - or any old religious text for that matter - is that it contains kernels of truth that were apparent to the people who conceived those texts at the time, but who lacked the scientific expertise to interpret the observational data correctly or completely. So a series of historical observations, folk wisdom and ancient laws that made sense to the people and their circumstances at the time were packaged into stories that were transmitted in oral - and later written - form and that mutated over time. What these stories come down to, in essence, are principles that can be adapted and then applied to a wide range of natural and societal phenomena.
Personally, I think ancient religious texts are a wonderful account of human history going back into the stone age. As a species, we would be so much poorer without them. On the other hand, the same texts can become incredibly dangerous when people who lack the intellectual ability to interpret them correctly, or, worse, who use them to manipulate people lacking that said ability, take them literally and then use them to go to war over their own personal corrupt misinterpretation of transcription, translation or observational errors contained in them.
Millions in the ME are currently suffering because of this. Let's apply rigorous scientific thinking - and not just the Bible - to Zika.
Personally, I think ancient religious texts are a wonderful account of human history going back into the stone age. As a species, we would be so much poorer without them. On the other hand, the same texts can become incredibly dangerous when people who lack the intellectual ability to interpret them correctly, or, worse, who use them to manipulate people lacking that said ability, take them literally and then use them to go to war over their own personal corrupt misinterpretation of transcription, translation or observational errors contained in them.
Millions in the ME are currently suffering because of this. Let's apply rigorous scientific thinking - and not just the Bible - to Zika.
23
Wow! That was an interesting start and then came the Book!!
3
Except for the 60 million year delay between the end of the dinosaurs and the ice age.
4
Informative article. Since the video says we don't even know for sure if this is due to Zika, I guess we don't know if it has become more potent or if this wasn't noticed before?
My email said Zika arrived in New York even before Brazil, so I was looking for more of a connection than was made in this article, ie a tourist had traveling elsewhere and did not pass it on to anyone (as far as we know)
I searched for "even before" but came up empty, but another comment said it was here before 2013 , so I searched on 2013 and did find this:
"The first case of Zika infection detected in New York City was found in December 2013 — six months before the virus is thought to have reached Brazil — in a 48-year-old traveler who lives near Central Park but has asked to remain unidentified." Miss that this was the point in the email headline first time thru.
My email said Zika arrived in New York even before Brazil, so I was looking for more of a connection than was made in this article, ie a tourist had traveling elsewhere and did not pass it on to anyone (as far as we know)
I searched for "even before" but came up empty, but another comment said it was here before 2013 , so I searched on 2013 and did find this:
"The first case of Zika infection detected in New York City was found in December 2013 — six months before the virus is thought to have reached Brazil — in a 48-year-old traveler who lives near Central Park but has asked to remain unidentified." Miss that this was the point in the email headline first time thru.
5
My husband and I are planning for our first child and I am worried because we live in the south of Spain. It is winter here now so no mosquitoes but we get a lot of "mosquito tigre" (aedes albopictus) during the summer. Do all mosquitoes in the aedes family transmit Zika? I read somewhere, in Spanish news, that the tiger mosquito is also a recent (past 10 years or so) fact in Spain. The Spanish have been good a about keeping the tiger mosquitoes at bay (there is even a govt app for people to report tiger mosquito sightings!) as well as treating sick people with dengue and chikingunya to avoid contaminating the mosquitoes but since people with Zika rarely show symptoms I wonder how difficult it is going to be to stop Zika from spreading. What can one do in this case? Wait and see how it unfolds in Europe? Or postpone pregnancy?
19
Postpone pregnancy until a year after you have gotten Zika. You should then be immune to it and that immunity will probably extend to the baby.
MJ, I am sad to say that Aedes albopictus is probably more important than Aedes aegypti in transmission of Zika virus. Plus albopictus is spreading more rapidly because it can survive at lower temperatures. I think that this is liable to be a problem for a long time so you might as well go ahead and plan for your pregnancy now. I suggest you stay indoors as much as possible and have good screenig on your windows and doors. When you go outside, protect yourself with clothing embedded with permethrin (it remains effective through multiple washings; also mosquitoes can bite through thin layers of clothing). Also use insect repellent (such as Picaridin)) on all exposed surfaces. I hope you have a beautiful, healthy baby!
3
I think the "year" estimate is arbitrary and not backed by any scientific evidence.
