A lot of people apparently do "get it" but some do not-- or worse yet, think that politics or enterprise are more important than a microcephalic child. This is a very, very serious situation and even one successful fetal inoculation has the most disastrous and permanent of results. A microcephalic child is a fearsome thing to behold. Avoiding one is worth leaving the state, sequestering one's self inside, lathering with DEET. It is worth killing off the tourist trade. DDT, horrible as it is in some respects, still has legitimate use reserved for killing vectors (read "mosquitos") of dreadful diseases such as bubonic plague (in California) or Zika (currently in Florida, but coming soon to the South). DDT may inspire shudders, but it works.
I thought men can transmit the virus to their sexual partners. So wouldn't a partner of a pregnant woman need to a void mosquitos too. Partners of women of child bearing age might also be cautious.
5
Hmmm. I assume that the Zika scare will heavily impact the sale and resale values of Miami Beach real estate. As for tourism -- the life blood of South Florida, I can't imagine that this or any Governor wants to shepherd in a return to the geriatric dead zone South Beach was back in the 70s, before the South Beach revitalization.
Ignoring this crisis and calling for people to simply lather up with DEET to prevent transmission & infection is not going to cut it with the investor class. Not now or in the near future when the value of their properties start to crater because people are too fearful to vacation or buy their retirement homes in an infested area.
I assume if Rick Scott, a Republican, pro-business politician knows where his bread is buttered. If he wants to get himself re-elected, he will have to adopt strong pro-active policies that will reassure tourists and protect investor's property values from being destroyed by a Zika panic.
Ignoring this crisis and calling for people to simply lather up with DEET to prevent transmission & infection is not going to cut it with the investor class. Not now or in the near future when the value of their properties start to crater because people are too fearful to vacation or buy their retirement homes in an infested area.
I assume if Rick Scott, a Republican, pro-business politician knows where his bread is buttered. If he wants to get himself re-elected, he will have to adopt strong pro-active policies that will reassure tourists and protect investor's property values from being destroyed by a Zika panic.
My daughter lives in Miami and her and her husband were about to start a family . Maybe she is better off getting the virus, developing immunity and beginning her attempts to start a family later after her IgG antibodies are abundant and she is immune?
If we didn't want this disease here, the Federal government would have banned travel to endemic areas and tested and quarantined violators until they were no longer capable of transmitting the virus sexually or through a mosquito bite. Of course the economic and civil liberties cost of such a decision seem to over rule our politicians brains during an election cycle. Can you imagine the total cost of care for hundreds of neurologically impaired infants who survive? What about the emotional toll on families who have to care for those kids. Due to the Federal governments population based health policies the CDC recommendations do not protect American citizens.
If we didn't want this disease here, the Federal government would have banned travel to endemic areas and tested and quarantined violators until they were no longer capable of transmitting the virus sexually or through a mosquito bite. Of course the economic and civil liberties cost of such a decision seem to over rule our politicians brains during an election cycle. Can you imagine the total cost of care for hundreds of neurologically impaired infants who survive? What about the emotional toll on families who have to care for those kids. Due to the Federal governments population based health policies the CDC recommendations do not protect American citizens.
4
I live 100 feet from the new Zika Transmission Zone and I am NOT pleased with our congress.
Twenty-six of 27 members of our bi-partisan Florida congressional delegation have pleaded with Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell to reconvene congress and pass a Zika funding bill. So far? Zero action.
We need work to start now on a vaccine. On more research (old studies show it can effect growth of new brain cells and we know there is the danger of Guillane-Barre syndrome; the elderly could be at special risk). On treatment protocols. On testing (there's a shortage of testing capacity and they are not affordable for average folks, nor covered by insurance). On GM mosquitoes that can stop the Aedis aegypti from producing females. Even on more effective mosquito abatement techniques.
Yes, locally we are dong all we can to stop the insects. But the federal government is best positioned to handle the big picture stuff. And no, having Obama take executive action to appropriate funds -- congress' job -- from Ebola to Zika will not suffice.
Where is the leadership? They are stalling because of vacation? The confederate flag? Obamacare funding? Finally, a cause you would think both parties could get behind, and the Republicans just obstruct?
Meanwhile, I'm off to Publix for some bug spray (if any is left).
Twenty-six of 27 members of our bi-partisan Florida congressional delegation have pleaded with Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell to reconvene congress and pass a Zika funding bill. So far? Zero action.
We need work to start now on a vaccine. On more research (old studies show it can effect growth of new brain cells and we know there is the danger of Guillane-Barre syndrome; the elderly could be at special risk). On treatment protocols. On testing (there's a shortage of testing capacity and they are not affordable for average folks, nor covered by insurance). On GM mosquitoes that can stop the Aedis aegypti from producing females. Even on more effective mosquito abatement techniques.
Yes, locally we are dong all we can to stop the insects. But the federal government is best positioned to handle the big picture stuff. And no, having Obama take executive action to appropriate funds -- congress' job -- from Ebola to Zika will not suffice.
Where is the leadership? They are stalling because of vacation? The confederate flag? Obamacare funding? Finally, a cause you would think both parties could get behind, and the Republicans just obstruct?
Meanwhile, I'm off to Publix for some bug spray (if any is left).
11
I live 1000 miles from the Zika zone and I'm not
Pleased With our congress. Distance makes no difference
Pleased With our congress. Distance makes no difference
3
The Zika plague has proven that we value money more than life itself. It also shows our total lack of courageous leaders who are willing to see a looming danger to society and lead us to the only safety we can have.
We are incapable of the quarantining required to stop this disease because it would threaten "the economy". We are also incapable of humanely aborting or euthanizing the babies that will have no consciousness of the lives we force them to live at enormous cost to our entire society.
Of course this will destroy tourism as a base for economic activity and then maybe we can stop the madness of flitting all over Earth and spreading the filth and destruction we always bring with us.
These are the wages of not cultivating courage, intelligence and real leadership.
We are incapable of the quarantining required to stop this disease because it would threaten "the economy". We are also incapable of humanely aborting or euthanizing the babies that will have no consciousness of the lives we force them to live at enormous cost to our entire society.
Of course this will destroy tourism as a base for economic activity and then maybe we can stop the madness of flitting all over Earth and spreading the filth and destruction we always bring with us.
These are the wages of not cultivating courage, intelligence and real leadership.
10
Let's see:
The "pro-life" GOP (Cruz, Rubio, et al.,) have not advocated for preventative Zika funding; a pregnant woman infected by Zika may not terminate her pregnancy; a baby with Zika-induced, severe brain damage, and it's family are on their own after birth (unless protected by state-sponsored safety nets, which the GOP would prefer to privatize and incentivize based on socio-economic strata); further, they would protect these private, corporate entities by ensuring that, in all financial transactions, profits are privatized while risk is socialized. I get it; that's what they mean by "pro-life."
The "pro-life" GOP (Cruz, Rubio, et al.,) have not advocated for preventative Zika funding; a pregnant woman infected by Zika may not terminate her pregnancy; a baby with Zika-induced, severe brain damage, and it's family are on their own after birth (unless protected by state-sponsored safety nets, which the GOP would prefer to privatize and incentivize based on socio-economic strata); further, they would protect these private, corporate entities by ensuring that, in all financial transactions, profits are privatized while risk is socialized. I get it; that's what they mean by "pro-life."
6
One way to keep off the bites without direct spraying is to spray your clothes and socks so you have a biting chance. But if you are pregnant, don't bet on it. Bandanas with a good splashing keep the face freer of carbon seekers.
Egyptos are VERY hard to stop reproducing. Those stinkers hide in closeted spaces until it dawns or sets on them. They can lay eggs in water as scarce as that found between pages of a newspaper left out to soak. If they dry up, they can hydrate, pupate and break out.
That's why I call them Apaches. The fiercest band of mosquitoes in the world. They really like to sneak up on you, too. So slop on the deet if you don't want to beat feet; they bite ankles, too.
That's why I call them Apaches. The fiercest band of mosquitoes in the world. They really like to sneak up on you, too. So slop on the deet if you don't want to beat feet; they bite ankles, too.
2
It was ludicrous for the Fla authorities to have stated after the first set of local infections that it was confined to those few blocks - even if the mosquitoes don't travel far, infected people do, and they're the initial vector of the disease in the States
3
Yes, let's try to have a perspective. Tropical diseases borne by mosquitoes are moving into the United States. That is happening because we have a warming climate. As temperatures continue to rise, we will see more of this country's landmass included within the range of disease-carrying insects.
Another perspective: Congress has refused, despite clear warnings from the scientific community and a request from the administration, to pass legislation that would finance the needed response from the federal public health system. I think that apathy and inaction is largely due to the reality that Congress is so corrupted by bribes, so blindly partisan, and so full of sociopathic criminals that few members even care that women and babies are suffering and that more will suffer in the future.
Another perspective: Congress has refused, despite clear warnings from the scientific community and a request from the administration, to pass legislation that would finance the needed response from the federal public health system. I think that apathy and inaction is largely due to the reality that Congress is so corrupted by bribes, so blindly partisan, and so full of sociopathic criminals that few members even care that women and babies are suffering and that more will suffer in the future.
3
Zika will not destroy the tourism industry in Florida, but a total lack of trust in health advisories from authorities in Florida will most certainly make the economic effects last a lot, lot longer.
7
remember it was the rebublicans who had to attach a rider to the bill to fund combatting this... thereby killing the bill and exposing us to disease. that is downright evil
7
Funny all you democrats blaming the GOP. Where were you last year when it hit Puerto Rico? Bottomline is that both parties have MAJOR blame, but now that it has hit the mainline with a few dozen cases, the partisans are out of there cage. Further, whats up with Obama and his Golfing these last few days. Guess he is does not care? Right?
3
I encourage any woman who gives birth to a son with microcephaly caused by the Zika virus to name them after Paul Ryan. If it's a girl, name it Pauline.
Let's give credit where credit is due.
Let's give credit where credit is due.
5
The Zika scare is just another in a long series of hoaxes designed to give the medical/pharmaceutical/government complex more power and money. Yes, there was a sharp uptick in microcephalic infants in one region in Brazil, but the Zika virus is widespread throughout Brazil and Columbia, yet there has been no increase in microcephaly anywhere else. The impoverished region in question was sprayed heavily with toxic pesticides before these babies were born. Pyriproxyfen, which stunts the growth of mosquito larvae (might it do the same to human embryos?) was even added to the region's drinking water. Apparently, the authorities were testing their concoctions on the poor, as they do anywhere in the world. Much like demons were blamed for such outbreaks in days of yore, they invoked a virus that had hitherto been regarded as harmless to cover up their crimes. They knew they could count on the U.S. Public Health establishment to pick up the ball and run. So once again we have public hysteria over nothing and indifference to the real health problem: the ongoing, outrageous but extremely profitable chemical poisoning of the world's population by the very people who claim to be protecting us.
You are contributing to that hysteria by spreading misinformation on a pesticide that has been studied and tested for its effects on humans and human development. It's safe when used properly and does not cause microcephaly.
2
A hoax!!!???!
Wow -
Nice - What is your medical / scientific training?
Must be nice to live in Michigan - oh wait - you have mosquitoes also. But you don't have to be concerned. Right?
Wow -
Nice - What is your medical / scientific training?
Must be nice to live in Michigan - oh wait - you have mosquitoes also. But you don't have to be concerned. Right?
3
Governor Scott advises that we keep this in perspective. I totally agree. When you go to vote in November, keep in perspective that it was a Republican Congress which refused to pass a simple bill to provide funding to fight the spread of Zika. And remember that it was Republican Governor Scott (with the support of Marco Rubio) who refused Federal support for Medicaid, thus guaranteeing that more people with Zika will be wandering around untreated, providing mosquitoes with even more sources of Zika to spread around.
Yes, by all means, heed Gov. Scott's advice and keep this all in perspective when you vote in November.
To correct some misapprehensions in reply:
Republicans refused to pass a bill that just dealt with Zika. Their bill had "provisions that would limit funding for birth control, allow pesticide spraying near water sources, and raise the Confederate flag."(quote from Roll Call) They would not allow an up or down vote on a simple Zika bill.
The relevance of Medicaid to the spread of Zika has to do with the likelihood a poor person with Zika will seek help for feeling ill, that Zika will be diagnosed, and that they can be isolated from mosquitoes so that they do not serve as another source from which mosquitoes can feed and then transmit the disease to others.
The Federal money currently being used to fight Zika is mostly money transferred within the Department of Health and Human Services at the President's direction.
Yes, by all means, heed Gov. Scott's advice and keep this all in perspective when you vote in November.
To correct some misapprehensions in reply:
Republicans refused to pass a bill that just dealt with Zika. Their bill had "provisions that would limit funding for birth control, allow pesticide spraying near water sources, and raise the Confederate flag."(quote from Roll Call) They would not allow an up or down vote on a simple Zika bill.
The relevance of Medicaid to the spread of Zika has to do with the likelihood a poor person with Zika will seek help for feeling ill, that Zika will be diagnosed, and that they can be isolated from mosquitoes so that they do not serve as another source from which mosquitoes can feed and then transmit the disease to others.
The Federal money currently being used to fight Zika is mostly money transferred within the Department of Health and Human Services at the President's direction.
12
More than frightening for those of us who live here, are in the area: nearby.
In my Village of Pinecrest, a Miami suburb, building was allowed on 5-acres of inland wetlands without drainage upfront, still doesn't have eight years later.
See A Zika Story: Sump, Floods, Bugs on Pinecrest Bans Sumpland,
https://pinecrestbanssumpland.blogspot.com/
A satire when written, now scary and getting closer. The blog name from Governor Scott's denial of climate change weeks prior.
Pinecrest Floods,
https://pinecrestfloods.blogspot.com/
also shows the result of that stupidity. A few weeks ago, the US EPA stepped up, got Florida Dept of Environmental Protection to cite, yet to date, Pinecrest is providing a service no other city has so readily offered: a mosquito sanctuary for disease carrying insects — a hatchery for ZIKA bloodsuckers on land permitted for mansions without a place for the water to go — a breeding ground in a populous neighborhood subdivision lacking a positive stormwater drainage system.
Some welcome mat ....
In my Village of Pinecrest, a Miami suburb, building was allowed on 5-acres of inland wetlands without drainage upfront, still doesn't have eight years later.
See A Zika Story: Sump, Floods, Bugs on Pinecrest Bans Sumpland,
https://pinecrestbanssumpland.blogspot.com/
A satire when written, now scary and getting closer. The blog name from Governor Scott's denial of climate change weeks prior.
Pinecrest Floods,
https://pinecrestfloods.blogspot.com/
also shows the result of that stupidity. A few weeks ago, the US EPA stepped up, got Florida Dept of Environmental Protection to cite, yet to date, Pinecrest is providing a service no other city has so readily offered: a mosquito sanctuary for disease carrying insects — a hatchery for ZIKA bloodsuckers on land permitted for mansions without a place for the water to go — a breeding ground in a populous neighborhood subdivision lacking a positive stormwater drainage system.
Some welcome mat ....
6
What irony! Pinecrest is the most affluent community in the county.
1
To be fair, Congress could have voted for 10 billion dollars for Zika research and these Zika infections would still have happened. Mosquitoes spread the disease and mosquito control is a local government problem, so is individual responsibility to eliminate breeding sites in one's yard and wearing proper clothes and repellents. Southern communities already have mosquito control operations. Zika is not the only disease they have to worry about and Aedes aegypti are not the only mosquitoes that carry disease.
6
All tourists should boycott Florida, not just to protect themselves, but to punish the Republican government for failing to protect pregnant women and unborn babies.
9
Rick Scott is without a doubt the most do nothing worthless governor we've ever had here. A good rule of thumb with this opportunist is to take what he says at a 180 degree value, and then you may have an inkling of the truth. If congress hadn't been in such a rush to go on summer vacation, there might have been some D.C. action on this issue. However, the Repub controlled mess up there did their typical knuckle and foot dragging show, and as usual, nothing was done. Odd how none of them are vacationing here in Florida though, isn't it?
12
Let Florida start taxing their residents if they want to do a better job combating Zika. I often hear my older NY friends talk about how they are heading to Florida to escape our taxes. Enjoy.
8
Hopefully Zika will cause people to have fewer, or ideally, no children. Our current population growth is not at all sustainable. No one wants to see the human suffering caused my microcephaly, but if we don't stop multiplying like rabbits we're going to breed ourselves into extinction and take the whole planet down with us.
3
Left out:
Democrats block Zika funding bill, blame GOP
"Indeed, in the short term, Democrats are more open to criticism: After clamoring for new Zika funding for months, they are set to vote against a bill at funding levels they’ve already agreed to. They’ve offered myriad objections: That the bill is paid for irresponsibly, inordinately relaxes clean water regulations and was constructed with no Democratic input."
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/zika-politics-congress-224857
The Senate, currently on recess, is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday September 6, 2016
Democrats block Zika funding bill, blame GOP
"Indeed, in the short term, Democrats are more open to criticism: After clamoring for new Zika funding for months, they are set to vote against a bill at funding levels they’ve already agreed to. They’ve offered myriad objections: That the bill is paid for irresponsibly, inordinately relaxes clean water regulations and was constructed with no Democratic input."
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/zika-politics-congress-224857
The Senate, currently on recess, is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday September 6, 2016
3
Golly. You read that whole article, and somehow missed its two main points:
1. Republicans are mostly to blame, and will likely pay come November.
2. The Democrats have some short-term responsibility, but are objecting to the ways that the Republican funding bill:
--is $800 mil less than the President requested in FEBRUARY, just because;
--defunds Obamacare
--attacks Planned Parenthood
And--and this bit's my fave, since it shows just what level of crazy we're dealing with--the presented Bill legalizes flying the Confederate flag in national cemeteries.
Boy, can you pick 'em, or can you oick 'em, Woofie?
1. Republicans are mostly to blame, and will likely pay come November.
2. The Democrats have some short-term responsibility, but are objecting to the ways that the Republican funding bill:
--is $800 mil less than the President requested in FEBRUARY, just because;
--defunds Obamacare
--attacks Planned Parenthood
And--and this bit's my fave, since it shows just what level of crazy we're dealing with--the presented Bill legalizes flying the Confederate flag in national cemeteries.
Boy, can you pick 'em, or can you oick 'em, Woofie?
13
Sent up a bill without all the "defund planned parenthood" and "repeal obamacare" froufrou attached and the Dems will be happy to support it. Remember it's the repubs that are in the majority and decide what gets put forth, not the Dems. Time for the GOP to put health ahead of politics.
4
And you conveniently left out the fact that the Democrats opposed this bill because it included new restrictions on Planned Parenthood and cut funds from Obamacare. Why not introduce a clean bill that does not gut two of the very things- family planning and health insurance- needed to help fight Zika?
4
My niece is nowhere near this area, but northward. I would offer to have her have her baby here, but we have Egyptos just like they do. I expect this to eventually arrive with the next aggressive bee hive.
These cases are most likely to have started with someone that visited from South America, and then transmission between humans began. This doesn't mean we should start spraying toxins all over the place, killing indigenous critters and upending the eco system. If you are likely going to be pregnant or are pregnant, stay away. But really tired of the CDC politics. No one here seems to get that they got billions for avian and ebola that they didn't need to use, and spent on other things. The CDC hasn't passed an audit in years. Come on people! Use your heads a bit - don't just drink the ever flowing kool-aid!!!
2
This is all so very sad.
why would anyone proliferate this?
why would anyone proliferate this?
1
Members of Congress and their families will not be found anywhere near the state of Florida during their many weeks summer vacations. Not even remotely close. So why should they be worried about Zika? It's not their personal holiday destination of choice, so it's not their problem or priority right now.
Wait until it's closer to Christmas time when it's time to go south for vacation.
Maybe then they'll decide it's time to respond to this simmering crisis. Maybe.
Wait until it's closer to Christmas time when it's time to go south for vacation.
Maybe then they'll decide it's time to respond to this simmering crisis. Maybe.
5
A governor who resisted taking federal assistance to fight Zika early on, and who now says the virus "won't affect" the tourist industry, is beyond irresponsible and dispassionate. He's a danger to the health of his state.
4
I suspect someone is breeding them, biological warfare.
Trump is gonna build a huge mosquito net and make the mosquitos pay for it...
13
I wouldn't be surprised if that's not his solution.
3
Equally frightening is that Marco Rubio is on record for saying
"No abortion for Zika infected women". In effect, if you get infected it is your own fault and you must deal with the consequence. It is time for birth control pills to be over-the-counter so women can decide for themselves when to conceive.
"No abortion for Zika infected women". In effect, if you get infected it is your own fault and you must deal with the consequence. It is time for birth control pills to be over-the-counter so women can decide for themselves when to conceive.
9
I posted a comment last night that must have been so nuclear that the moderators rejected it outright. So what I'll write here, while there's still time, is that Florida Governor Rick Scott, now Exhibit A for intransigence among state executives when it comes to the Medicare expansion that might--just might--save lives, or at least ameliorate the suffering of its poorest citizens.
Gov. Scott smoked the pipe the others have in rejecting ObamaCare because that's what it was; Medicare was the rider they viewed as a federal dictate from the Kenyan Socialist Witch Doctor Usurper ISIS-loving impostor whose considerations for citizens' well-being were masked by fraudulent concerns about "executive over-reach" and "creeping federalism" by a non-American.
Paul Ryan, the (nominal) Speaker of the House, is so in control of his national legislative body that he hasn't the courage to summon the entire House back from its seven-week vacation to rush into print (and into the federal treasury) an emergency edict to (belatedly) pay to limit the spreading damage. How many unborn fetuses are already at risk because they insisted on a rider to de-fund Planned Parenthood? Will there be money in the budget to pay for the life-long medical attention children who are born with the Zika strain will need? Abortion is a problem?
Thanks, Republicans, for having the nation's mothers and babies' backs.
Gov. Scott smoked the pipe the others have in rejecting ObamaCare because that's what it was; Medicare was the rider they viewed as a federal dictate from the Kenyan Socialist Witch Doctor Usurper ISIS-loving impostor whose considerations for citizens' well-being were masked by fraudulent concerns about "executive over-reach" and "creeping federalism" by a non-American.
Paul Ryan, the (nominal) Speaker of the House, is so in control of his national legislative body that he hasn't the courage to summon the entire House back from its seven-week vacation to rush into print (and into the federal treasury) an emergency edict to (belatedly) pay to limit the spreading damage. How many unborn fetuses are already at risk because they insisted on a rider to de-fund Planned Parenthood? Will there be money in the budget to pay for the life-long medical attention children who are born with the Zika strain will need? Abortion is a problem?
Thanks, Republicans, for having the nation's mothers and babies' backs.
7
The mosquitoes should have been neutralized as soon as we had the means to do so. I am not a scientist but I am always a little suspicious of the small group of environmentalists that do not want to eradicate any species.
1
36 cases of Zika is a serious problem. 300,000 cases a year of tick borne illnesses such as Lyme is a crisis, yet virtually no action by our government.
Don't expect much in response to Zika cases.
Don't expect much in response to Zika cases.
2
Until pregnant Republican women are infected.
2
Way to make up numbers.
2
Public health is really a disaster in this country. It is no wonder why we are ranked 35th in life expectancy, and falling. Some of our states like Mississippi and West Virginia have longevity equivalent to Guatemala and Honduras.
1
Every U.S. Citizen should do 2 things in regards to ZIKA virus & other important public health issues.
1. Take the "Personal Responsibility" message to heart, and log onto the CDC.gov website and become knowledge about this disease & other public health issues soon to affect us with climate change.
2. Vote every Republican OUT of Congress at the earliest possible date.
1. Take the "Personal Responsibility" message to heart, and log onto the CDC.gov website and become knowledge about this disease & other public health issues soon to affect us with climate change.
2. Vote every Republican OUT of Congress at the earliest possible date.
17
Zika is not a new virus, considered before a mild virus— it has been around for decades. No explanation has been given as to why suddenly it could be causing all these cases of microcephaly. No one is seriously asking the question, what has changed?
For example, there are ingredients pertussis containing Tdap vaccine has not been fully evaluated for potential genotoxic or other adverse effects on the human fetus. The Tdap vaccines is to be a single dose pertussis booster shot to individuals OVER 10 YEARS OLD. However, the CDC now recommends doctors give every pregnant woman a Tdap vaccination during every pregnancy—regardless of whether a woman has already received one dose of Tdap—this is an off-label use of the vaccine. Does that make sense?
One possibility for the increase in birth effects. In October 2014, the Brazilian Ministry of Health Prof. Alexandre Vranjac in a report stated the Tdap vaccine would be included in Brazil’s National Vaccination Schedule for pregnant women. There are ingredients in Tdap vaccine that have not been fully evaluated for potential adverse effects on the human fetus developing in the womb.
The package insert for Boostrix reads: “There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, BOOSTRIX should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.”
For example, there are ingredients pertussis containing Tdap vaccine has not been fully evaluated for potential genotoxic or other adverse effects on the human fetus. The Tdap vaccines is to be a single dose pertussis booster shot to individuals OVER 10 YEARS OLD. However, the CDC now recommends doctors give every pregnant woman a Tdap vaccination during every pregnancy—regardless of whether a woman has already received one dose of Tdap—this is an off-label use of the vaccine. Does that make sense?
One possibility for the increase in birth effects. In October 2014, the Brazilian Ministry of Health Prof. Alexandre Vranjac in a report stated the Tdap vaccine would be included in Brazil’s National Vaccination Schedule for pregnant women. There are ingredients in Tdap vaccine that have not been fully evaluated for potential adverse effects on the human fetus developing in the womb.
The package insert for Boostrix reads: “There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, BOOSTRIX should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.”
4
It is common for these sorts of far-right political rants to be based on a) total ignorance of science, b) ignorance of vaccines.
I would try and explain that viruses evolve--that means the species change--or that any drug or vaccine, including aspirin, has to be evaluated in terms of risk, but what's the use?
People who're committed to conspiracy theories and far-right beliefs are very, very seldom amenable to reason or to fact. Like any psychotic, actually, they think they HAVE reasons and facts.
I would try and explain that viruses evolve--that means the species change--or that any drug or vaccine, including aspirin, has to be evaluated in terms of risk, but what's the use?
People who're committed to conspiracy theories and far-right beliefs are very, very seldom amenable to reason or to fact. Like any psychotic, actually, they think they HAVE reasons and facts.
1
Zika has long been endemic in Africa. Young males and females thus are exposed and therefore immunity to the virus and thus as adults or fecund females do not present problems of Zika to their fetuses.
1
Fret what you say could be true, but it is conjecture, a theory just like what I said. Where's the science, and if the virus mutated/changed it would be easy enough to uncover. Zika may cause birth defects or may not, but where is the research, the science? Just because two things happen at the same time doesn't mean one caused the other. Just because Brazil started something at the same time as birth defects happened, doesn't mean one caused the other.
It you can't question or challenge an unproven theory, than we can forget all of what science is suppose to represent. What concerns me is that we are going to pay for the cost of another drug we don't need and the drug companies will not be held accountable for any harmful effects of their anti-virus inoculation.
It you can't question or challenge an unproven theory, than we can forget all of what science is suppose to represent. What concerns me is that we are going to pay for the cost of another drug we don't need and the drug companies will not be held accountable for any harmful effects of their anti-virus inoculation.
1
Zika has demonstrated the moral bankruptcy of the GOP. If they cannot handle a health crisis on this scale, they can't handle anything. Compounding the problem is the potential for massive birth defects among pregnant women, when the GOP feels that women have no reason, including Zika, to seek an abortion. Just ask Marco Rubio, who knows all and serves as a moral arbiter for the evangelical crowd. Yet when he had the chance, he never harangued his colleagues for Zika funding before they left for a seven-week vacation at South Beach.
17
Obama has failed too.
2
Obviously, the lion's share of blame goes to the Republicans in Congress for failure to fund an emergency problem. Duh.
I wonder, however: when did Mr.Obama finally realize that his esteemed Republican colleagues are exhaustive, unwieldy obstructionists? Shouldn't he have known he wasn't going to get any concessions from that gang of underachieving nonperformers a long time ago, before Zika hit the United States?
Another example, yet again, of Mr.Obama's weak leadership. He could have called them back from recess for a special session in Congress regarding the spreading public health crisis, but I guess he is enjoying Martha's Vineyard so much he let Donald Trump take the lead on the Louisiana floods.
Why didn't the U.S.government provide funding to Latin American countries who were and are in the forefront of this battle? There always seems to be enough money around for a military adventure or regime change in other countries. This would have been a great opportunity to create some much needed goodwill in the southern hemisphere.
I wonder, however: when did Mr.Obama finally realize that his esteemed Republican colleagues are exhaustive, unwieldy obstructionists? Shouldn't he have known he wasn't going to get any concessions from that gang of underachieving nonperformers a long time ago, before Zika hit the United States?
Another example, yet again, of Mr.Obama's weak leadership. He could have called them back from recess for a special session in Congress regarding the spreading public health crisis, but I guess he is enjoying Martha's Vineyard so much he let Donald Trump take the lead on the Louisiana floods.
Why didn't the U.S.government provide funding to Latin American countries who were and are in the forefront of this battle? There always seems to be enough money around for a military adventure or regime change in other countries. This would have been a great opportunity to create some much needed goodwill in the southern hemisphere.
12
Could someone please explain to me why Zika has been around for decades, with thousands of people infected- most never even knowing- and never more than 1%of babies affected- but in spite of that now they are certain it was Zika that caused the health issues in Brazil? There are also thousands who carry Zika in Argentina and Columbia, but there is no spate of health issues. It makes me think it's not really the Zika, or not Zika alone, that caused all of those poor babies to be deformed. It was some other factor... Insecticides? Vaccines? If the cause is Zika, why do other countries not have that massive rate of birth defects?
4
1. Viruses, like all living things, evolve. That means the species changes.
2. A lot of these viruses are in the news, now, because a) we've opened up the places where they hang out, and b) rapid international travel.
It's pretty simple. No need for the chemtrails nonsense.
2. A lot of these viruses are in the news, now, because a) we've opened up the places where they hang out, and b) rapid international travel.
It's pretty simple. No need for the chemtrails nonsense.
3
Don't start in on vaccines...
3
They know exactly what it is. You just need more in-depth reading into the background of this threat. Here is just one:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/22/the-race-for-a-zika-vaccine
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/22/the-race-for-a-zika-vaccine
3
Too bad our Members of Congress can't be forced to take their vacation in the middle of the Zika zone. I wonder how much this Zika epidemic is going to cost the U.S. to say nothing of the horrible futures of the families of babies who become microcephalic.
These public servants should be fired for failing to take the precautions needed: where ia a Zika fund? Instead they like to play fireman after the conflagration breaks out. I cannot convey how sickened I am by this very predictable crisis allowed to develop.
These public servants should be fired for failing to take the precautions needed: where ia a Zika fund? Instead they like to play fireman after the conflagration breaks out. I cannot convey how sickened I am by this very predictable crisis allowed to develop.
16
You have a president who you hired based of Coolness. Isn't it Cool to demand he at least stop playing golf for a while to talk to the media about the Zika thing? He criticized his political opponents for not making such appearances.
Why don't you tell him that?
Why don't you tell him that?
4
Because he started talking in January. And hasn't shut up since.
Must be nice, inhabiting a reality in which if you refuse to look, it ain't there.
Must be nice, inhabiting a reality in which if you refuse to look, it ain't there.
4
Chickens coming home to roost. After the shabby treatment of Puerto Rico, the land the United States illegally invaded and stole iin 1899, the bugs find their way to the mainland. Too bad.
5
The "shabby treatment of Puerto Rico?" What are you talking about? This place's population is mostly on welfare from the mainland USA, and doing nothing to change that. I've been their twice in the last three years and the last time was almost murdered, suffering massive injuries to my face and head in a ridiculous attempt at intimidation and useless theft.
As far as I can tell from my visits there, most of the population waits arount for checks from Washington and tourists who are stupid enough to fall for it. I'll never go back.
As far as I can tell from my visits there, most of the population waits arount for checks from Washington and tourists who are stupid enough to fall for it. I'll never go back.
2
"Keeping it in perspective," I'd say there's never really a good time to have exposure to a vector resulting in a demyelinating disease.
Strange that mentions of ADEM and Guillain-Barre are all but absent from the NYT coverage. It's like the Bernie Sanders of neurology...
Strange that mentions of ADEM and Guillain-Barre are all but absent from the NYT coverage. It's like the Bernie Sanders of neurology...
5
This latest outbreak stands as a monument to three things:
1. Congress's failure to pass a clean bill in the face of much advance warning.
2. Denial of climate change and sea-level rise: Miami Beach has flooded streets more often than not, and drainage of storm water has been problematic for a decade at least.
3. Rick Scott's failure to be proactive.
When Zika comes to your neighborhood this summer (because this is only the beginning across the US), send a note of thanks to the Republicans by casting your vote for Democrats at all levels this fall.
1. Congress's failure to pass a clean bill in the face of much advance warning.
2. Denial of climate change and sea-level rise: Miami Beach has flooded streets more often than not, and drainage of storm water has been problematic for a decade at least.
3. Rick Scott's failure to be proactive.
When Zika comes to your neighborhood this summer (because this is only the beginning across the US), send a note of thanks to the Republicans by casting your vote for Democrats at all levels this fall.
15
I live in Florida and do you know what concerns me? My concern is the amount of people who believe that a State official can eradicate a virus that has been a problem worldwide for decades. Those of you who live in other states: I am counting on you to immediately demand your Governor to eradicate HIV, influenza, ebola, rabies, hantavirus, and all the other scary widgets, under threat that if that is not completed immediately, you will withhold your vote. Wake up, smell that coffee, and examine why you feel all of your fears should be solved by a politician you don't like, instead of a cool-headed approach. An international virus is here - oh, so now you care about it and are looking locally for blame. Stupid is as stupid does.
6
OK, so what would aggressive legislation and bottomless funding, apparently blocked by evil Republicans, accomplish?
According to the CDC, the best mitigation techniques right now are widespread pesticide use (aerial spraying), personal protection against mosquitos (clothing and repellent), and safe sex protocols. In addition, the risk of exposure to individuals, and the risk of spreading Zika beyond known locations, can be reduced by limiting travel.
So more money could support more monitoring, more publicity (discourage travel, encourage safer behavior), and more spraying (already condemned in many comments here). What else?