2
Where is the info regarding increased cases of microencephaly outside of Brazil? If this virus has been around for 70 years throughout multiple continents, shouldn't there be other pockets of increased microencephaly? Is it only causing this congenital defect in children with a very specific genetic makeup? Is there a large number of cases elsewhere not reported? Or are the Brazilian cases the result of some other environmental factor?
5
Zia was in Micronesia, and they have microcephalic babies there.
1
Viruses effect a developing brain, in utero. This is not a new concept. And yet our researchers have failed to address which viruses effect developing brains, in which ways. Do these viruses cause autism? Do they cause mental illnesses? Do they cause other severe neuro-developmental disorders? Why do we know so little about such fundamental issues?
4
If a mother gets bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus, does she develop immunity to the virus? And if so, does she pass that immunity on to her fetus? if the answers to these question are yes, would it not be wise for a woman who is not pregnant, but wants to become pregnant, to first deliberately allow herself to be bitten until the point where antibodies are detected in her blood? Just asking.
3
Its not a bad theory. To get immunity, a woman would just need to get herself bit by a mosquito with Zika, right? Problem - she'd have to be able to PICK just the right mosquito. She'd need to find one infected with Zika, but not Malaria, Dengue, West Nile, chikungunya, yellow fever, filiariasis, sleeping sickness........ No matter how 'wise' the woman is, the task is impossible. She'd need a laboratory to get that done.
2
The jury is still out in answering most of your questions.
2
We keep our fingers crossed that the strongly suspected causal link between prenatal ZIKV infection and congenital microcephaly will soon be disproved.
We quote from the article we have posted on the Scribendus site the other day, "21 Biting Facts About the Zika Virus": Curiously, as of 31 January 2016, Colombia had not had a single notified case of congenital microcephaly since the country came under ZIKV crisis in October 2015. While it is too early to dissociate Zika from microcephaly in Colombia's situation, everybody wishes for the babies born from this day forward to be disease-free.
We quote from the article we have posted on the Scribendus site the other day, "21 Biting Facts About the Zika Virus": Curiously, as of 31 January 2016, Colombia had not had a single notified case of congenital microcephaly since the country came under ZIKV crisis in October 2015. While it is too early to dissociate Zika from microcephaly in Colombia's situation, everybody wishes for the babies born from this day forward to be disease-free.
12
This is a long shot, to be sure -- but it is possible a "reverse Zika event" may have played a role in the evolution of the relatively * macrocephalic * human brain.
Imagine, if you will, a remote ancestor of modern man that had a relatively small brain as a result of the activity of a segment of DNA that * may * have borne some significant resemblance to the portion of the Zika genome that is responsible for the current tragic outbreak of microcephaly.
Now, envision a mutation, as a result of which said "protoZika" segment was * excised * : this * might * have led to a sudden, massive increase in brain size -- the cognitive consequences of which may have been transformative.
* Highly * speculative, I grant you -- but a most comely conjury, nonetheless....
Imagine, if you will, a remote ancestor of modern man that had a relatively small brain as a result of the activity of a segment of DNA that * may * have borne some significant resemblance to the portion of the Zika genome that is responsible for the current tragic outbreak of microcephaly.
Now, envision a mutation, as a result of which said "protoZika" segment was * excised * : this * might * have led to a sudden, massive increase in brain size -- the cognitive consequences of which may have been transformative.
* Highly * speculative, I grant you -- but a most comely conjury, nonetheless....
3
Richard, There is no evidence of "a sudden, massive increase in brain size" in human evolution. All the fossil data shows that brain size tended to increase gradually in association with advances in tool making and likely language development.
10
Brazil got a headstart on the rest of the world.
So far there has been no mainstream press consideration of the GSM mosquito farm located in the same area to control the carrier mosquitos. I've seen several articles and blogs in the health/organic/farming outlets, but here is an example:
http://www.realfarmacy.com/zika-virus-gm-mosquitoes/
Any other thoughts or information on the coincidence of the release of the GMO mosquitos and the sudden explosive outbreak of the pathogen and it's dreadful affect on fetuses?
http://www.realfarmacy.com/zika-virus-gm-mosquitoes/
Any other thoughts or information on the coincidence of the release of the GMO mosquitos and the sudden explosive outbreak of the pathogen and it's dreadful affect on fetuses?
3
Yes, here is another thought on the link between sterile male mosquitos and the sudden outbreak of Zika: They are a promising tool in fighting this disease and I am grateful that scientists have been working on this to control a variety of dreadful diseases.