According to the CDC, the best mitigation techniques right now are widespread pesticide use (aerial spraying), personal protection against mosquitos (clothing and repellent), and safe sex protocols. In addition, the risk of exposure to individuals, and the risk of spreading Zika beyond known locations, can be reduced by limiting travel.
So more money could support more monitoring, more publicity (discourage travel, encourage safer behavior), and more spraying (already condemned in many comments here). What else?
4
Oh, trivial stuff--you know, like better tests, a vaccine, understanding of how the virus works.
By the way, you made up the stuff about aerial spraying.
By the way, you made up the stuff about aerial spraying.
3
Speed up development of a vaccine, speed up dissemination of sterile male mosquitoes.
3
Robert, I am with you on a vaccine, but think 10 years or so. (And then think about other medical research priorites.)
As for the CDC: "Aerial spraying is only one part of the solution for controlling mosquitoes, but it is the one method that can rapidly reduce the number of mosquitoes spreading Zika in a large area."
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/vector/aerial-spraying-puertorico.html
As for the CDC: "Aerial spraying is only one part of the solution for controlling mosquitoes, but it is the one method that can rapidly reduce the number of mosquitoes spreading Zika in a large area."
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/vector/aerial-spraying-puertorico.html
I live about a mile and a half from Wynwood, right where the river crosses the expressway going to South Beach. As a long time Floridian who has tried to vote Rick Scott and our Republican Florida congress out of office for their disregard for the health of our poor (these guys rejected federal money for Medicaid expansion because it would cost Florida $5 for every $95 the feds gave us), I have to say the blame is on the Republican Congress in Washington for their inaction. The CDC and NIH have been asking for funds to fight Zika and have gotten the brush-off.
Florida cannot fight this off alone. Yes, we all know not to let standing water remain where mosquitoes can breed, but this is rainy season here - it rains every day and often twice per day. It's a full time job searching for the 2 teaspoons of water a mosquito needs. I can do nothing to drain the canal that's 50 ft. from my house or the Miami River that it flows into that's just two houses away from me.
The Zika fight needs more than just Florida battling it. If the congressmen of the whole country don't get behind this, Zika will be in their backyards quite soon.
Florida cannot fight this off alone. Yes, we all know not to let standing water remain where mosquitoes can breed, but this is rainy season here - it rains every day and often twice per day. It's a full time job searching for the 2 teaspoons of water a mosquito needs. I can do nothing to drain the canal that's 50 ft. from my house or the Miami River that it flows into that's just two houses away from me.
The Zika fight needs more than just Florida battling it. If the congressmen of the whole country don't get behind this, Zika will be in their backyards quite soon.
14
Mr. Scott “is encouraging people to come to Miami, to come to South Beach. Just remove standing water and wear bug spray.”
-- And that's exactly why I would be going to Miami Beach. To remove standing water. This clown has been killing people through fraudulent and slippery approaches to health care and public health for too long. Republican accountability at its best!
-- And that's exactly why I would be going to Miami Beach. To remove standing water. This clown has been killing people through fraudulent and slippery approaches to health care and public health for too long. Republican accountability at its best!
9
I have been in Miami for a week and have not seen a Mosquito. No one here seems worried about it. They are more concerned with the Ariel spraying. Seems like most cases are not local and there has been an overreaction by the press.
2
It is difficult to comprehend how the people of Florida actually elected Rick Scott, a proven criminal sociopath, completely indifferent to the sufferings of others... A man who refuses to accept federal dollars under the HCA, effectively denying health insurance to the very people he "serves"... A man who acquired his fortune milking and bilking a broken and bleeding (pun intended) healthcare system - eventually resigning under the pressure of his own board during an FBI investigation, but not until he walked away with a half billion dollars in cash and stock, while his former company, Hospital Corporation of America, was left to settle the largest fraud case in history, over two billion dollars - mostly for Medicare Fraud.
These must be the same people who are planning to vote for Donald Trump.
These must be the same people who are planning to vote for Donald Trump.
21
As I read this, my heart broke a little bit more. Have we learned nothing from the AIDS epidemic? Zika is being allowed to happen in part due to ineptness and inaction on the part of governing officials and bureaucracy.
From the NYT:
"The black-and-white Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the Zika virus, doesn’t normally fly more than about 500 feet in its lifetime. Health officials assume that Miami-area mosquitoes picked up the infection from someone who had just returned from Latin America or the Caribbean with the virus in his or her blood."
This means a person or people infected mosquitoes, not the other way around as most people assume. The implications are clear: Zika is going to travel across the country. And how many people at the Rio Olympics will unknowingly bring the virus home to their own countries? Some of those countries lack adequate health care systems. Moreover, the virus can be spread sexually, so transmission routes are greatly increased.
This is an enormous problem, and it's insulting to us that it's being downplayed.
From the NYT:
"The black-and-white Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the Zika virus, doesn’t normally fly more than about 500 feet in its lifetime. Health officials assume that Miami-area mosquitoes picked up the infection from someone who had just returned from Latin America or the Caribbean with the virus in his or her blood."
This means a person or people infected mosquitoes, not the other way around as most people assume. The implications are clear: Zika is going to travel across the country. And how many people at the Rio Olympics will unknowingly bring the virus home to their own countries? Some of those countries lack adequate health care systems. Moreover, the virus can be spread sexually, so transmission routes are greatly increased.
This is an enormous problem, and it's insulting to us that it's being downplayed.
8
The US could wind up with more birth defects from neurotoxic insecticide use than from Zika.
4
When you make your political party the enemy of science, and you view dollars spent on scientific research as wasted dollars better spent on tax cuts, this is the culture you get. It is the opposite of a "culture of life".
The severe damage to a fetus caused by zika cannot be "blown out of proportion". It causes catastrophic, life-long disability that destroys the quality of life. I thought every unborn child matters? What happened to those family values? Overcome by fears of losing tourist dollars.
The sad thing is Zika is easily classified and a vaccine could be quickly developed, but the money was withheld by Republicans more intent on repealing Obamacare and defunding planned parenthood. I don't think Floridians are going to be too happy with Republicans come November.
And while we ponder this problem, let's think about how many other human diseases might currently be better addressed if scientists had the funding they need. Republicans in congress love to cut funding to basic science and view it as "waste". Let's show them, with our votes, real waste is not using our talents and knowledge to cure disease and save lives.
The severe damage to a fetus caused by zika cannot be "blown out of proportion". It causes catastrophic, life-long disability that destroys the quality of life. I thought every unborn child matters? What happened to those family values? Overcome by fears of losing tourist dollars.
The sad thing is Zika is easily classified and a vaccine could be quickly developed, but the money was withheld by Republicans more intent on repealing Obamacare and defunding planned parenthood. I don't think Floridians are going to be too happy with Republicans come November.
And while we ponder this problem, let's think about how many other human diseases might currently be better addressed if scientists had the funding they need. Republicans in congress love to cut funding to basic science and view it as "waste". Let's show them, with our votes, real waste is not using our talents and knowledge to cure disease and save lives.
74
What about sexually active men? If Zika has been found to be sexually transmitted men should also avoid the area. Unless condom use is widespread and pretty much universal. I somehow doubt it.
5
Zika doesn't just harm unborn babies. In adults it causes Guillan-Barre which can lead to temporary or permanent paralysis. And equally alarming, scientists have just discovered a Zika infection can cause the same kind of brain damage associated with dementia. Why hasn't the NY Times reported on these new findings?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-19/zika-may-cause-brain-d...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-19/zika-may-cause-brain-d...
9
It's easy to say that not enough is being done. I would argue that too much is being done, and that it's putting Miamians and all Americans at risk. I travel extensively to Central and South Anerica and know many people that have had Zika. It's no big deal at all, unless you are pregnant AND unfortunate enough to be in the 1% of pregnant women (according to the Lancet) whose fetuses are affected by Zika. In Miami we stand at more or less 35 known cases, and as Dengue and Yellow Fever (transmitted by the same mosquito) have demonstrated time and again, our general infrastructure and way of life self-contain these outbreaks. We don't live in ghettos, in general we are profuse in the use of air conditioning and most houses (enough houses) have screened windows and doors.
Instead of reacting thoughtfully to the possibility of Zika, our politicians (especially Tom Frieden, who is more politician than scientist) are overreacting in order to be seen as doing something. Even though you would technically expect to see thousands of cases of Zika before you see microcephaly, they are aerial spraying a chemical (Naled) that is banned in the EU and which was prohibited by the people of Puerto Rico, suffering an outbreak itself, from being sprayed. The effects of this chemical (which according to Cornell University has much the same effects on fetuses as Zika!) will be felt by everyone in the spray zone, and not just a percentage of the few unfortunate enough to get actual Zika.
Instead of reacting thoughtfully to the possibility of Zika, our politicians (especially Tom Frieden, who is more politician than scientist) are overreacting in order to be seen as doing something. Even though you would technically expect to see thousands of cases of Zika before you see microcephaly, they are aerial spraying a chemical (Naled) that is banned in the EU and which was prohibited by the people of Puerto Rico, suffering an outbreak itself, from being sprayed. The effects of this chemical (which according to Cornell University has much the same effects on fetuses as Zika!) will be felt by everyone in the spray zone, and not just a percentage of the few unfortunate enough to get actual Zika.
3
And how do you know if Zika is not a "big deal"? Are you a microbiologist?
Did you know that diseases can mutate, become stronger or different?
Minimizing the potential risks alone upon pregnant women and their unborn children is ignorant. This alone should be a major cause of concern.
Did you know that diseases can mutate, become stronger or different?
Minimizing the potential risks alone upon pregnant women and their unborn children is ignorant. This alone should be a major cause of concern.
The mayor of a small town in Miami-Dade County said, “I think all of us are holding our breath and crossing our fingers..."
That's reassuring.
That's reassuring.
6
It is simply outrageous that FL's Gov is trying to minimize the situation. The FDA has approved a test using a genetically modified mosquito to kill the Aedes mosquito. FDA proposes launching a test in the Florida Keys. However, no action can be taken until the local mosquito control board in the Keys approves the test. That board will not take action until after the community votes on a referendum permitting the test to move forward on ELECTION DAY (Nov 8). We have a blossoming health crisis and we have to wait until voters in the Key say OK? Governor afraid to declare a health emergency? Business as usual in FL.
12
I wonder if Gov. Scott appreciates the government's role in addressing this problem. Is the CDC or the other agencies involves the ones he and his Republican colleagues would get rid of ? The inconvenient truth for these pseudo libertarians is no state or local entity get deal with the kinds of problems that require a national response --- such as climate control. Oh, I forgot, that according to Scott that's a myth, so who all we need to do is hand out Raid Cans to all those in and around Miami beach..
8
What's Mitch McConnell's answer to why republicans haven't funded Zika sufficiently? To talk about how Obamacare is failing. If you're still one to believe republicans are doing a great job, that they care about anything except being cruel and vicious, well, there's not much hope for you at all. Is there?
7
How many people know: Bush 2 and his Republican Congress removed long term care from the Medicare, see Alzheimer's patients on their own until they have spent every last dime on healthcare. Now we must deal with the real issue here. WHO is going to pay for these "potential little tax payers," as they are seen by politicians, long term healthcare? Now instead of them being "tax payers" they will become HEAVY TAX BURDEN portion of society. So, is there a way for the GOP to build a wall? Push an eject button? Go back on their staunch "all lives matter" "pro life" campaigns against abortion? My guess is they will remove long term care from Medicaid as well. Look out America.
How are those politicians who love to "make policy" on women's reproductive rights dealing with this?
Will they be allowing short term abortions in ZIKA cases? Only for their family members in secret. You know who you are.
Will they be paying fore the long term care for these babies? No, no no. It will be left up to the Federal Government. Like all State's wanting to control their own stuff, in the end, they come crying to Papa deep pockets....because they wanted to cut taxes and now they have no money.
Will those right wing politicians just for once in their lives make the right call? Nope. It will be a lot of sabre rattling, blaming Obama for introducing their State to this disease, HRC emails and Benghazi. This will be the end of the GOP. The final blow. Maybe then we will go after the rich?
How are those politicians who love to "make policy" on women's reproductive rights dealing with this?
Will they be allowing short term abortions in ZIKA cases? Only for their family members in secret. You know who you are.
Will they be paying fore the long term care for these babies? No, no no. It will be left up to the Federal Government. Like all State's wanting to control their own stuff, in the end, they come crying to Papa deep pockets....because they wanted to cut taxes and now they have no money.
Will those right wing politicians just for once in their lives make the right call? Nope. It will be a lot of sabre rattling, blaming Obama for introducing their State to this disease, HRC emails and Benghazi. This will be the end of the GOP. The final blow. Maybe then we will go after the rich?
3
Governor Scott is merely stating the odds are you wont get Zika if you take precautions. Do people believe they're immune from any diseases brought into this country from other countries, especially since we've become this global economy? People travel globally more than anytime in the past.
I don't see anyone blaming lax immigration laws for much of the newer or past diseases we are now seeing, ie. TB (more prevalent than this), that Dengue Fever someone brought into Key West in 2009 (see article) or other diseases we effectively eliminated but have now once again surfaced.
Go out, by some bug spray and some Stock and enjoy the interest. The others, spray yourselves, if your pregnant, don't go outside anywhere because it's now in thirty states (see story). Thank your lucky stars you don't live where people are literally dying because of lack of good solid insect control.
.
.
I don't see anyone blaming lax immigration laws for much of the newer or past diseases we are now seeing, ie. TB (more prevalent than this), that Dengue Fever someone brought into Key West in 2009 (see article) or other diseases we effectively eliminated but have now once again surfaced.
Go out, by some bug spray and some Stock and enjoy the interest. The others, spray yourselves, if your pregnant, don't go outside anywhere because it's now in thirty states (see story). Thank your lucky stars you don't live where people are literally dying because of lack of good solid insect control.
.
.
3
I've had mosquitos in my house in every place I've ever lived. My current home has screens on every window and door. Still, I found one in the kitchen last evening. If we were to be living in Florida and my wife of child bearing years, I'd be worried sick.
Bug spray… right.
Bug spray… right.
2
Hey Florida, how are those Republican values working out for you now?
16
Most of SouthFlorida vote for Democrats because Republicans haven't worked out.
2
Not seeing all the doom and gloom Obama is. Just think: Obama thought tying federal aid to funding abortion providers was a clever political stunt.
3
Gov. Rick Scott is the gift that keeps on giving.
Not only has he failed to act against Zika infections, although he has had ample warning.....he places blame on the Federal Government. He also has a financial stake in a company that provides mosquito control services..
http://www.floridabulldog.org/2016/08/gov-scotts-undisclosed-interest-in...
At the same time, in the face of a months long water disaster born of a lethal combination of agricultural run-off and chemical contamination that has sparked blankets of age on both coasts with the inevitable wildlife deaths and serious human illnesses both pulmonary and terrifying skin lesions. In the face of this crisis, he loosened regulations regarding contamination of water.
He is apparently uninterested or unconcerned about threats to Floridians' health. Who exactly does he serve?
Not only has he failed to act against Zika infections, although he has had ample warning.....he places blame on the Federal Government. He also has a financial stake in a company that provides mosquito control services..
http://www.floridabulldog.org/2016/08/gov-scotts-undisclosed-interest-in...
At the same time, in the face of a months long water disaster born of a lethal combination of agricultural run-off and chemical contamination that has sparked blankets of age on both coasts with the inevitable wildlife deaths and serious human illnesses both pulmonary and terrifying skin lesions. In the face of this crisis, he loosened regulations regarding contamination of water.
He is apparently uninterested or unconcerned about threats to Floridians' health. Who exactly does he serve?
23
"blankets of algae"
1
The Left spends a lot of time demonizing those with whom they apparently feel they are competing for votes. Really a rather self-defeating expenditure of personal time unless they lead rather vacuous lives.
2
How many pin-headed politicians can dance on the head of an angel? Every member of the House to the right of the aisle will be on a ballot in November. Obstructionism in the cause of public health is no virtue. A quasi-religious assertion regarding conception has been leveraged into a malignant tool of identity politics to maintain naked power. Held hostage is the ability of 52% of our citizens to make autonomous, private decisions regarding their own individual health care. Held hostage is the mere ability of all citizens to access minimal affordable health care. Those who continue to support these assertions must be denied the public offices to do so.
22
Warnings from the Obama government not to travel to infected areas of Miami are a good idea. But I cannot help comparing this action to Obama's behavior during the Ebola health crisis.
Ebola was a very deadly disease for which there was no cure. It was wholly absent from the US and largely confined to a small portion of Africa. Yet Obama personally absolutely refused to protect Americans by restricting entry to the US from infected areas.
It seems Obama is quite willing to make Americans suffer disease risk or travel restrictions. But he is unwilling to protect Americans from deadly disease by restricting foreigners entry into the US.
Ebola was a very deadly disease for which there was no cure. It was wholly absent from the US and largely confined to a small portion of Africa. Yet Obama personally absolutely refused to protect Americans by restricting entry to the US from infected areas.
It seems Obama is quite willing to make Americans suffer disease risk or travel restrictions. But he is unwilling to protect Americans from deadly disease by restricting foreigners entry into the US.
1
"Yet Obama personally absolutely refused to protect Americans by restricting entry to the US from infected areas."
.
Yup, he sure did. And all the doomsayers turned out to be wrong. What do you know.
.
Yup, he sure did. And all the doomsayers turned out to be wrong. What do you know.
9
Citizen:
Because of Obama's refusal, Ebola did come to the US in just the manner that was feared (brought by unrestricted travelers from Ebola infected regions of Africa). By great good luck, neither infected person spread the disease to the public while they moved about within it (although 2 nurses were infected due to incompetent preparation by Obama's CDC)
Because of Obama's refusal, Ebola did come to the US in just the manner that was feared (brought by unrestricted travelers from Ebola infected regions of Africa). By great good luck, neither infected person spread the disease to the public while they moved about within it (although 2 nurses were infected due to incompetent preparation by Obama's CDC)
1
Should Obama prevent Floridians from entering other states? If you thought the president should have prevented people from countries with Ebola entering the U.S., then should he not ask Florida residents to please stay home and not infect the rest of the country?
1
Rick Scott relies on the small footprint of affected areas. Mosquitos don't travel far.
People do.
They get on airplanes. They commute to work. They shop. They get in the car and visit family and sit outside by the pool or the beach and picnic while they visit. And they take their infected blood to mosquitos located elsewhere which also won't travel far. They just will pass on the virus to someone else, in a new location, who will travel somewhere and establish another small, isolated footprint. And another.
Vector borne infections persist because either the vector travels and spreads it, or like West Nile and Zika, the infected travel and spread to new vector populations. That is just math and science, which is why our brainiacs in Congress don't comprehend it.
People do.
They get on airplanes. They commute to work. They shop. They get in the car and visit family and sit outside by the pool or the beach and picnic while they visit. And they take their infected blood to mosquitos located elsewhere which also won't travel far. They just will pass on the virus to someone else, in a new location, who will travel somewhere and establish another small, isolated footprint. And another.
Vector borne infections persist because either the vector travels and spreads it, or like West Nile and Zika, the infected travel and spread to new vector populations. That is just math and science, which is why our brainiacs in Congress don't comprehend it.
26
People who disbelieve the science of evolution really have no clue how complex the genomic interaction between humans and biota is, and how the biota has modified the human genome by processes like crispr.
Zika is stoppable only by developing an immune response with a vaccine and vaccinating a large fraction of the population. Failing that, most of us will have a bout with it, with whatever alterations to our own nervous systems and/or genomes that may entail.
Zika is stoppable only by developing an immune response with a vaccine and vaccinating a large fraction of the population. Failing that, most of us will have a bout with it, with whatever alterations to our own nervous systems and/or genomes that may entail.
10
Panic orchestrated by NYT with horror move photo of jogger running by source of evil lurking in the stagnant puddle. And all the comments confirm the desired closed loop of reaction. This problem was caused by the obstructionist Republican Congress.
6
Oh come on. It takes about a week for most mosquito eggs to become larvae and then actual flying insects. In the kind of heat going on in the area where this picture was taken, that water isn't even there now.
2
While the Zika virus takes hold in the US, congressional Republicans, who continue to avoid any measure of responsible legislation, are on vacation, including my (former) congressman Erik Paulsen.
22
Cool. Let's promote a Tea Party Convention at the Fountainbleau Hotel... In the epicenter of tne new Mosquito Coast.
1
Why are smug, shallow people making silly partisan insults about such a serious problem?
Don't you realise that this is only going to get worse? What effect do you think it has on people's morale, on their hopes, to be afraid to have children because of some terrible disease?
Read "Children of Men". Things are going to get much worse.
Don't you realise that this is only going to get worse? What effect do you think it has on people's morale, on their hopes, to be afraid to have children because of some terrible disease?
Read "Children of Men". Things are going to get much worse.
6
Nature responds to human overpopulation.
10
Listen. People have options for keeping insects off of them. And people have options about having children.
I am not their keepers anymore.
I am quite sure that remarkable viruses will emerge as the Earth warms.
I have no idea why anyone would have a child at the moment, and I want nothing to do with it especially financially.
So there.
I am not their keepers anymore.
I am quite sure that remarkable viruses will emerge as the Earth warms.
I have no idea why anyone would have a child at the moment, and I want nothing to do with it especially financially.
So there.
1
Clearly, you have never been in a tropical environment.
1
Rick Scott's presumed objections were a major element in the CDC's refusal to issue American guidelines consistent with the WHO's advice months ago. Now, Marco Rubio will get lots more publicity for his proposed ban on abortions for women who contract Zika. To all appearances, undue religious influence on public health policy has produced public ignorance and a looming disaster.
It's about time that Florida political leaders' theocratic tendencies were aired openly, and not concealed under flimsy claims of superior knowledge of health matters.
It's about time that Florida political leaders' theocratic tendencies were aired openly, and not concealed under flimsy claims of superior knowledge of health matters.
16
You are all so silly.
There is no Zika.
Your Republican led Senate and House said there isn't and went on vacation.
They also say there is no climate change either, but there still is an Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Santa.
There is no Zika.
Your Republican led Senate and House said there isn't and went on vacation.
They also say there is no climate change either, but there still is an Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Santa.
14
I read both sides of the aisle. The only way to know what's really going on. Unfortunately , the rhetoric expressed in this comments is due to the corrupt media and the fact that democrats seems to follow blindly all the rhetoric of the party without investigating for themselves. A bill for Zola would have been passed if the democratic operatives hadn't wrapped it up with planned parenthood money. The news reporting conveniently leaves that out. Wake up and do your own homework and stop copying from the next guy. Yes the Republicans want a mass Zola epidemic.... Does that really make any sense to anyone? Not everything is political and the electorate needs to grow up.
Zika is also transmitted sexually. So, it follows that sex partners of women trying to get pregnant (or otherwise not using birth control) should also not travel to endemic areas. The recommendations seem short sighted in this regard.
8
Anyone stung by that mosquito carries the virus, can move around the country, be bitten by another mosquito, who then has the virus from the victims blood to spread anywhere the mosquito flies and bites. Dominoes anyone?
1
It bothers me they are okay with spraying chemicals (banned in Europe and that people have fought to not have sprayed in Brazil) in the poor neighborhoods of Miami, while claiming the chemicals are safe. But they don't want to spray them in the richer neighborhood. These chemicals are probably not safe and should not be sprayed in ANY neighborhood. Why is it okay to spray the poor but not the rich? Ugh.
11
It's not that officials don't want to treat the "richer neighborhood" of Miami Beach for mosquitoes; it's because it can't be done in an effective way. Allow me to explain why.
In populous communities with mostly low-built structures like Miami, a fleet of planes flies overhead routinely during the wee hours of the night in season, dispensing effective and safe mosquito sprays. Most people are indoors and the air is still, so it's an ideal time and circumstance for controlling the pests and their larvae. Cities and counties get a big bang for the bucks they spend on this method.
Mosquito control on Miami Beach is another matter. Developers have built dozens of high-rise hotels and condo buildings that make aerial spraying physically impossible. Those same structures also cause the ocean breezes to compress and funnel between them, creating the Venturi effect of higher wind speed. These conditions make daytime ground spraying the only way to go: an unpleasant, labor intensive and costly operation that isn't as effective. Who is going to pay for that? It's under discussion.
IMHO the truly chic in South Beach are the ones following the CDC's recommendations: wear long sleeves and pants, use DEET mosquito repellent regularly, and practice safe sex UFN. Until we know a lot more about the Zika virus than we do now -- we're in the early AIDS stage about that -- that's all any of us can do.
In populous communities with mostly low-built structures like Miami, a fleet of planes flies overhead routinely during the wee hours of the night in season, dispensing effective and safe mosquito sprays. Most people are indoors and the air is still, so it's an ideal time and circumstance for controlling the pests and their larvae. Cities and counties get a big bang for the bucks they spend on this method.
Mosquito control on Miami Beach is another matter. Developers have built dozens of high-rise hotels and condo buildings that make aerial spraying physically impossible. Those same structures also cause the ocean breezes to compress and funnel between them, creating the Venturi effect of higher wind speed. These conditions make daytime ground spraying the only way to go: an unpleasant, labor intensive and costly operation that isn't as effective. Who is going to pay for that? It's under discussion.
IMHO the truly chic in South Beach are the ones following the CDC's recommendations: wear long sleeves and pants, use DEET mosquito repellent regularly, and practice safe sex UFN. Until we know a lot more about the Zika virus than we do now -- we're in the early AIDS stage about that -- that's all any of us can do.
Why wont Governor Scott allow Florida's state heath officials to speak to the public about this?
What does he fear they will say?
What does he fear they will say?
20
"let's keep it in perspective".... is what Rick Scott offers to the women, the mothers and grandmothers, all parents terrified of Zika while he and his Republican Party eagerly look for political opportunity. Our government is not dysfunctional. The Republican Party is perverted. Republicans will not fund Zika prevention unless they can strangle Planned Parenthood. Consider the need for Planned Parenthood in this reproductive crisis. It is not safe to be pregnant in Zika zones, yet Republicans would not fund eradication of mosquitoes, prevention of the spread of the disease, or prevention of unwanted birth defects.
Here's the perspective: The Governor, the Republican Senate, the Republican House will cause the spread of this disease, increased abortions of damaged fetuses, increased life-long medical expenses to serve a virtual handful of religious zealots who want to impose their beliefs on America. Here's the perspective: harming the majority of Americans is worth the political bragging rights.
President Obama must demand action and make it plain that the harm done up til now was caused by Republicans.
Here's the perspective: The Governor, the Republican Senate, the Republican House will cause the spread of this disease, increased abortions of damaged fetuses, increased life-long medical expenses to serve a virtual handful of religious zealots who want to impose their beliefs on America. Here's the perspective: harming the majority of Americans is worth the political bragging rights.
President Obama must demand action and make it plain that the harm done up til now was caused by Republicans.
19
Mosquito and no-see-um suits are sold on Amazon. Walmart sells a mosquito head net for $5. Why doesn't the CDC recommend this for pregnant women? Why only chemicals and more chemicals? Fabric stores sell thin,sheer fabric. Wrap it around yourself or sew something to cover exposed parts. I read about a pregnant woman in Florida wearing a hoodie to go out. This way she is uncomfortably warm and her whole face and neck is still exposed. Dr. Faucci please order these mosquito net suits and give them to pregnant women in Florida. The money will be better spent than fumigating us with chemicals that give me asthma and don't even kill the mosquitoes.
6
Making sensuble recommendations to the readership of the NYT is not the issue. Try standing at any access point to Miami Beach and refusing to let anyone pass who is nor totally wrapped up in one of your Chandor garments. in case you haven't heard, the current spread of malaria is dirrctly related to the wirhdrawal of DDT from use in mosquito control. Come Let us Spray.
2
Impeach scotty, the worst thing that ever happened to florida was electing that heartless thief as governor
16
What about the rumors that Scott's wife has a big investment in a mosquito control company?
3
The incompetence, obstruction and ideological testing of responses to the Zika calamity in Florida suggests why we may fare poorly dealing with the far more serious challenges such as climate change and its consequences for mammalian life on this planet.
5
A good reason to start early voting.
6
Why are we talking only about mosquitoes carrying Zika from Florida to Northern states? Mosquitoes do not travel far from their place of birth, but tourists do. All it takes is for a someone infected in Florida to return to say New York to get bitten by a local mosquito. Are we so sure that northern mosquitoes cannot be carriers?
4
I'm pretty sure any day now the "scientists" are going to issue data saying that mosquitoes pick up and carry this virus by ingesting human blood in which it resides.
Not too hard to imagine. The insects are a vector, we're a vector.
Ho Hum.
Not too hard to imagine. The insects are a vector, we're a vector.
Ho Hum.
1
Thank you Congress, for continuing your obstructionist tactics (as promised by Mitch McConnell in 2008) and putting us all at risk, as Zika spreads.
14
Same words as always the GOP does nothing. Tweet it google, pinterest, reddit any the the GOP to do it's job in congress.
6
People, People, People.
When will we learn?
Republicans are incompetent.
When will we learn?
Republicans are incompetent.
15
Why didn't the GOP leaders in Congress allocate money to help combat the Zola virus before the left on a 7 week vacation??
11
Of course I went to Miami and South Beach many decades before Zika. A helicopter came down close to us and over the loudspeaker came "... Get your gear on..." Public nudity wasn't tolerated - even in the ocean. Now I'm canceling my car trip to Key West later this fall. Fewer cars? I doubt that will stop anyone who really needs to go there...
2
I'm Southern. So you can imagine our lively breakfast conversation when the zika outbreak in Miami was declared contained to a one block area last week.
4
I'm taking it that you're being facetious @GB NC
Congress is only happy when it's passing legislation that will help corporations and fund wars! Fast track for TPP but not to stem the tide of ZIKA.
They are pro-life....right!
They are pro-life....right!
15
Thank you Rick Scott. Thank you Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. Another disaster due to the racist obstructionism of the Republican Criiminal Organisation. Another reason to THROW THEM ALL OUT.
NO REPUBLICANS IN 2016!!! NONE! NOT ONE!?
NO REPUBLICANS IN 2016!!! NONE! NOT ONE!?
19
Unfortunately, this represents the apogee of liberal response.
1
People, people, read the medical literatures. This is not Ebola. It's transmitted from person to person mostly by sexual contact or by pregnancy. Yes, scary, Like hepatitis. How many people have died of influenza in the last year? How many of Zika? You should be much much much much more worried about the flu than the Zika.
3
How about we realistically worry about both? Why does it have to be one or the other?
3
This is much more frightening than Ebola. Ebola is terrifying but unless it gets a real foothold in an area it is much easier to keep out. This is going to be impossible to stop. It is impossible to kill all mosquitoes, or prevent oneself completely from being bitten. Thankfully colder weather is coming, because until we get a vaccine, the entire southwest of the U.S. Is going to be under the gun.
And as if we didn't have enough to worry about new studies show it effects the brains of adults too! I wasn't in the least worried about Ebola. I am quite worried about this.
And as if we didn't have enough to worry about new studies show it effects the brains of adults too! I wasn't in the least worried about Ebola. I am quite worried about this.
Have to repeat. Lead in the drinkable water should be the more major concern.
3
What are they thinking at the CDC? Who are they protecting with a travel advisory for pregnant women? How many people visit Miami Beach who aren't pregnant women? Won't some among all those other people be carrying Zika home with them to infect mosquitoes in their hometowns?
If we mounted a serious effort to contain this, any area with infected mosquitoes would be quarantined. At a minimum, every departing visitor should be tested and those with active infections detained until the threat they pose has passed.
The travel advisory for pregnant women guarantees that Zika will spread throughout the South (and anywhere there are susceptible mosquito populations), and sooner rather than later. Then, pregnant women won't need to travel to south Florida to become infected. The only thing being protected by this "travel advisory" is the south Florida tourist industry.
If we mounted a serious effort to contain this, any area with infected mosquitoes would be quarantined. At a minimum, every departing visitor should be tested and those with active infections detained until the threat they pose has passed.
The travel advisory for pregnant women guarantees that Zika will spread throughout the South (and anywhere there are susceptible mosquito populations), and sooner rather than later. Then, pregnant women won't need to travel to south Florida to become infected. The only thing being protected by this "travel advisory" is the south Florida tourist industry.
7
Well it's a good thing, really a blessing, that mosquitoes only bite card carrying Democrats. Believe me, when the smug Republican voters get bitten they will be quietly having their pregnant women find abortion providers. Just as they always have their mistresses.
8
We can only hope that your first sentence is true.
4
I'm waiting for the mayor of Miami Beach to require women to wear burkinis. In contrast to the Nice mayor who banned them.
1
Playing funding games with public health is a specialty of Republicans. They pretended to care about AIDS as thousands were dying.
Now the "family values" party throws pregnant women under the bus too.
Vote accordingly, if you care.
Now the "family values" party throws pregnant women under the bus too.
Vote accordingly, if you care.
12
And all the while Senator Rubio is on extended vacation .
5
The backwards part of this story is so many south Florida residents have been anti-Castro to this point.
Hit 'em in the pocket book though and all of a sudden Cubans are not so bad.
Hit 'em in the pocket book though and all of a sudden Cubans are not so bad.
1
Gov Scott is clearly sugarcoating a very serious health problem to shelter Florida's economy. That's not right. It's not the right thing to do for all those young couples planning or having children. It really shows a totally messed up set of priorities.
Marco Rubio's comment the other day that, in his opinion, women with diagnosed Zika babies, should not get abortions, is just as cold and uncaring. How does he think he is entitled to even offer his opinion what a young couple should do facing something as tragic as that? Shameful!
Marco Rubio's comment the other day that, in his opinion, women with diagnosed Zika babies, should not get abortions, is just as cold and uncaring. How does he think he is entitled to even offer his opinion what a young couple should do facing something as tragic as that? Shameful!
9
If Governor Scott really cared about pregnant women, he would provide abortions for all Zika-infected women, no questions asked. Until that happens, women should simply avoid getting pregnant. Condoms are cheaper than caring for a babies with shrunken brains.
4
The most heart breaking thing I read about Zikia was by a woman who was living in Miami and pregnant. It is a reign of terror. Your doctor may not understand the tests for Zikia, the Florida health department is slow on the uptake driving a woman just near insanity as she ricochets around Miami trying to find the right test and the right person to interpret the results. The CDC is basically saying avoid Miami if you are pregnant or wanting to get pregnant. Every pregnant woman probably should prepare to get tested because there are cases of Zikia in nearly all states. Look any decent statistician can give you the odds on getting the virus and then having child born as a microcephalic. OK, so don't panic say all the guys to pregnant women. maybe 50 women a day in Puerto Rico are getting the virus. If you are pregnant, you are scared and alone. As for spaying for mosquitos, that is county by county, some counties will spay well, some will do it poorly. One per cent of pregnant women with Zikia will experience some kind of birth complication, there is no vaccine against Zikia and no hope of one for years. The only advice for pregnant women is pray you live a county that sprays well.