5
This great and informative piece does the extremely valuable work of setting a timeline for how this public health crisis unfolded over the past 2 years. However, I don't quite see any overt association between this crisis and the broader issue of global climate change. This story clearly documents how international travelers most likely brought Zika to Brazil in 2014, and how this would also be the means by which it could spread quickly north to the US. The history of how this epidemic has spread does not depend at all on the existence of climate change. As both a registered member of the Democratic party and a defender of the scientific method, there is no doubt in my mind that the existence of climate change has been established as an irrefutable fact. That being said, I fail to see what good can come from conflating these two issues given the facts specific to this outbreak.
6
I think that there is an association between climate change and the spread of such infectious diseases. For instance, the aedes albopictus, which is native of Asia and a vector of Dengue and Chikungunya (and possibly Zika?) was introduced in Europe about 10 years ago probably due to increased temperatures. So now non-tropical Europe has to contend with tropical diseases because of invasive mosquito species which can live here due to warmer weather. Ugh.
5
You're no more than a broken climate change record, going round and round. All the world's evils are caused by climate change.
Mosquito control is an effective tool and we must start right now. Waiting for discovery of a vaccine is irresponsible. This particular mosquito is especially well adapted to living among humans. It bites in daytime. It breeds in occasional water, perhaps in a piece of discarded trash that collected rainwater. Discarded car tires also collect rainwater. Eggs again become viable after a dried container gets wet again. Plastic trash is a big problem because plastics can persist for years after discarded. Cleaning up all these breeding places will be expensive and painstaking, so the big obstacle now is politics.
6
"Loosed on a continent where no one is immune, Zika has the potential to infect tens of millions of people." I wish the author had elaborated more on this aspect. It suggests, that once a person has been exposed, the body builds immunity with fewer if any consequences when one encounters Zika subsequently. Does this explain why Zika does not cause large numbers of microcephalic babies in areas where the virus is already endemic, e.g., part of Africa and Asia? Could that be an anticipated outcome of asking women to delay having children in newly affected areas? Once large numbers of the population have been exposed and the virus is endemic in the new area, cases of microcephaly might decrease because women of child-bearing age have had Zika exposure prior to pregnancy.
12
Yes
2
Something about is does smell right to me.....
1
I have yet to read or hear of any evidence for a clear causative relationship between Zika and small-headed new borns. It seems that there are sudden dramatic increases in cases of both, much greater for Zika.
I thought this article would address the question. Unfortunately, it just seems to assume the answer without ever stating it outright. So, does Zika cause microcephaly? Does it?
I thought this article would address the question. Unfortunately, it just seems to assume the answer without ever stating it outright. So, does Zika cause microcephaly? Does it?
4
I understood the article to say they are still trying to confirm the link.
3
I just read a different article that i cant find, in either the Guardian or the Atlantic that made it seem pretty clear that scientists are not sure of the exact cause of microcephaly, so the Zika virus is a working supposition, but only one of many. Along with fetal alcohol syndrome, here are just a few of the causes that could explain why moms with Zika in Colombia seem to NOT be giving birth to these kids, whereas in Brazil they are. Don't know if the Brazilian mom's are poor, but some of these can be associated with poverty and/or other factors. It also begs the question as to why a virus around for 70 years suddenly strikes thusly. http://bodymindwellnesscenter.com
Maternal malnutrition
Maternal phenylketonuria
Poorly controlled gestational diabetes
Hyperthermia
Maternal hypothyroidism
Placental insufficiency
Maternal malnutrition
Maternal phenylketonuria
Poorly controlled gestational diabetes
Hyperthermia
Maternal hypothyroidism
Placental insufficiency
We are on the verge of eliminating the mosquito borne illness, Malaria where here comes another deadly disease, caused by Zika. We have yet to rein in Yellow Fever, Dengue and West Nile virus when along comes Zika, Now that there is kind of confirmation about the Zika virus being responsible for a dramatic increase in numbers of microenencaply, forceful, mandatory steps like delaying pregnancy should be the top priority, until such time the epidemiology of the virus is completely known and possible treatment to counter the virus. Protected sex should be the least precaution that can be undertaken especially when we think the life of the active virus is 10 days. Altering genetics of the mosquito to create a harmless variety is way n the future. So is a vaccine. Therefore delaying pregnancy, although it sounds harsh would have the greatest dividend for preventing Microenencephalic babies. As they say, better safe than sorry!