Clean up your house, wear insect repellent, and practice safe sex. Guys you could be a Zikia Harry (as in Typhoid Mary). Remember we hate the government so we are not prepared for this. Oh for the March of dimes again. Too young to recall the MOD? Hope springs.
Clean up your house, wear insect repellent, and practice safe sex. Guys you could be a Zikia Harry (as in Typhoid Mary). Remember we hate the government so we are not prepared for this. Oh for the March of dimes again. Too young to recall the MOD? Hope springs.
CDC is suggesting that all pregnant women in the US be evaluated for Zika--check their website for the wording.
1
Let me make a point to you brainiacs that claim that funding erases viruses. One word: influenza. It kills; it has killed millions. It still kills thousands. Where is your outcry about Republican responsibility for that? Each year, when flu deaths are published, do you rush to blame Republicans? No. Why? Because it is neither logical nor truthful. Each winter, after the flu season starts, it hits my state of Florida late - after the winter tourists start arriving. Do we blame your Republican leaders as we bury people here? No. Why? Because we are logical and truthful about viruses.
3
We have a vaccine for influenza -- we do not for Zika due to lack of funding.
1
Exactly how are these two things parallel? Flu is impossible to conpletely eradicate because it mutates quickly, and has an ongoing reservoir in people and domesticated mammals. still a ton of money is spent on flu research.
Zika is a newer infection that does not yet have a foothold in the US, may be entirely eliminable, or at least vaccine preventable, and has not yet been thoroughly studied. We need to spend resources to see what we can do to limit it as a problem.
Is your argument seriously that because we have problems we haven't yet solved, we shouldn't even attempt to solve new problems that come up? Because that's what it sounds like, and that's what Republicans are doing.
Zika is a newer infection that does not yet have a foothold in the US, may be entirely eliminable, or at least vaccine preventable, and has not yet been thoroughly studied. We need to spend resources to see what we can do to limit it as a problem.
Is your argument seriously that because we have problems we haven't yet solved, we shouldn't even attempt to solve new problems that come up? Because that's what it sounds like, and that's what Republicans are doing.
1
CDC officials noticed a press release on Wednesday but "with the time difference ... were not able to talk to Taiwanese officials until 6 a.m. Thursday" -- which was 6p.m. in Taiwan, after the close of their working day. Isn't the CDC working this around the clock? A call at 9p.m. Florida time on Wednesday would have caught Taiwan at the beginning of the day. Why waste 9 hours?
1
And when will the Zika skeeters reach Donny T's Mar a Lago resort?
10
"And the Band Played On..." Randy Shilts' reporting of the unravelling of the AIDS crisis seems to be making a deja vu in Florida (inept Republican government, clueless Republican governor, "no need to worry," fake reassurances from Republican public officials.... Thirty years later, have we learned nothing? Apparently not. Prepare for the worst. Sorry to be pessimistic, but I have been through this sort of "health crisis" once before....
6
Many, many, many of us have, deja vu st. ronnie raygun.
2
Seems that Rick Scott is taking his cues from Mayor Larry Vaughn in Jaws. "I'm only trying to say that Amity is a summer town. We need summer dollars. Now, if the people can't swim here, they'll be glad to swim at the beaches of Cape Cod, the Hamptons, Long Island..."
6
We knew this was public health threat was coming to the US. Congress has yet to act. Meanwhile tourists are making alternate travel plans. Young people and families will be moving out of state because of this public health risks. Why would anybody want to take a chance on the unknown when there are other places without the risks.
5
How about an infusion of cash from Disney to kill the mosquitoes and work on a vaccine?
3
People need to calm down. Gov. Scott is just putting together the details of a plan how to monetize and privatize this public health emergency. Then the Wonders of the Free Market will make all you doomsayers eat your words.
I am sure we will be told, tout suite, that tax cuts for businesses will resolve this little matter.
I am sure we will be told, tout suite, that tax cuts for businesses will resolve this little matter.
13
@pjc. Spot on! Maybe scott could donate the 250M he stole from medicare to pay for fixing what could have been avoided.
6
Reality check noting last forever where seeing huge increase in mosquito in new york .Ive got a zapper in back yard an its alway ss covered with dead mosquito every day
2
Zika has been around for decades. Why has its effect changed with a suddenness not generally found in evolution? Why are doctors in the area of Brazil hardest hit now saying that they doubt that Zika alone is the cause of the birth defects reported months ago? Why aren't we reading about subsequent waves of micro-encephalitic babies in Brazil and in places like Puerto Rico where they are reporting that 25% of the population has now been infected with Zika? By now, given the virus's spread in Latin America and the Caribbean, shouldn't there be many thousands of babies with severe birth defects? There is a lot that is not being challenged about the causal relationship between Zika and microcephaly. Who benefits from the intermittent virus panics lately inflicted on world populations?
3
Yes! This Zika panic is obviously just another plot created by grant hungry scientists to get government money! Just like Global warming, and the earlier panic created about CFCs destroying the ozone layer!
Cross Florida off my bucket list.
14
Rick Scott seems poorly informed. Just dry up some puddles and spray bug repellant on and you don't have to worry? Seriously?
10
Make no mistake. The Zika virus is going to cost this nation dearly in medical bills for the poor infants who will be born impaired and in a precipitous fall in birth rates due to fear of pregnancy in the coming months and years. Both issues could cripple the economy, when coupled with the anti-imigrant fervor on the right.
Who's to blame for the inaction by our government to this point? Once again, we have the Republican lunatics occupying the House and Senate, obstructing the funding that Obama, and Democrats, asked for months ago; playing politics by adding language to the funding bills that had no reason to be there, and was sure to be opposed by Democrats. The same Republican legislators who voted against funds for Hurricane Sandy relief. VOTE THEM OUT!
Who's to blame for the inaction by our government to this point? Once again, we have the Republican lunatics occupying the House and Senate, obstructing the funding that Obama, and Democrats, asked for months ago; playing politics by adding language to the funding bills that had no reason to be there, and was sure to be opposed by Democrats. The same Republican legislators who voted against funds for Hurricane Sandy relief. VOTE THEM OUT!
35
The Congress will act as soon as Zika shows up in Kansas and Wisconsin.
65
And Ohio. Let's not forget ... Paul Ryan...
2
or Palm Beach
So let's remember.
Obama WH requested money for Mosquito, and Republican congress put that request on hold.
Guess what , It is Obama's fault.
Obama WH requested money for Mosquito, and Republican congress put that request on hold.
Guess what , It is Obama's fault.
13
The end is nigh, well lets just wrap it up.
The last meal will be made of steaks, lobster and salmon and your favorite beverage.
North America was defeated by a mosquito will be our epitaph.
The last meal will be made of steaks, lobster and salmon and your favorite beverage.
North America was defeated by a mosquito will be our epitaph.
1
One million people did worldwide from malaria every year. No headline. No government mandate. Because they don't live in Miami Beach.
3
Does anyone think that all US Zika cases have been identified?
The genie is out of the bottle.
Humans have Zika and they will travel throughout the US and be bitten by mosquitoes capable of carrying Zika.
The persistence of life ensures Zika being spread to the entire range of mosquito carriers, if not this summer, next year or thereafter.
Congress needs to fund vaccine research.
The genie is out of the bottle.
Humans have Zika and they will travel throughout the US and be bitten by mosquitoes capable of carrying Zika.
The persistence of life ensures Zika being spread to the entire range of mosquito carriers, if not this summer, next year or thereafter.
Congress needs to fund vaccine research.
13
Maybe Obama can make it to Miami Beach, I heard they have some nice golf courses there instead of the ones under water in Louisiana. Maybe Hillary can spare the time for another phone call like the one she made to Louisiana in between her naps.
1
I just watched " Jaws" again, and was struck by the resemblance of the actions of the mayor of Amity and governor Scott over the non-existent danger that the shark and zika virus posed to the tourists
15
That the Republican governor is downplaying the risk in order to preserve tourist $s is not surprising, but is disgusting.
16
I wonder why the NYT has not reported yet on the new research just coming out on the possible impact of the Zika visor on adults, not just pregnant women. Symptoms are less obvious and probably more long term but the effects on the brains of adults are also nefarious (memory loss making to Alzheimer). It is NOT merely like an innocuous flu on adults. Hope I see this pretty soon in the Health or Science sections, sooner rather than later. The NYT is already behind on this line of news. Coverage is too distracted perhaps with the Olympics and the elections.
10
Right. And, apparently adult Zika carriers, including men, can transmit the virus both to sex partners and to mosquitos, Then, the mosquitos, and probably the sex partners...can everbody spell "geometric?"
3
Correction to previous post. Scott cut the mosquito control budget in 2011, not 2007.
15
On the other hand, Gov. Scott apparently increased the "slime our waters" budget. BTW, with Zika moving in, rising sea levels eroding the beaches, and flooding the streets of Miami Beach, and toxic algae slime hitting beaches, does Gov. Scott still not allow state environmental protection employees to say "global warming?" And is the Gov. still rejecting the expansion of Medicaid to poor Floridians, paid for under Obamacare?
Speaking of slime, when is this governor's term up?
Speaking of slime, when is this governor's term up?
5
No, Congressmen. Don't let this health crisis spoil your month-long vacation. There'll be plenty of time to still ignore it during the few weeks you show up on the job, for a few hours a day, this fall before taking off to campaign for another term.
17
The idea that the Zika virus is striking Florida and our Congress and the Florida governor are asleep at the wheel is astonishing.
Is this a peek into the future if Ebola or cholera hit our shores?
I'm wondering where my own senators McCain and Flake are on this issue.
We don't worry about mosquitos so much in Arizona, but for pity's sake -- this is a crisis in America! For all the talk about national security, we need to call out each of our representatives for being AWOl on this issue.
What does it take? Impeachment??
Is this a peek into the future if Ebola or cholera hit our shores?
I'm wondering where my own senators McCain and Flake are on this issue.
We don't worry about mosquitos so much in Arizona, but for pity's sake -- this is a crisis in America! For all the talk about national security, we need to call out each of our representatives for being AWOl on this issue.
What does it take? Impeachment??
16
The Republican in Congress are pro-life, don't you know? Pro life --horse feathers. They are pro partisan division. They don't care if people die or babies are born permanently damaged. They don't care if humans are harmed. They just want to make sure no money is spent saving humans. Killing humans is fine....war funding, tax breaks for polluters; laws to exonerate companies that sell poison instead of safe food or drugs....
They are pro life alright, corporate life!
They are pro life alright, corporate life!
9
The Zombie Apocalypse could happen and Rick Scott would be saying, "Let's not blow this out of proportion, the zombies are only in certain neighbourhoods, and they're slow so it's easy to out-run them. No cause for alarm folks..."
58
GOP obstructionists Ryan and McConnell dragging their feet on this impending crisis is utterly disgusting. These cowards be tarred and feathered.
17
Planned Parenthood. Those amazing folks who saved my future when I was single. They must be there to provide abortion to women who have been exposed. Not to do so condemns the woman for life.
12
Hm, Governor Rick Scott? Isn't he the GOP official who will not allow state employees to mention the words climate change or global warming in written or verbal reports? If so, we've certainly got the right man in charge for the Zika scare.
10
So the Zika infected mosquitos are only found north of 8th street. Glad to know they won't cross the street since I'm staying on 7th street.
7
Let's remember: Rick Scott the former CEO of Columbia, the one who committed the largest medicare fraud in history and who instead behind bars continues to use the millions from his fraud rage war against Obamacare. He together with his Republican buddies in Congress have miserably failed to provide adequate funding for Zika and come back to make funding legislation. Let's say it how it is: The Republicans are responsible for the rapid expansion of Zika, they are responsible for every baby that is born with birth defects.
It is not the first time and for the last 6 years they are opposing anything meaningful to better the American People. Scott, Ryan, McConnell, you are a disgrace for this nation.
It is not the first time and for the last 6 years they are opposing anything meaningful to better the American People. Scott, Ryan, McConnell, you are a disgrace for this nation.
17
"That’s out of a state that takes 15 hours to drive from Key West to Pensacola, so let’s put things in perspective."
ya know, I used to have a car like that...
ya know, I used to have a car like that...
3
Yet a search of Fox News under, Florida Zika Virus, has "0 results found".
On the other hand, there are multiple articles about Hillary Clinton's emails. Not sure if women in Florida would be that concerned about emails, compared to their health.
On the other hand, there are multiple articles about Hillary Clinton's emails. Not sure if women in Florida would be that concerned about emails, compared to their health.
11
“stupidity has a knack of getting its way; as we should see if we were not always so much wrapped up in ourselves”
― Albert Camus, The Plague
We are on the verge of a potentially serious epidemic that could, among other things, leave many families in crisis as they look after children who will be born with life-long, devastating disabilities. Our political leaders have allowed the stupidity of other agendas to interfere with funding a robust response to this threat. Shame on them.
― Albert Camus, The Plague
We are on the verge of a potentially serious epidemic that could, among other things, leave many families in crisis as they look after children who will be born with life-long, devastating disabilities. Our political leaders have allowed the stupidity of other agendas to interfere with funding a robust response to this threat. Shame on them.
12
How incredibly dim-witted the Governor of Florida is. Did he really think that a mosquito could be contained in one small neighborhood? As they were out spraying people's yards with cans of OFF and trying to control puddles and standing water (the concept is absurd in Florida where it rains daily)- the bugs were flying over on the causeway to Miami Beach. As A Miami beach resident I am not surprised by the ineptitude of the state and local governments. It is time to get serious about this. Get the feds in NOW.
16
Where is congress?
13
Ummmmmmm...... Benghazi?
2
Asleep.
2
Trump asserts that Gov Scott has everything under control and that there's nothing to worry about. Everybody should be comforted since Trump knows more about the Zika situation than anybody else in the world.
15
Thank you Gov Rick Scott, who is more about partisan politics than about asking his Republican congressional conspirators to doing right by America!
11
...Forgot to mention Gov Rick Scott's contrary viewpoint and statements to those of the CDC...after all, when it comes to scientific knowledge, he still thinks he is the sharpest tool in the shed...come on down... spray yourself and don't stand near standing water...now that's a true wise man.
22
How can you tell a Republican Senator and Congressman/woman? They'll be the first to demand treatment, since they are elected federal officials, for their spouses, children and grandchildren who get pregnant and contract the Zika virus...and not care about anyone else.
27
Admittedly information arrived rather quickly on Friday and Governor Scott was returning from out of state, but release of new information on Zika infections in Miami Beach was slow and awkward, with local television stations well ahead of elected officials.
9
Staggering. There was a scientist who had a proposal to get ahead of this but our R controlled legislature shut it down. But I guess that require believing in science,which they don't, or having a budget that allows for disaster, which requires skill and taxes. This governor only knows how to sign bills to expand gun sales and use and all the other hard right R agenda. Can you imagine if the Ds had blocked a bill for Zika by inserting a poison pill what the Rs would be doing now making sure the public knew it? Ds are woefully inept at ever going on offense, especially when they're on the correct side as they clearly were here. And the feckless Rubio runs again. Why don't the Rs pretend they need to save Terri Shiavo or defund Planned Parenthood or defund Obamacare so they can get right back to work and do their job to save us from this paralyzing virus. And Ds, let the damn country know it! Say something!
39
if the virus severely and quickly affected men, I'm pretty sure the Republicans would have voted the money.
38
Follow the news from fair sources. These things are never black & white.
I would assume that about half of the damaged infants are male.
That said, perhaps if you modified your speculation to target the rich, you'd have a point.
That said, perhaps if you modified your speculation to target the rich, you'd have a point.
1
As you may know the instrument used to measure zika is the caliper, also useful in sizing melons. But we lean now zika infects adult brain cells. We learn adults hospitalized with zika are 43% more likely to commit suicide after they recover. We learn that mothers infected late in pregnancy can have babies with normal sized heads who later grow into microcephaly by one year. So we know toddlers and teenagers and young adults brains continue to change and calipers are not going to show what kind of life changing things happened inside their heads without more sensitive means. We should act decisively rather than wait for Disney PAC to hire congress. As we know, it can break two ways, denial and action. Denial can help the bottom line so be an alarmist.
7
Republicans want small government and private solutions to public problems. Why doesn't Florida's republican governor contract out to businesses to sell vaccines to whoever can afford them? Why is Florida looking to the Federal government for help? Does it want a handout? Republican Congress must cut money from some budgeted program to compensate for any help the Feds have to give to the state of Florida. Live up to your principles. Same for flooded Louisiana. Private profiteers should be selling their assistance to those whose lives are on the line. No handouts! No one ever gave me anything! Right, Republicans? At least Governor Scott is doing his best impression of the mayor in Jaws: "There's no problem here. Everyone back in the water! Ignore the scientists!"
52
I think if Gov. Scott just draws his firearm and stands his ground, and Donald Trump builds a wall across South Florida, with a moat on each side, everything will be fine. It will all be made great again.
If Florida's economy crashes with the tourism, that will be Hillary Clinton's fault. There were no Zika mosquitos in Florida before she served as Secretary of State. Note to would-be condo buyers in South Florida: Hold off a while. Prices are coming down.
If Florida's economy crashes with the tourism, that will be Hillary Clinton's fault. There were no Zika mosquitos in Florida before she served as Secretary of State. Note to would-be condo buyers in South Florida: Hold off a while. Prices are coming down.
1
@Jim
Very good.
Very good.
I said before all this happened that we should limit travel to and form infected countries. It seems crazy to tell people what to do but I had a friend spend two months in Colombia and had no issues going there or returning. The disease can go without symptoms for a month.. sometimes I just feel like we're stupid. Did we really think this wasn't going to happen ?!
14
At least the Zika thing can't be blamed on the president, not this year.
Between 2001 and 2008, every last thing that didn't go perfectly was blamed on the president. Funny how that works.
Between 2001 and 2008, every last thing that didn't go perfectly was blamed on the president. Funny how that works.
2
If it weren't for the tragic consequences of the innocent, one one wonderful consequence is that Florida will be going bankrupt as people here and around the world kill their tourist industry.
23
I can think of another wonderful consequence: People stop moving here in droves. By the way, we don't stop visiting New York because winter tourists, such as New Yorkers, bring influenza here every winter during your Christmas breaks - and the flu kills people. But then, we Floridians understand how viruses work.
2
VW, Your comment smacked of something else I heard recently. Like saying "what a horrible day it would be" if someone shot Clinton after the 2nd Amend people did as suggested. Don't allow Trump to show you how to make it okay to wish ill on others, as long as you have a caveat.
1
Governor Scott advises that we keep this in perspective. I totally agree. When you go to vote in November, keep in perspective that it was a Republican Congress which refused to pass a simple bill to provide funding to fight the spread of Zika. And remember that it was Republican Governor Scott (with the support of Marco Rubio) who refused Federal support for Medicaid, thus guaranteeing that more people with Zika will be wandering around untreated, providing mosquitoes with even more sources of Zika to spread around.
Yes, by all means, heed Gov. Scott's advice and keep this all in perspective when you vote in November..
Yes, by all means, heed Gov. Scott's advice and keep this all in perspective when you vote in November..
115
It's the Ds who've blocked the legislation, but liberals will never admit it.
There is no treatment for Zika, so what's Medicaid got to do with this. If you read the story, you'd know that Miami is already doing everything it can to stop the disease. So congratulations for proving progressives are on the same evolutionary plane as Trump supporters.
It is also Marco Rubio who said he would deny an abortion to a woman with a fetus severely brain damaged from Zika - a fetus that would only live a short time after birth. Please do keep this in mind in November!
1
Meanwhile, Republicans refused to pass CSC additional money, refuse to come back to Washington to pass the funding,
17
How many of you gave a darn when DDT was banned for use in Africa by wealthy countries that did not have mosquito problems, leading to the deaths of millions of children? Oh, just send them mosquito nets; that will do the trick. Yes, and as one author wrote, the banning of DDT led to the equivalent of filling a 747 with children and crashing it into a mountain on a daily basis. Are you ready for serious chemical control? If you want to kill insects by the droves in tropical climates during the warm, rainy season, then you may wish to ponder chemical controls that also have dangers of side effects. I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but voting Republicans out of office has never killed a mosquito.
6
Ooooh! It's on now, Bogara. Aside from the Republican Party, guns, religion, old white men, the western canon, SUVs, and the South, there are few things that make the average liberal more angry than the facts about DDT being at odds with their relentlessly good intentions.
The facts are that DDT is incredibly effective at mosquito control and banning it left Africans at far greater risk of contracting deadly malaria. That's not just me saying that but that's also the World Health Organization saying that. In fact, on 9/15/06 the WHO announced that it had reinstituted DDT use for mosquito control purposes, especially indoors. The following quote from the WHO statement resonates:
We must take a position based on the science and the data," said Dr Arata Kochi, Director of WHO’s Global Malaria Programme. “One of the best tools we have against malaria is indoor residual house spraying. Of the dozen insecticides WHO has approved as safe for house spraying, the most effective is DDT.”
The facts are that DDT is incredibly effective at mosquito control and banning it left Africans at far greater risk of contracting deadly malaria. That's not just me saying that but that's also the World Health Organization saying that. In fact, on 9/15/06 the WHO announced that it had reinstituted DDT use for mosquito control purposes, especially indoors. The following quote from the WHO statement resonates:
We must take a position based on the science and the data," said Dr Arata Kochi, Director of WHO’s Global Malaria Programme. “One of the best tools we have against malaria is indoor residual house spraying. Of the dozen insecticides WHO has approved as safe for house spraying, the most effective is DDT.”
1
Are you seriously arguing that DDT should never have been banned?
Brave you are. Agricultural societies worked in those DDT sprayed areas. The birth defects were horrendous.
Would *you* spray DDT in your garden, and then spend afternoons working in it?
Brave you are. Agricultural societies worked in those DDT sprayed areas. The birth defects were horrendous.
Would *you* spray DDT in your garden, and then spend afternoons working in it?
2
There is a place for insecticides in mosquito control, but DDT is not an appropriate one for this purpose. Modern insecticides do not have the devastating environmental effect of DDT. I am constantly surprised by the number of people who otherwise demand strong evidence, but end up falling for the unsupported DDT story.
2
The Republicans don't realize how dangerous Zika is for everyone. Soon mosquitos will carry the virus from Florida to the Gulf States then to the Plains and then the East and the West. No one will be safe, especially pregnant women. If they think that prayers from the Christian Right will spare their women folk, I have news for them. Religiosity is no replacement for a Zika vaccine. The sooner the Republicans realize that, the sooner we can contain this pathogen. Will the GOP leadership call them back to Washington before the crisis gets out of hand? I wouldn't bet the farm on it. They'll tell the gullible that its God's Will and their base will believe it. How sad.
35
I agree with the eventual spread of the virus thoughout the USA, except that. in my estimates, it may well be the East Coast up to Maine, as summers there can be very warm and humid. In the West you have hot, dry summers, and a few pools of water in gardens won't help mosquitoes much.
But be assured of one thing: once a pathogen has a foothold in a country, it won't leave. And this pathogen is going to mutate - viruses are excellent at this - so you had better get to work on a yearly innoculation programme, always hoping you have chosen the right immunization for the virus of the year. Wonder whether the Rs will agree to this.
But be assured of one thing: once a pathogen has a foothold in a country, it won't leave. And this pathogen is going to mutate - viruses are excellent at this - so you had better get to work on a yearly innoculation programme, always hoping you have chosen the right immunization for the virus of the year. Wonder whether the Rs will agree to this.
1
CMD you are correct. Zika, like the flu virus, will change on a yearly basis, forcing American researchers to approximate what strain will strike in the spring and summer. Wherever we find mosquitoes, we'll find Zika. Looking at Zika and it's spread, I believe it may mirror the spread of West Nile. The West maybe spared, but wherever they had issues with Malaria in the historical past, they'll have a problem with Zika. Unfortunately, far too many don't realize how pervasive Malaria and Yellow Fever used to be in the United States. But you nailed it concerning Zika's nature and how it will change.
How long does it take a virus from a mosquito bite to populate the host enough that the next mosquito to bite the host is likely to gain some virus to bring to the next host it feeds off of?
3
The Republican Congress: another showcase of 'conservative compassion'. Reckless, ruthless, stupid.
Trying to use this as a transport for their party agenda is bordering to criminal.
Trying to use this as a transport for their party agenda is bordering to criminal.
38
Well said Richard!! The Republican party is broken!
Many third world countries do a better job of public health than this.
Yet, our political class in DC, to whom we send 3.5 trillion dollars of our hard-earned money every year, is not embarrassed. What an utterly unbelievable display of shamelessness!
Yet, our political class in DC, to whom we send 3.5 trillion dollars of our hard-earned money every year, is not embarrassed. What an utterly unbelievable display of shamelessness!
22
It's interesting that your photo of a man jogging through the affected area shows large ponds of standing water in the adjacent street - which is exactly what we don't need to have there.
11
@ Stan Chaz: Perhaps you have never visited Florida during its long summer period, which is called the rainy season for a reason; it rains almost daily. Storms usually form quickly, rain hard but briefly, then go away -- so yes, there will be water on hard surfaces until it drains or evaporates. Not much we can do about that, but we should fix or get rid of anything that holds even a few drops of standing water ASAP.
2
Majority congress people, bent upon their never-ending quest to destroy Obama, spent all their time spinning wheels of hatred and dissent Then they waltzed off for their highly paid long vacations without bothering to fund any help for Zika. Obama did use funds for Zika by executive order. Yet they expect to be re-elected.
36
Wait for it-the memes condemning Obama's use of executive orders!
I see no mention of the homeless population in Miami. Is there any plan to shelter them from prolonged outdoor exposure?
19
There is one approach to control the article did not mention--GMO mosquitos. There have been successful trials of in the Florida Keys, and the tests drew local opposition. It does seem to be an approach that avoids pesticide resistance, and has no real, only imagined, bad effects.
7
It was crucial, absolutely crucial, that Congress act on the basis of the President's statements in January, let alone his request for funding in February.
Now, and thanks to Republicans and to the shabby likes of Trump, it's too late.
Fortunately, the flooding in Louisiana's swampier land sill in no way spread skeeters, and neither will Ryan Lochte coming home.
Congratulations, idiots.
Now, and thanks to Republicans and to the shabby likes of Trump, it's too late.
Fortunately, the flooding in Louisiana's swampier land sill in no way spread skeeters, and neither will Ryan Lochte coming home.
Congratulations, idiots.
12
The flooding in Louisiana will attract mosquitoes. Those insects are so lightweight that a stronger wind can carry them for many miles. Louisiana is full of swamps anyway, so, believe me, the Aedes skeeter will arrive, and there is nothing you can do against it.
The Republicans have denied funding for research on the Zika virus as they connect the funding to Planned Parenthood funding. Really...This is one of the more nonsensical moves the Far Right could do.
As far as limiting visits to specific blocks in South Florida is just not acceptable. Mosquitos do not read street signs and can move around as they will.
There are now thoughts that this virus effects adult brains as well. This really has to be taken more seriously. It is hard to believe we are in the 21st century.
As far as limiting visits to specific blocks in South Florida is just not acceptable. Mosquitos do not read street signs and can move around as they will.
There are now thoughts that this virus effects adult brains as well. This really has to be taken more seriously. It is hard to believe we are in the 21st century.
13
I was in FL in 2007 when Scott gutted the mosquitos control program, including a great mosquitos research department which was disbanded by lack of funding. All this was part of his Teaparty ideology to reduce the size of government. (The highspeed rail between Tampa and Miami also fell victim.) Shortly thereafter mosquito control was basically terminated in a state known for it's swarms of disease carrying insects. This is what happens when ideologues show disregard for the health of their constituents. Although Scott, the Fed baiting Governor, is now screaming for Federal assistance, let no one forget that a good part of this disaster should be laid on his doorstep.
27
Scott and the legislature have more or less restored funding, which varies wildly from county to county. Miami-Dade County, until now, has been on the low side.
1
Uh huh. Rick Scott became Governor of Florida in 2011 and before that worked in the private sector. The Tea Party became a national force starting in 2009. Perhaps your memory is playing tricks on you.
1
Months ago the administration and Democrats asked for more funding to combat the Zika virus danger.
Our dear Republicans declined that request and went on vacation, knowing full well that any pregnant women infected by that virus might give birth to a child with severe brain damage.
Now these very same people argue that women having been infected by the virus should carry their pregnancy to term.
The brutality of these people - based on their antiquated religious beliefs - is anything but 'Christian'. These old men don't have to care for a severely lifelong handicapped child.
As Ghandi said: "I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.
Our dear Republicans declined that request and went on vacation, knowing full well that any pregnant women infected by that virus might give birth to a child with severe brain damage.
Now these very same people argue that women having been infected by the virus should carry their pregnancy to term.
The brutality of these people - based on their antiquated religious beliefs - is anything but 'Christian'. These old men don't have to care for a severely lifelong handicapped child.
As Ghandi said: "I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.
30
All pregnant women in the affected areas should be paid by the state government to move immediately to other housing until their babies are born. This is what a "pro-life," "family values" government would do for its mothers and unborn babies. Let's see if conservatives put their money where their values are.
15
And to where? You need the logistics to move and thousands of pregnant women out of state while ensuring that they get the care they need when they bear their children.
1
What a load of alarmist garbage. If Zika was so dangerous the Brazilians and others in South America would be dropping like flies, and that's just not happening. As usual the corrupt government agencies like CDC etc are up to their stupid and evil tricks. What's a thousand times more dangerous is the toxic chemicals they spray in neighborhoods to address this nonexistent bogus threat, the prescription poisons that the corrupt FDA and their psycho pharm buddies are murdering the public with, and the toxic concoctions the criminal agribusiness mafia sprays as pesticides and herbicides on their Frankenstein GMO crops which is sickening and killing everyone in the US, as well as massively destroying the environment that people depend on.
2
Seems you are a bit behind in your research. No one is dropping, dying etc from zika. If you are bit, you may have the virus and have mo sypmtoms. You can pass it on to a partner via sex. It is causing thousands of birth defects including brain defects in newborns. That is the primary risk. There is also a suspicion it can cause GBS. Google that one...
3
We spend 1% of health care dollars on public health, but only public health can stop an epidemic from shutting down a country or state. No doubt, millionaire Republican Governor Rick Scott nickel and dimed public health asking their health dept to do more with less. Now, caught with an underfunded department, they are about to experience what happens when public health is asked to play catch up while tourism tanks and pregnant women and families flee the area. Add to the misery a federal government that could not even vote on a Zika response bill before going on a several month summer vacation.
Pathetic is too kind a word.
Pathetic is too kind a word.
28
The good people of Florida voted for this governor, and they've helped elect many of the Republicans in Congress. They elected them, despite the very open declaration of priorities and policies proposed by Republicans. Low taxes, defund contraception/maternal care/public health services. Indeed, drown the government.
So while this is a public health disaster in the making, the good people of Florida don't want a public health response. And if they do, well, it's too late.
So while this is a public health disaster in the making, the good people of Florida don't want a public health response. And if they do, well, it's too late.
19
We DO want change -- and that desire is reflected in the latest presidential polls. Sadly, we are stuck with our do-nothing, spend-nothing governor until his second term ends in two years, but dissatisfied GOP voters are realizing they can change their overly regressive national and state level representatives now. That, along with an influx of traditionally Democratic-voting Northerners, Puerto Ricans and American-born Latinos should push Florida into the blue column -- and hopefully, into the 21st century.
2
Welcome to climate change, ladies and gentlemen. With 1000-year floods in Louisiana, Brazilian disease-carrying mosquitoes in Miami, and record-setting temperatures across the country, it's time everyone in this country recognized what's going on planet-wide. It used to take decades for a tropical disease to spread worldwide; now it takes a few months.
American conservatives are the only people on the planet who consistently deny the existence of climate change, and it's easy to understand why. Without the Koch brothers' petro-dollars, they'd have virtually no chance of winning another election. Rick Scott needs to wake up and smell the pesticide.
American conservatives are the only people on the planet who consistently deny the existence of climate change, and it's easy to understand why. Without the Koch brothers' petro-dollars, they'd have virtually no chance of winning another election. Rick Scott needs to wake up and smell the pesticide.
28
Welcome to a world where international travel and open borders guarantee that new diseases will arrive in America quickly. Why don't you blame the Republicans for jets and visas while you're at it.
2
And jets and visas are new?
How long before cases of Zika appear in other states like Louisiana, Georgia or the Carolina's?
Who in Congress put forth a vote that the members need to delay their seven week long vacation break until they have a proper plan on how to battle Zika? We know why the CDC funding did not go through. This is a perfect example of how Congress currently "works". Convoluted and effective at being ineffective.
No wonder the approval rating for Congress is in the teens. They earned it.
Who in Congress put forth a vote that the members need to delay their seven week long vacation break until they have a proper plan on how to battle Zika? We know why the CDC funding did not go through. This is a perfect example of how Congress currently "works". Convoluted and effective at being ineffective.
No wonder the approval rating for Congress is in the teens. They earned it.
21
Rubio, Rubio, wherefore art thou Rubio?
10
Lil Marco is busy denying abortion for any reason: incest, rape, health of the mother, and, now, he's on record saying that a mother carrying a Zika-infected baby is is also off-limits. See for all Republicans in Florida, and in the rest of the States, with few exceptions, "Life ends at birth."
15
Bring back DDT temporarily?
2
Easier to not elect a single Florida Republican. They're the ones blocking funding at the CDC for vaccine, control protocols for mosquito control.
12
Absolutely! The World Health Organization recommends indoor spraying of DDT as safe and effective for mosquito control.
2
The bourgeois travel birds, coming home to roost. Commenters in these pages scoffed at the rare (mine included) hard criticism of wanton international travel when the Zika microcephaly first hit our news cycles. This is not like bed bugs, Lyme Disease, or West Nile Virus even. To the scoffers, everyone who criticized the arrogant, even reckless travel urges during Ebola, was part racist part doofus, and the rest tin foil anti-vaxers and such. But growing up, there were many restrictions on travel and agricultural products for very good reasons! Those are all gone by the wayside as it impacts travel industry, airlines, and the wanton ooze of humanity flowing through the borders and climate zones. No one has much been exposed to what these babies with microcephaly look like. Anyone daring enough to hunt for the photos really should. It is really quite shocking, and international travel is spreading the issue to the unborn worldwide. Aside from the startling appearance of infants with incurably tiny heads, the disabilities and challenges for these children and their families and communities is devastating. Are y'all still going to be scoffing at that?