14
NI, You suggest, ", forceful, mandatory steps like delaying pregnancy should be the top priority". You surely have to be kidding. Are you suggesting that all men and women should be fitted with chastity belts to be unlocked only by a government official?
4
What are the long-term prospects for the children born with microcephaly? Are they expected to have a shortened lifespan? Will they have a lessened mental capacity? Will they experience any pain from the condition? What do we already know about microcephaly resulting from other (that is, non-Zika) causes?
13
My understanding from wide reading recently is that there is a wide range of outcomes, from relatively mild impairment to impairment so severe that the child will never walk or go without diapers. There are also reports of constant crying and emotional distress among many microcephalic infants and children. Like with mental retardation generally, the levels of impairment with microcephaly have a broad range.
3
When is the exact period during pregnancy which women get infected and the virus really becomes the cause of their children's birth defects? I'm pregnant and currently in my second trimester. I found a mosquito bite on my right arm just a few weeks before the outbreak of Zika virus was publicly announced. I'd want to say that it was a typical mosquito bite that I got, but since where I live is very cold during this season and I suppose there are few mosquitos around, I have been wondering if the bite was in fact related Zika.
2
The bite is unlikely Zika virus based. And medical professionals have stated that the first trimester is the most at risk. But, they have not ruled out fetuses being affected during the latter trimesters.
1
Presumably residents of the Zika Forest get infected when children, and by child-bearing age are immune. Hence the earlier lack of association with microcephaly. Will South and Central America require a generation to establish a balance with the virus? That's a long time, which I hope will be shortened by a vaccine.
16
They say the Zika has been around for 70 years and just now they are seeing this birth effect? Reads like there is some intervention with science going on here.
12
Individuals in populations with endemic Zika (W. Africa) have developed immunity before child-bearing age. What we are now seeing is possibly the result of the virus encountering a non-immune population.
25
Thanks, Charles for that answer. Like Rubella - it is more dangerous to adults than of contracted as a child. Very plausible.
3
@skeptic, plausible questions but I suggest waiting for evidence, which takes time, before demanding answers. Just for one question: microcephaly would take several months to show up in Colombia after the disease became widespread. We shall see.
You are overlooking the fact that there was a sudden eruption of microcephaly in Recife. That was the signal of something new happening. The pre-existing rate was known. Suddenly the rate increased by a huge factor.
You are overlooking the fact that there was a sudden eruption of microcephaly in Recife. That was the signal of something new happening. The pre-existing rate was known. Suddenly the rate increased by a huge factor.
According to what they say in the news, the virus is bad if you're pregnant, otherwise you just get a fever for a couple of days and it goes away. Does that mean we should all just deliberately contract Zika, as long as we're not pregnant, and mosquitoes are not in season yet? That way we all develop an immunity before we get pregnant, and if it's too cold for mosquitoes, there's little chance of it spreading to others.
1
International health organizations, that have responded recently to this Zika epidemic, are still uncertain as to the degree of immunity, if any.
1
"Something strange was happening last August in the maternity wards of Recife..."
Thanks. At last, I read something that tells me about when the cause of this got to, erupted in Brazil - 9 months prior to August 2015, November/December 2014.
Thanks. At last, I read something that tells me about when the cause of this got to, erupted in Brazil - 9 months prior to August 2015, November/December 2014.
3
@emm305...go back a few more years....before 2012 in fact...see UK Guardian article I posted above..
Globalization - and global travel - meets climate change. I used to think people who stayed put in, say, their midwest town, or hometown, born and raised (maybe off to college/then back), then growing older in their community were somehow missing out. Perhaps I have had it wrong. Maybe we have all been seduced by "more, better, faster" when it comes to basic areas of our lives. Peace and health to all.
35
Darned foreign mosquitos! Maybe Donald Trump's wall will keep the mosquitos out, keep Midwesterners safe enough to grow old in their communities?
I apologize for the sarcasm, but it is too soon to suggest major lifestyle changes. Scientists simply do not know enough about what's going on, and sensational news articles like this one (while written exceptionally well) serve only to scare Iowa farmers.
I apologize for the sarcasm, but it is too soon to suggest major lifestyle changes. Scientists simply do not know enough about what's going on, and sensational news articles like this one (while written exceptionally well) serve only to scare Iowa farmers.
I think you misinterpreted the core of my comment. Peace and health to all.
Did you know that the mosquito associated with the outbreak is genetically modified?
Here are links to two of the articles about GMM's--Genetically Modified Mosquitos. The 2nd one is the original.
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2987024/pandoras_box_how_...
http://theantimedia.org/zika-outbreak-epicenter-in-same-area-where-gm-mo...
Here are links to two of the articles about GMM's--Genetically Modified Mosquitos. The 2nd one is the original.
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2987024/pandoras_box_how_...
http://theantimedia.org/zika-outbreak-epicenter-in-same-area-where-gm-mo...
3
The genetically modified mosquitoes are bred for what amounts to sterility. The whole idea is that they will mate with the wild ones. However, the offspring will die. So the answer to your question is that they will produce unviable progeny.
3
Please read to the CONCLUSION (Author's note 2) in the first article you cite, in which the author later backed down from the theory that GM is implicated in the Zika virus spread, based on additional data -- a very responsible thing to do. The article does however, provide interesting and cautionary information regarding modifying the DNA of organisms.
1
This is from your articles.
"On the face of it, there is no obvious way in which the spread of zika mosquitos into the wild could have anything to do with Brazil's wave of microcephaly. Is there?
Actually, yes. The problem may arise from the use of the 'transposon' ('jumping' sequence of DNA used in the genetic engineering process to introduce the new genes into the target organism). "
As a 2001 review article by Dr Mae Wan Ho shows, piggyBac is notoriously active, inserting itself into genes way beyond its intended target: "
"On the face of it, there is no obvious way in which the spread of zika mosquitos into the wild could have anything to do with Brazil's wave of microcephaly. Is there?
Actually, yes. The problem may arise from the use of the 'transposon' ('jumping' sequence of DNA used in the genetic engineering process to introduce the new genes into the target organism). "
As a 2001 review article by Dr Mae Wan Ho shows, piggyBac is notoriously active, inserting itself into genes way beyond its intended target: "
What is interesting about this issue and all reporting about it is that the history of Oxitech a small medical research group out of Britain is that they had been involved in GMO & then releasing a 'fix' to mosquito borne diseases like Dengue in 2012 and earlier, releasing their genetically modified insects in northern Brazil, and the Caribbean, as well as Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere east years ago. The Guardian published an interesting piece that year: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/15/gm-mosquitoes-dengue-...
6
Genetic modification does not cause Zika. A specific virus does.
3
Where are the tests on the local mosquitos to see if they have evolved differently due to breeding with the GMO mosquitos released beginning in 2011?
40
A reasonable question, since Zika has been around for a long time, but TMK never been connected to microcephaly before. That should have been obvious in Africa and Asia for years.
Although highly speculative, since there are zero data to support this at this time, it is certainly conceivable that genetic modification of any kind could trigger an unpredictable change in viral pathogenicity. If so, then this outbreak will become an invaluable historical marker for reevaluating risk conferred by GMOs.
For the moment, however, let's not jump to conclusions. Nonetheless, this potential correlation should be rigorously investigated.
On another note, a global pandemic that will seriously decimate the human race is only a matter of time. Population density and international travel are factors that directly and synergistically increase the odds.
Although highly speculative, since there are zero data to support this at this time, it is certainly conceivable that genetic modification of any kind could trigger an unpredictable change in viral pathogenicity. If so, then this outbreak will become an invaluable historical marker for reevaluating risk conferred by GMOs.
For the moment, however, let's not jump to conclusions. Nonetheless, this potential correlation should be rigorously investigated.
On another note, a global pandemic that will seriously decimate the human race is only a matter of time. Population density and international travel are factors that directly and synergistically increase the odds.
3
If there is any genetic aspect to Zika, it is almost certainly a change in the Zika virus. The virus was not found in the Americas prior to the last 3 years. There is no reason to think the mosquito has changed. Of course that can't be ruled out without a study, but I think it's a billion-to-one chance. You must remember that the mosquito is already a disease carrier; it needs no modification to carry another disease.
I've read in other places that the widespread use of DDT on crops is what caused environmental damage. However, when DDT is used in small amounts to protect homes, that danger no longer exists.
If DDT is best weapon we have to eradicate these Zika spreading mosquitoes, maybe we should relax these prohibitions for a brief period, at least until a vaccine can be developed.
If DDT is best weapon we have to eradicate these Zika spreading mosquitoes, maybe we should relax these prohibitions for a brief period, at least until a vaccine can be developed.