9
And what about homes to house these children when their ageing parents cannot care for them anymore, and there are no relatives willing to take them on because it would mean a lifetime sacrificed to caring for such a child? Those people who insist on stating that "but once they are born, their parents will love them just as much, if not even more, than their normal siblings" should show how compassionate they are and adopt these unfortunates their religious fanatism helped bring into the world.
Dear CMD, mosquitos and virus have no compassion nor religion. But these atheistic organisms are fanatically effective. One might suspect many times over that organisms have devastated entire swaths of humanity going back to the beginning, and this was of course long before bombs, bullets, or ballots. It's natures way of telling us something is wrong, not how we should vote.
The fact that Paul Ryan allowed the Congress to go on vacation is an absolute disgrace. These guys are paid a ton of money plus benefits and go on vacation during a national crisis!! Can a speaker be impeached?
66
Congress left for their 7 week summer vacation on July 18th without approving money for the Zika emergency.
- They'll return September 6 for 17 sessions.
- Then they'll be off for another 6 WEEKS from October 1 to November 14.
- Return to work for 4 days and go on the 1 week Thanksgiving recess.
- Then work for 10 days in December and go a 2 week Christmas recess
In 2016 the House of Representatives has a whopping 255 days off.
They meet only 110 days this year. (And probably half those days are being spent investigating Hillary for political purposes.)
http://www.majorityleader.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2016-MONTHLY-CA...
- They'll return September 6 for 17 sessions.
- Then they'll be off for another 6 WEEKS from October 1 to November 14.
- Return to work for 4 days and go on the 1 week Thanksgiving recess.
- Then work for 10 days in December and go a 2 week Christmas recess
In 2016 the House of Representatives has a whopping 255 days off.
They meet only 110 days this year. (And probably half those days are being spent investigating Hillary for political purposes.)
http://www.majorityleader.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2016-MONTHLY-CA...
22
Who else is on vacation Larry? Obama is golfing on Marha's Vineyard and Hillary hasn't been seen for days.
1
He can be un-elected on Nov 8.
1
That part of Florida is already sinking, so all that standing water - that's not due to climate change - will just make the mosquito problem worse.
15
How do members of our Congress justify pursuing Hilary Clinton for perjury in connection with the politically motivated - and otherwise pointless - matter of her e-mail servers, but cannot find the time or political will to fund and direct efforts to avoid a potentially massive human disaster?
45
Yes, and as soon as they return from their extended summer vacations, they will hold countless hearings on the ransom-for-hostage-return payments that happened months ago and are a done deal. Why? For more and more headlines and to make specious claims of Hillary's involvement to discredit her yet again before November. And nothing productive will get done...just throw some more of my hard-earned taxpaying dollars down the toilet.
Somehow I feel the Republicans inhabit a magical world. They don't get bit by mosquitoes. They don't ever need health care. Neither do their children. They tell me they pray on it, and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I am learning that it's really that simple. It must work, because how else do you support your legislators that put the entire country and the unborn at risk knowingly and willingly?
(Tongue firmly inserted in cheek.)
(Tongue firmly inserted in cheek.)
30
Will this refusal to govern and allocate the funds the president asked for last year be the time these republicans are voted out of office? At this point they are placing pregnant women and their unborn children in life threatening situation. Then they will insist that they give birth to a a child with severe deformities. All because the republicans in congress choose not to work with the President. Please vote them out!
38
If the world were just, only anti-government, anti-science, anti-vaccine and pro-climate change republicans would be put at risk by zika virus. Obama was not the one to block zika funding for the purpose of denying reproductive health care to millions of women. Unfortunately, we will all be called upon to deal with microencephaly. Let us now pray.
22
It's crucial that the proper steps be taken NOW, early. Especially with the many subclinical infections (transmissions) and the long incubation period. The public often does not grasp subclinical—below the radar—infections.
And it is unfortunate when state public officials play down the risk (with an eye on tourist dollars).
A physician MD
And it is unfortunate when state public officials play down the risk (with an eye on tourist dollars).
A physician MD
38
President Obama outlined the steps. $1.5 billion dollars. The Republican Congress decided to do it their way.
15
Mr. Obama was woefully slow in responding to the terrible ebola epidemic in west Africa.
I remember him sending John Kerry all over the map, recruiting to fight ISIS, when he should have been recruiting to fight ebola.
Then, when we finally got massive action and construction in west Africa, it was completely out of sync with the epidemic. A very poor history and response.
I remember him sending John Kerry all over the map, recruiting to fight ISIS, when he should have been recruiting to fight ebola.
Then, when we finally got massive action and construction in west Africa, it was completely out of sync with the epidemic. A very poor history and response.
Republicans are already dismissing abortion for potential cases of fetuses being diagnosed signs of Zika. I wonder if they will change their minds when they are faced with voters caring for severely disabled babies and young children? And how will they respond to the high costs of caring for those children and adults? Will they pony up the necessary funding or encourage reliance on church, family and market based solutions?
43
I've yet to see a post from a "limited government/government is the problem" Norquist/Trump/Ryan accolyte explain why the GOP is actually looking out for our interests by their inaction. After all, Thomas Jefferson got along without a funded CDC and modern medicine, shouldn't we?
29
Clearly Clinton (or Obama) will get blamed for any response. Too much federal envolvement. Or Not enough. Emails on private email about her humane concern about developmental challenged children resulting from Zina, etc etc etc. Good lord, the republicans are in the sewer trying to get out, yet the only way they know how to is to dig deeper, not know (really caring to know or trying to learn) that there are ladders outta there. No longer should people be saying 'god bless america' (lower case g and a on purpose) it's more like 'let's hope that sanity restores itself to the America political system (yes clearly directed at the right,as left has a conscious).
29
No time to think about the problem, other than to politicize? This is a desperate public health issue in the USA, in spite of the political cycle. If one or the other sides stops ranting long enough, maybe somethings can start to be done. This goes for high and low, that means, us with out voices muffled or muted by our politics. And that means them, the mostly ineffective politicians, their hands tied by politics.
1
"Just remove standing water and wear bug spray." Seriously? Does this person understand that the aedes aegypti mosquito can lay eggs that will hatch in tiny quantities of water, and that they have resistance to many insecticides?
I have been advising my patients who are pregnant or who are thinking of becoming pregnant to avoid Florida and any countries where Zika has been found. Same goes for their male partners, who we know can infect the female via sexual intercourse. The risk is just too grave: babies born with microcephaly, seizure disorders, etc. I am keeping an eye on Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast, too. The recent rains and floods mean stagnant water will be hanging around for a long time.
I have been advising my patients who are pregnant or who are thinking of becoming pregnant to avoid Florida and any countries where Zika has been found. Same goes for their male partners, who we know can infect the female via sexual intercourse. The risk is just too grave: babies born with microcephaly, seizure disorders, etc. I am keeping an eye on Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast, too. The recent rains and floods mean stagnant water will be hanging around for a long time.
53
What happens when it's endemic everywhere? Should they go to the moon?
I use insect REPELLENTS (Deep Woods Off is my favorite so far) regularly, because I actually go outside and work. I don't get bitten by bugs when that stuff is on me. That's very different from an insecticide.
I absolutely stay aware of any standing water around my place and anywhere I am working, and get rid of it.
I do not like mosquitoes. Even without Zika, they're just annoying.
If people can't take this kind of advice, they absolutely shouldn't be having children.
And if they do, forget about getting any sympathy from me when things turn out badly.
I absolutely stay aware of any standing water around my place and anywhere I am working, and get rid of it.
I do not like mosquitoes. Even without Zika, they're just annoying.
If people can't take this kind of advice, they absolutely shouldn't be having children.
And if they do, forget about getting any sympathy from me when things turn out badly.
When it is endemic everywhere, then everyone at risk will have to deal with it by using the available precautionary measures. But for now, since it is in identifiable countries and parts of the US, it is smart to just avoid those areas. It would be malpractice for me to advise a patient who is trying to become pregnant or who is pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the next 3-6 months to take any more risks regarding Zika than absolutely necessary.
This is the inevitable result of the Republican Party's historic and willful ignorance about contagion and epidemiology. President Reagan did not publicly speak the word AIDS for the first six years of the now pandemic. The Republican Congress adjourned earlier this summer to fund-raise and campaign, while members of both parties spoke forcefully for emergency funding for the perfectly predicted Zika outbreak in the United States. How is this an acceptable standard for our public servants? It will now be more costly and much more difficult to respond effectively and to protect the public health.
22
Now that reports in the UK press and the Washington Post (my go-to sources for breaking news) note that the Zika virus can cause memory loss in adult mice - similar to Alzheimer's in humans - there will likely be funding for more programs to stop it. Nothing says "spend some tax dollars" like threatening more memory loss in Florida 2 months before an election.
14
Any scientific, medical or infrastructure-based environmental crisis is given less urgency than it deserves by Republicans, regardless of what the data or the experts the say. Although this is not shocking, in these days of fact-free thinking and rhetoric led by Mr. Trump, the Republican Party is engaging in imagineering and wishful thinking.
Zika is mostly acquired randomly. The infected mosquito bites whoever is in its territory. How far will Zika have to spread and hurt people, including the unborn, before it gets the attention and the funding it needs to deal with it?
Zika is mostly acquired randomly. The infected mosquito bites whoever is in its territory. How far will Zika have to spread and hurt people, including the unborn, before it gets the attention and the funding it needs to deal with it?
17
Trump has no authority as he is not the president yet. What is the current president doing about it? Thought so.
2
And if he issues an executive order? And Congress pretty much controls the budget. What would you have him do? Please advise.
Once again a Republican governor is more interested in the almighty dollar than he is in the health of women and babies. It is apparently okay to have a baby with severe birth defects, but please, don't have an abortion. Confusing. For shame
185
These religious zealots who insist on unfettered conception regardless of conditions and circumstances invariably and routinely ignore the fate of the unwanted child committed to a life bound in shallows and miseries absent vital necessities.
18
Yes, Sen. Marco Rubio would deny abortions to pregnant women with fetuses that have such severe brain damage that they will die soon after birth. Meanwhile, he and his Republican cohorts have done nothing to pass a clean bill for funds to combat Zika. Remember this in November, please.
3
I saw the governor's press conference today where he said "it's only in two small zones in Miami, let's keep this in perspective." Reminds me of the early days of HIV denial in the gay community. Sadly, the cases you're seeing are probably the tip of the iceberg.
140
Too generalized, Bob G. We easily know what causes Zika, although there are some unknowns about transmission. There were many unknowns about HIV to the extent that they couldn't even name it for quite some time. Two separate diseases with two very different stories.
The do-nothing and obstructionist Republican Congress should go into special session Monday to appropriate the money President Obama requested from them in order to fund the Zika plan proposed by our health authorities. Their failure to fund the plan before they ended their session is an example of their partisanship being more important to them than the good of the country. It is also an example of the danger of having science deniers in control of Congress. Vote for a Democratic Congress.
202
Re "Vote for a Democratic Congress"
You're plea falls upon deaf ears. Afterall you cannot argue with gerrymandered voting districts, voting restriction laws (ie voting ID laws), and a fickle low information electorate that incredibly put a bunch of gleeful stalwart GOP obstructionists in power not once but twice since 2010.
You're plea falls upon deaf ears. Afterall you cannot argue with gerrymandered voting districts, voting restriction laws (ie voting ID laws), and a fickle low information electorate that incredibly put a bunch of gleeful stalwart GOP obstructionists in power not once but twice since 2010.
3
Trump has expressed total support for and confidence in Gov Scott in this crisis.
Trump has been fully endorsed by both House leader Ryan and Senate leader McConnell. Everyone should be assured. Right? Not!
Trump has been fully endorsed by both House leader Ryan and Senate leader McConnell. Everyone should be assured. Right? Not!
2
According to researchers at Rockefeller University, a Zika infection in adults can lead to the type of brain damage seen in dementia.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-19/zika-may-cause-brain-d...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-19/zika-may-cause-brain-d...
45
Nancy,
no problem for Republicans. They are already demented. All of them.
Just remember Inhofe bringing that snowball. What more proof is needed?
Vote them out.
no problem for Republicans. They are already demented. All of them.
Just remember Inhofe bringing that snowball. What more proof is needed?
Vote them out.
3
Concerning
Pregnant women or women who are trying to conceive now will likely consider moving.
From their own homes!
We need a vigorous response to this
Pregnant women or women who are trying to conceive now will likely consider moving.
From their own homes!
We need a vigorous response to this
37
You are too late, Concerned. Florida already advised residents who live in Zika areas to consider finding other living accommodations if they are pregnant or wish to become pregnant. Just remember that Scott is not biting people, it is an insect that lives by the millions in our climate and is very, very difficult to eradicate. If it were easy, Africa would not have buried millions of children because of mosquito- borne illness.
11
Mosquitos don't listen to governors.
83
And vice versa apparently.
1
Zika can be transmitted via sexual activity. It's not enough to protect yourself from mosquito bites. If you or your partner has traveled to a Zika zone, you may be at risk of catching and spreading the virus. Here is the CDC link:
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/sexual-transmission.html
Incidentally, this is why a number of athletes- male and female- abstained from the Olympic games.
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/sexual-transmission.html
Incidentally, this is why a number of athletes- male and female- abstained from the Olympic games.
48
And men can be carries for months after infection!
But Boilermaker, have you not read the conventional wisdom in the comments on this pages? It is not intrepid travelers, but the troglodyte Republicans that are spreading Zika to the USA!
Funding failed to pass in par tbecause the Republicans tried yet again to de fund Planned Parenthood. Those efforts succeeded locally in Texas, and we have DOUBLED the maternal fatality rate. That's right: DOUBLED.
It is a partisan issue because one side is willing to sacrifice the lives of women, children, and men for the sake of their blind ideology. It is astounding.
It is a partisan issue because one side is willing to sacrifice the lives of women, children, and men for the sake of their blind ideology. It is astounding.
196
Sen Cruz and Gov Perry of Texas set the example of remarkably crass politics. Their state is ranked first for the number of people with no healthcare coverage at all ... fully a third of its population ... a condition which he has deliberately precipitated by refusing provisions of the ACA.
14
I live a block south of the area on South Beach marked as infected. It's a high-density area (full of high rises and young families). Please don't kid me that mosquitoes can't fly a block.
Governor, we will get rid of you ASAP.
Governor, we will get rid of you ASAP.
288
I'm on 4th Street and was thinking the same thing. The wind alone down here can carry very far.
2
Add all the Congress Republicans, all.
Do away with them.
Do away with them.
5
Governor Scott is a tragic example of Republican leadership on the Zika virus epidemic!
74
So right, Steve from Colorado! Governor Scott refuses to use his super powers of Climate Control to keep the mosquito population down. He just refuses to control the heat, the torrential summer rains, and does nothing about the tropical and sub tropical climates of Florida. The chemical controls being used are not enough, and if he would just get off his butt and use his Powers to make it as freezing as a Colorado mountain January night for a month, he just might kill off all those mosquitoes. After that, we expect him to personally shoot every alligator, yank every shark out of the ocean, and flip all the man o' war jelly fish into a blender and rip 'em to shreds.
2
Wait a minute, the guy's a Christian fundamentalist. Ask him to pray for deliverance from mosquitoes and Zika. On the other hand, perhaps Republicans and their supporters believe that Zika is the first sign of Judgemen Day, and you can't do anything about that.
God gave all of brains. In such situations we should use what we have, our bains, and not relegate them to the back burner out of some misguided dogma and, in essence, do the truly unchristian thing: leave our brothers and sisters to suffer the consequences of R inaction. How about the story of the Good Samaritan? The G.O.P.'s fanatics have forgotten him.....
God gave all of brains. In such situations we should use what we have, our bains, and not relegate them to the back burner out of some misguided dogma and, in essence, do the truly unchristian thing: leave our brothers and sisters to suffer the consequences of R inaction. How about the story of the Good Samaritan? The G.O.P.'s fanatics have forgotten him.....
1
leadership and republican is an oxymoron
I wouldn't trust the governor of Florida, that's for sure, in his effort to minimize the impact. Also, what's the estimate for how many pregnant women live in these affected areas? It's as if they've been forgotten altogether in this article.
"Don't go there", sure, but what if you're "already there"?
"Don't go there", sure, but what if you're "already there"?
78
One thing that's not being emphasized enough is that it's people who infect the mosquitoes in the first place.
A mosquito gets zika by biting someone who's infected. The mosquito then spreads it by biting other people.
Many people get no symptoms. So it's possible for someone to be carrying the virus--and capable of giving it to mosquitos--without knowing it.
One of the steps being recommended in Europe is for those who've visited areas where there are outbreaks to protect themselves from mosquito bites for 3 weeks after they return home. That keeps them from possibly infecting the mosquitos in a new region, who go on to infect others.
A mosquito gets zika by biting someone who's infected. The mosquito then spreads it by biting other people.
Many people get no symptoms. So it's possible for someone to be carrying the virus--and capable of giving it to mosquitos--without knowing it.