17
Bruce, DDT has been most effective against malaria-carrying mosquitoes that bite at night and rest indoors on walls inside houses after feeding. When inside walls are sprayed, the DDT is effective for a long time. The Aedes mosquitoes that transmit these viruses tend to bite outdoors during the day. Mosquito repellents (DEET and Picaridin-which I prefer) and clothing impregnated with permethrin would seem to be more effective for personal protection.
6
If you believe that, you probably don't know the history of DDT, and the fact that it, too, causes birth defects. The problems we have with it now may be worse than in the past, as the current hormone brew -- from plastics and other xenoestrogenic compounds -- is orders of magnitude worse than it was at the time DDT was banned in the United States.
3
Not so fast! There is now reasonable evidence that DDT can promote other diseases that may be an even greater problem. DDT hangs around for decades.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/studies-link-ddt-other-environ...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/studies-link-ddt-other-environ...
14
With so many modes of transmission now likely, isn't it foolish to assume the Olympics should still go on?
Is the virus in sweat? In tears? In addition to blood, semon and urine? Is coughing capable of spreading it via aerosol? Or sneezing?
It seems to me, till we know more, that protecting athletes, young people who whole lives ahead of them, is paramount here. They would be terribly upset to lose their chance to compete, but no matter where you move the Olympics, some athletes will be there from infected countries.
Until we have a really good grasp of how the virus spreads, in addition to mosquitoes and sexual contact - and until we know better it's dangerous side-effects (brain damage in infants and a nerve disease in adults) - it seems foolish to me not to take every precaution to prevent the disease from spreading around the entire world. It may ultimately do so, but why aid and abet a faster spread?
My heart goes out to these mothers, particularly the poor and uneducated, who are left coping with disabled babies for who knows how long? Women unable to work or pay for childcare. There will be a huge social cost to this!
How many of the poor will die with the nerve disease, due to lack of medical care if their breathing stops? Mothers and fathers, perhaps, whose impoverished families will suffer.
I see the reporters on TV. And worry about their welfare too.
Global warming. New diseases spreading. Seems like Mother Nature herself is calling for help.
Is the virus in sweat? In tears? In addition to blood, semon and urine? Is coughing capable of spreading it via aerosol? Or sneezing?
It seems to me, till we know more, that protecting athletes, young people who whole lives ahead of them, is paramount here. They would be terribly upset to lose their chance to compete, but no matter where you move the Olympics, some athletes will be there from infected countries.
Until we have a really good grasp of how the virus spreads, in addition to mosquitoes and sexual contact - and until we know better it's dangerous side-effects (brain damage in infants and a nerve disease in adults) - it seems foolish to me not to take every precaution to prevent the disease from spreading around the entire world. It may ultimately do so, but why aid and abet a faster spread?
My heart goes out to these mothers, particularly the poor and uneducated, who are left coping with disabled babies for who knows how long? Women unable to work or pay for childcare. There will be a huge social cost to this!
How many of the poor will die with the nerve disease, due to lack of medical care if their breathing stops? Mothers and fathers, perhaps, whose impoverished families will suffer.
I see the reporters on TV. And worry about their welfare too.
Global warming. New diseases spreading. Seems like Mother Nature herself is calling for help.
59
With Brazil being ground zero, and it's notorious lack of funding for health/social services for its poor, these families will be battling the odds.
Or perhaps Mother Nature is taking her revenge.
Climate change is an issue, maybe the issue, but is totally irrelevant here. The virus has been known for decades and undoubtedly has been with us for centuries if not millennia.
Also devastating diseases have been spreading for millennia. This one is relatively benign, horrible as that may sound. Very little to do with global warming, as the vector mosquitoes already have a wide range.
There is no such thing as "Mother Nature".
Also devastating diseases have been spreading for millennia. This one is relatively benign, horrible as that may sound. Very little to do with global warming, as the vector mosquitoes already have a wide range.
There is no such thing as "Mother Nature".
My question is what is the long term effect on women and child bearing. Does the Virus have a long term effect on pregnant women, if a women is infected what will happen to the next pregnancy. As I understand the reading of this and other article the chances of a Microcephaly child is about 2%. Abortion maybe a short term solution, what happens to the birth rate if the problem has no long term cure, and is only cured by not having children? The thought of that situation is terrifying.
27
I believe you fight it off after a time.
1
" Abortion maybe a short term solution, what happens to the birth rate if the problem has no long term cure, and is only cured by not having children? The thought of that situation is terrifying. "
No, not really. Not unless people around the world completely stop having children.
It could be a blessing in disguise, couldn't it? There are 7 billion of us and rising fast.
No, not really. Not unless people around the world completely stop having children.
It could be a blessing in disguise, couldn't it? There are 7 billion of us and rising fast.
5
It's only a temporary measure; relax, the earth's population is not decreasing! If it does, it will be as a result of a combination of factors.
1
The Zika virus is probably a harbinger of what's to come, due to int'l travel and the world economy and connectivity. There are no borders for mosquitoes; neither are there for travelers who may bring infections each place they travel.
It is truly devastating to hear about the children and their mothers who are affected, with no hope of reversal.
Global warming is probably allowing the mosquito population to spread North and carry Zika with it.We must applaud the epidemiologists and other medical professionals who "dove" into the mess and have pinpointed the disease and the outbreaks epicenter. Hopefully, a miracle drug will be found to immunize women before pregnancy against Zika. Additionally, there should be a massive education program for MEN and women regarding the risks of transmission of Zika through unprotected intercourse.
My prayers are with the victims of this virus.
Richard Isacoff
It is truly devastating to hear about the children and their mothers who are affected, with no hope of reversal.
Global warming is probably allowing the mosquito population to spread North and carry Zika with it.We must applaud the epidemiologists and other medical professionals who "dove" into the mess and have pinpointed the disease and the outbreaks epicenter. Hopefully, a miracle drug will be found to immunize women before pregnancy against Zika. Additionally, there should be a massive education program for MEN and women regarding the risks of transmission of Zika through unprotected intercourse.
My prayers are with the victims of this virus.
Richard Isacoff
96
Is the mosquito population spreading, or like mosquitos do with other diseases of humans (and, our pets with heartworms), do each country's indigenous mosquitos pick it up from an infected human and spread it from human to human?
Do domestic animals get it? Can someone be infected by eating their infected flesh?
Do domestic animals get it? Can someone be infected by eating their infected flesh?
The Summer Olympic Games in Brazil must be cancelled. This should no longer be up for debate!
96
Then so should travel to the Caribbean and Central America. It has already been found there.
2
How about Carnival? Cancel that as well?
2
Here's is the Rio Olympics stance on holding the Olympics ==> http://www.examiner.com/article/brazil-government-and-rio-olympics-advic...
And here's the IOC's direction ==> http://www.examiner.com/article/ioc-advises-federations-of-rio-olympics-...
And here's the IOC's direction ==> http://www.examiner.com/article/ioc-advises-federations-of-rio-olympics-...
1
As mosquito transmitted viruses like Zika make their way North and become pandemics in the South, we can finally see the real and troubling effects of climate change in our lives. Until quite recently, climate change remained a spectral fear, one that seemed far off and impersonal. But now it is threatening the very reproduction of our species. Very good read. Simply haunting.
150
Sad that other tropical disease is heading to places which are warming got here before zika. Also sad the cure for these diseases might be found only when wealthy countries start having a problem with them.. Safe to say we don't know where the next pandemic will come from. Some diseases might be more likely others less. Can climate change be a mixed blessing?
2
At this point, climate change has little or nothing to do with this. In the 19th century, tropical diseases were much more rife, including malaria, yellow fever, etc. in the United States.
The spread of the disease to the western hemisphere was pretty clearly via airplane. Nothing new about the globalization of disease, but now it has a new vector.
The spread of the disease to the western hemisphere was pretty clearly via airplane. Nothing new about the globalization of disease, but now it has a new vector.
2
This has very little, if anything, to do with climate change.
1
I wonder if the changes in climate have "allowed" the carrier to spread further and further.
It seems true for a lot of other insects and animals.
It seems true for a lot of other insects and animals.
70
Absolutely. Greater numbers of stronger pathogens and pathogens that have been dormant are indeed predicted by climate change models.
30
We can look to yellow fever, carried by the same mosquito species, to answer that question. The terrible yellow fever epidemic of the 19th century did not wait for global warming.
5
Laura, You are correct. "The terrible yellow fever epidemic of the 19th century did not wait for global warming." But it did wait for seasonal warming. The vector mosquito would die out in the northern cities during the winter. But in the Spring, sailing ships would carry the mosquito larvae north in open water barrels and the epidemics would break out in port cities up to Boston. Indeed, Bellevue Hospital in New York City had been founded on the East River to serve as a haven for Yellow Fever victims from lower Manhattan.
5
Where are the articles about the mosquitoes? Something has obviously gone wrong there; what is different about the Zika-carrying mosquito from those that infect with dengue fever? Or is it just that the same creatures carry many viruses? What caused such a fast rise in the disease carriers?
33
Emma Horton of Webster Groves MO -- Yes, it is the same mosquito which can carry and transmit different diseases (like we humans can carry and transmit different diseases). Mosquito control will be one of our best tools in fighting this epidemic.
31
I think you need to look up how many people are killed by mosquitoes every year.
It's in the millions.
Zika can be the least of your worries.
Unless you;re pregnant, I guess.
It's in the millions.
Zika can be the least of your worries.
Unless you;re pregnant, I guess.
2
The mosquito Aedes Aegypti is a vector for dengue, chikungugna and zika, as well as yellow fever. Here in Brazil, we've had 1,500,000 cases of dengue last year and there is no reason to believe that we will not have as many cases of zika next year.
Contrary to what people in the developed world might be thinking, our government is not even considering killing mosquitoes. We have done so in the 80's, but in the almost 30 years since the first serious outbreak in Rio, the official strategy is to shift the blame to private citizens: tires, plastic bottls and open water tanks are the culprits. Not a word on the vast sanitation problems all across the country.
Contrary to what people in the developed world might be thinking, our government is not even considering killing mosquitoes. We have done so in the 80's, but in the almost 30 years since the first serious outbreak in Rio, the official strategy is to shift the blame to private citizens: tires, plastic bottls and open water tanks are the culprits. Not a word on the vast sanitation problems all across the country.
10
This story is so important for everyone to read, but especially for young women, I believe it is a must.
I will be staying put without any travel plans for the next year, it's so frightening.
I will be staying put without any travel plans for the next year, it's so frightening.
30
"travel plans"
Perhaps they were completely unnecessary. Travel is encouraged by Travel companies and airlines and I think there is something better to do if we do not fall for their advertisements.
Perhaps they were completely unnecessary. Travel is encouraged by Travel companies and airlines and I think there is something better to do if we do not fall for their advertisements.
1
In the modern world, there is no more geographical isolation. To ignore a pathogen in Africa in this day and age, and hope it does not travel the globe, is wishful thinking.
Humankind is susceptible to numerous pathogens, many yet undiscovered. Perhaps it is essential in our evolution to adapt to such and those that survive carry on our species.
Humankind is susceptible to numerous pathogens, many yet undiscovered. Perhaps it is essential in our evolution to adapt to such and those that survive carry on our species.
46
My wife and I live on the Upper West Side near Central Park. My wife is 4 months pregnant and we just cancelled our annual trip to USVI as a precautionary measure. Now, having read this article, it concerns me to read the virus has been here since 2013 in travelers returning from abroad considering the ability for transfer between people is yet to be fully understood. I hope we have a better understanding soon of the scale of this epidemic and how to protect ourselves and our family.
63
"how to protect ourselves and our family."
and our community. This is not a family issue it is a global issue.
and our community. This is not a family issue it is a global issue.
1
There are a couple of articles that you should read:
Did you know that the mosquito associated with the outbreak is genetically modified? So this is not the Zika virus but acts more like a retrovirus.
Here are links to two of the articles about GMM's--Genetically Modified Mosquitos.
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2987024/pandoras_box_how_....
http://theantimedia.org/zika-outbreak-epicenter-in-same-area-where-gm-mo...
(summarizing a piece of DNA got loose, that attaches to insects or humans and alters their DNA) But, you may be past the time when the retrovirus will alter your baby)
Did you know that the mosquito associated with the outbreak is genetically modified? So this is not the Zika virus but acts more like a retrovirus.
Here are links to two of the articles about GMM's--Genetically Modified Mosquitos.
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2987024/pandoras_box_how_....
http://theantimedia.org/zika-outbreak-epicenter-in-same-area-where-gm-mo...
(summarizing a piece of DNA got loose, that attaches to insects or humans and alters their DNA) But, you may be past the time when the retrovirus will alter your baby)
In this country we tend to take healthy births for granted when in other parts of the world the incidences of birth defects are so common. For the most part we have the luxury right now of being able to hide from some of these scourges but for too many women around the world they have no other choices but to face such dangers and pray. Or to consider the unthinkable: Going childless.