One of the steps being recommended in Europe is for those who've visited areas where there are outbreaks to protect themselves from mosquito bites for 3 weeks after they return home. That keeps them from possibly infecting the mosquitos in a new region, who go on to infect others.
69
Recommend? Really? Does anyone follow official recommendations? It's recommended you don't consume high fructose corn syrup; it's recommended you get an annual flu shot; it's recommended you get your kids vaccinated; it's recommended you get a college degree if you want a decent paying job. Good luck with that concept.
Let's put this in perspective by considering another devastating infectious disease--Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses. This has gone unresearched, with no vaccine or proven treatment in this country. Due to the Inattention of our government and medical system, thousands of Americans have lost jobs, savings, and, let's be honest, their lives. Can't we protect our citizens from these known perils?
19
Lyme has in fact been extensively researched. Learned what it is, how transmitted, early symptoms, we have a test. We also have high-does antibiotics to treat serious cases.
And, we have a community of people who insist that we need to spend billions on "post-Lyme syndrome," for which there appears to be no evidence.
And, we have a community of people who insist that we need to spend billions on "post-Lyme syndrome," for which there appears to be no evidence.
20
On my parents' block of 5 houses on Long Island, 4 of the homes has a person diagnosed with Lyme disease. Two houses also have had dogs infected with the spirochaete. There's plenty of research and awareness on Long Island - however, there used to be more. When Democrats were in town offices, there were signs at the beaches and parks, warning about Lyme and showing pictures of ticks. Under Republicans in town offices, those signs have mysteriously disappeared. Republicans want to believe that there are no infectious diseases that matter it seems, even in areas where the diseases are endemic. By the way, of the 4 people affected on my parents' block, 2 can no longer work due to neurological damage, and one has psychosis. Only 1 of the 4 is still functional - not scientific, but scary. Lesson is - vote for the Democrats- they aren't scientists, but they LISTEN to them and act to protect or warn the population.
15
And your Lyme-disease expertise is what? Are you with the CDC, which has denied Lyme's debilitating effects?
Isn't this the governor who when asked if he believes the manmade impact on climate change said, "I'm not a scientist"? And also tried to expunge the very term "climate change" from state documents. So is his answer to Zika, "I'm not a doctor"? The people of Florida surely deserve better.
90
Maybe Florida deserves better, but Scott, a convicted swindler of government funds, was TWICE elected by Florida residents. Unfortunately, what Florida got is now going to infect so much more of the United States.
53
And why this never get mentioned is beyond me.
Indeed, we do. Sadly, we are stuck with Governor Scott, an avid Trump supporter, until 2018, but we can transition to better and more responsive governance very soon.
We have upcoming job openings for one U.S. Senator, U.S. House representatives, and their state equivalents in November. I hope my fellow Floridians remember that the "R" following a candidate's name does not stand for "relevant" or "reliable", and to cast their votes accordingly.
We have upcoming job openings for one U.S. Senator, U.S. House representatives, and their state equivalents in November. I hope my fellow Floridians remember that the "R" following a candidate's name does not stand for "relevant" or "reliable", and to cast their votes accordingly.
1
Living in Sarasota, it's only a matter of time before the cases here increase. I'm trying to be objective, but it's hard when our Republican Governor, Rick Scott, and the Republican controlled Congress sit and do little or nothing. The Congress went on recess and then tried to attach anti-Planned Parenthood riders onto Zica funding.
This problem won't be confined to Florida, but will be moving to adjoining, mostly "red" states. It will be curious to see if their Governors can top Rick Scott's reaction which is use insect repellent, spray and get rid of standing water. It's the rainly season, we get a couple of inches of rain a day on occasion. What are supposed to do, go out with portable pumps to drain the puddles? Florida gets infected wihile the GOP local and national government fiddles. Yes, it is a partisan issue.
This problem won't be confined to Florida, but will be moving to adjoining, mostly "red" states. It will be curious to see if their Governors can top Rick Scott's reaction which is use insect repellent, spray and get rid of standing water. It's the rainly season, we get a couple of inches of rain a day on occasion. What are supposed to do, go out with portable pumps to drain the puddles? Florida gets infected wihile the GOP local and national government fiddles. Yes, it is a partisan issue.
93
JW Mathews, if you squint your eyes really hard and look through the non-native landscaping and pretty terra cotta condos, you will see a sub tropical and tropical climate. What, exactly, do you want Scott to change about that? How long have you lived here? The puddles exist because South Florida and Coastal Florida are flat and there is no way for the water to drain away as quickly as if there were hills. I assure you: mosquitoes are non-partisan and do not travel according to voting blocs. They travel according to climate.
Well, thanks to climate change which the ENTIRE Florida denies, you won't be living just through Zika and the resultant bankruptcy of your all-important tourism economy. long in non-draining swamps, you'll soon be begging for help from climate swamp as you sink. And this scientist will do nothing but laugh at your stupidity and ignorance.
1
VW, that's impressive that you were able to poll "the ENTIRE Florida." It is actually visitors who love our tourist economy, proven by the fact that they just keep on coming. What we have here is a response to accommodating to the needs and wishes of visitors, and not everyone is thrilled with that. I would not consider it a punishment if anyone chooses to vacation elsewhere. Go, stress out the environment somewhere else; erase forever their natural environment for the sake of your fake entertainment and feeding. We have a bit more going on than fantasy lands. The State of New York is not sending all those satellites into space. I daresay you benefit from a satellite or two. Try doing without them, scientist.
Hey Governor Scott. How are your republican pals in Congress dealing with the Zika issue? Oh, that's right, they went on vacation without doing anything.
96
I noticed that Potus hasn't cancelled his vacation for Zika or for the worst natural catastrophe in Louisiana since Katrina. Please don't take sides on this. All of the Beltway people don't give a damn about the rest of us. Wake up.
12
Although big money, patronage and special interests are a problem with both parties, I think you're kidding yourself if you think the two parties are equal in their neglect of America and its problems. The Republican Congress has had only one agenda in the last 8 years. Obstruct, obstruct, obstruct. They are not even attempting to solve problems.
14
The governor of Louisiana asked the POTUS, who urged funding to combat Zika, to wait 10 days before coming to the flood zone because the security and travel requirements associated with presidential visits would interfere with efforts to deal with the crisis. The WH has already stated that POTUS will be visiting on Tuesday.
2
40 Million AARP members and 1/2 probably live in Florida- And THEY can't persuade Congress to act on this? 4 Million NRA members and they can tell Congress to do just about anything. Something is not right ...
161
Well, decades of trying to persuade Congress to stop winter tourists from bringing influenza and other respiratory viruses down here every year on their Christmas vacays hasn't yet made a dent.
2
The AARP members living in Florida aren't worried about getting pregnant so many have already fooled themselves into believing this won't affect them.
3
I'm betting 20 million soon
1
We are seeing dangerous, disgraceful behavior by Gov Scott.
When CDC confirmed Zika cases in the Wynwood neighborhood he held a news conference and said tourists should continue to come to Florida, that Zika was confined to a tiny residential neighborhood.
Now Zika has been confirmed in Miami Beach, the heart of the tourist center of Miami. He is again saying on national news that this is a tiny area and tourists and residents should "put that in perspective"
Gov Scott, your perspective is very clear. You are more concerned about maintaining the flow of tourist dollars than you about about the babies that will be brain damaged by your self serving position.
You are not only putting tourists who visit Miami Beach at risk. You are also putting your residents at risk - infected mosquitoes will bite residents, too. And you are ensuring that Zika will spread beyond Wynwood and Miami Beach to other areas when you probably could have stopped the epidemic in Wynwood by making an all out effort to eradicate mosquitoes, made an all out effort to help residents protect themselves and discouraged friends, relatives and others from visiting Wynwood. And, you could have better protected babies from brain damage by encouraging expectant mothers and sexual partners to leave the area.
Instead you have forced the CDC to declare the epidemic is limited to much smaller geographic areas than they think effective - all in the name of capturing more tourist dollars.
When CDC confirmed Zika cases in the Wynwood neighborhood he held a news conference and said tourists should continue to come to Florida, that Zika was confined to a tiny residential neighborhood.
Now Zika has been confirmed in Miami Beach, the heart of the tourist center of Miami. He is again saying on national news that this is a tiny area and tourists and residents should "put that in perspective"
Gov Scott, your perspective is very clear. You are more concerned about maintaining the flow of tourist dollars than you about about the babies that will be brain damaged by your self serving position.
You are not only putting tourists who visit Miami Beach at risk. You are also putting your residents at risk - infected mosquitoes will bite residents, too. And you are ensuring that Zika will spread beyond Wynwood and Miami Beach to other areas when you probably could have stopped the epidemic in Wynwood by making an all out effort to eradicate mosquitoes, made an all out effort to help residents protect themselves and discouraged friends, relatives and others from visiting Wynwood. And, you could have better protected babies from brain damage by encouraging expectant mothers and sexual partners to leave the area.
Instead you have forced the CDC to declare the epidemic is limited to much smaller geographic areas than they think effective - all in the name of capturing more tourist dollars.
150
@B
Gov Scott said the same thing as Obama and NIH. So why do you single him out for criticism?
Gov Scott said the same thing as Obama and NIH. So why do you single him out for criticism?
2
It's not an epidemic. The CDC has not declared an epidemic, yet.
2
The authors have heavily edited Scott's message so that people in States with much smaller populations (ahem, Minnesota) can panic. Fine by me. You outsiders are covering my State with condos, concrete, and complaints.
2
Wake up America. This mosquito that carries Zika lives from California east to New York and all points south. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what is to come.
34
And there are people with zika in 48 of the 50 states. Most (2246) are called "travel-related" because the people were infected somewhere else. The big deal in Florida is that it's the only state where people were infected locally (14 cases).
The problem, as you point out, is that there mosquitos who can become infected throughout much of the US.
The most recent maps show the range as across the South, spreading west to Iowa and Kansas, and as far north as New Hampshire.
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/vector/range.html
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/intheus/maps-zika-us.html
The problem, as you point out, is that there mosquitos who can become infected throughout much of the US.
The most recent maps show the range as across the South, spreading west to Iowa and Kansas, and as far north as New Hampshire.
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/vector/range.html
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/intheus/maps-zika-us.html
26
Siobhan, it is refreshing to see your logical and well-informed posts on this matter. Thank You.
Sorry Governor, the virus will continue to spread regardless of your actions and most of the south will have it soon enough.
33
You may not remember, but the Republicans in Congress blocked Democratic legislation aimed at fighting zika by attaching a rider they knew would be unacceptable to the Democrats. Then they left on vacation.
47
Bounce - I hear riders go both ways. How do you like riders when the Democrats add them? Riders, like mosquitoes, are non-partisan.
Governor, say "bye-bye" to your massive tourist industry and its employees. Who is going to be visiting there when this spreads throughout the state thanks to your Republican buddies in Washington--and to your own ignorance? Then there's the follow-on decline in real estate prices, income taxes, etc etc. Have fun getting elected, you fraud.
ps: Hillary thanks you, too.
ps: Hillary thanks you, too.
1
It is being addressed. Its called a clutch. A very small number.
If I wasn't so conspiracy minded, I might think those who control the drinking water which they know is full of lead are trying to deflect the light on them to another subject.
If I wasn't so conspiracy minded, I might think those who control the drinking water which they know is full of lead are trying to deflect the light on them to another subject.
1
"We have two small areas,” he said. “One less than a mile, and we’ve already been able to reduce the footprint. We have another area now that’s 1.5 miles on Miami Beach. That’s out of a state that takes 15 hours to drive from Key West to Pensacola, so let’s put things in perspective.”
I truly want to believe that this Governor is trying to prevent a full blown crisis and panic in Miami Beach with his statement suggesting that people put things into perspective. However, his intentions of attempting to reduce fear are actually backfiring because he is infuriating more folks than calming them down.
His statements remind me of the classic question of what's the difference between a mild heart attack and a major one. A mild heart attack is one that happens to someone else. A major heart attack is one that happens to me!
28
Wait till it inevitably reaches Orlando (Disney, et al) then all hell will break loose. Under Scott, the state turns bluer every day.
1
Rick Scott and the State of Florida, a well documented train wreck, give it to the Feds before we have a pandemic on our hands from the number one vector know to man, mosquitoes.
28
Agree wholeheartedly. Give it to the Feds. They have a proven track record in stemming our problems. Maybe they will supply the bottled water from Flint.
7
How about renaming the virus, the "Rick Scott special" - nothing will get the GOP's attention as fast in an election year as adults with dementia and newborns with brain defects, once a GOP governor is involved...
2
I wish for once at least 50 percent of those comments could get past their hatred of one political party to focus on the issue at hand. As an independent it is disheartening to read non stop comments based on political bent then logic. Republicans are just as guilty as democrats though for this topic the Dems are the ones proving this sad example
8
The gov, state lege, and Congress are all GOP controlled.
You tell me who's to blame for their sitting on their fat proverbials since February.
You tell me who's to blame for their sitting on their fat proverbials since February.
64
The issue at hand seems to be what can be done. Nothing will be done unless those blocking action are called out on it. In this case, it's been the Republicans.
14
Robert, all of the people traveling and bringing it over the border, are from every walk of life. How much money does it take for sensible people to not go off and bring it back without heed to their nation and fellow citizens? How much money will stop those people? There is no amount of money, or political ill will that will stop those people from traveling and bringing it here.
There are so many questions about Zika that only concentrated research dollars can illuminate. The whole country is waiting for the republicans to do their jobs! Please vote them out and bring our country into the 21st century.
60
That travel advice reads like is was crafted by a chamber of commerce, maybe focused a little too much on keeping Miami Beach safe for tourism if not for tourists. It's just like after the initial breakout, when the CDC actually advised us that everywhere outside a designated geographical area was safe because mosquitoes tend not to move about. Really now. I expect that very soon there will be Zika cases in other sections of Miami Beach and beyond, and that some men and women of childbearing age will be infected. If not, I owe you a Coke. If so, in the future I will be less inclined to trust advisories from the CDC.
6
Wow, John, it's just like when Northern tourists bring influenza down here every single winter. One person gets it, then another, then another, and soon, the hospitals are in business and the morgue is open. Science has known for some time how viruses are spread. They had that Coke long ago.
Hey, the CDC relies on politically motivated funding for research. When the NRA did not want the true numbers of gun deaths and injuries researched in the last decade, the GOP members of Congress banned it. So - we have estimates of gun deaths. Same thing for hepatitis C - nobody in the GOP wants to research a disease that is killing the Baby Boomers, those in jail, and intravenous drug users - so the CDC has no money to research that deadly virus either. If you attack the CDC on the Zika virus, the money will dry up - the GOPers running for office will say, "Hey, our constituents don't like your information, so why fund the research?" Be grateful that the GOP is NOT paying attention to Zika - so the CDC can keep studying it until the funding runs out. Note that the new research on the virus is coming from private sources in New York and California - and be glad that somebody is anteing up the funds to figure out a vaccine - just wish it WAS the CDC....
1
So many blogs here translating the ZIKA disaster into a Republican against Democrat political issue. Strange country.
8
Which party is the anti-science party?
73
Which Party blocked, and then fooled around, with the President's request for funds, last February?
And then went on recess without doing anything? Well, other than saying "Just take it out of Ebola research," and, "let's attach a rider outlawing abortion."
And then went on recess without doing anything? Well, other than saying "Just take it out of Ebola research," and, "let's attach a rider outlawing abortion."
73
That's because the Republicans always want to cut public health funding.
41
Oh, by all means, Gov. - let us, indeed, "put things in perspective." First and foremost, despite your truly risible comment, mosquitoes do not pay attention to your "perspective," and they fly, sir, wherever they choose. Second, your feckless, misogynist party, and your colleague in stupidity and sexism, Marco Rubio, departed from his absentee job, as did all of his fellow GOTP-ers in Congress, for 7 weeks - count them, 7 weeks of vacation without taking ANY action to fund Zika research and prevention. Third, and of no less consequence, I remind you that women must have access to all reproductive healthcare services, including safe abortion - a procedure that every person in your odiously medieval, patriarchal party continues to impede, obstruct, defund and attack, despite the fact that it is a legal procedure. You won't be impacted by the birth of a child with microcephaly, Gov. - and you and your Christian extremist friends won't offer any help to women confronted with this lifelong challenge. A pox upon you, Gov. and your entire party.
101
They don't care, because for them, life ends at birth.
2
Brava. A pox is too good for them.
1
Why do I not read anything about testing for Zika usine the test developed at the Wyss Institute of Harvard. It is supposedly faster and cheaper and could certainly help. See below or google 'Zika test from Wyss'
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/health/rapid-zika-test-is-introduced-b...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/health/rapid-zika-test-is-introduced-b...
7
Urine tests for Zika were mentioned at the press conference. They are using those tests in Miami.
The CDC and the governor both astound me. Simple contagion example of why mosquito-born diseases are so difficult to eradicate, especially this one which usually has few if any symptoms. If they think that attempting to control mosquitoes in small areas will correct this, I am anxious about their critical thinking ability. Infected mosquito bites person, who becomes infected, but wait here is the difference from all of the contagion examples I've seen, THAT PERSON goes to a store out of that area, a mosquito bites them. and off we go. The only excuse for this abysmal lack of thinking, is politics, and tourism money. Shame on them.
21
Critical thinking has never been one of Gov. Scott's strong points. He would rather reject billions in federal monies rather than provide health care for thousands of Florida citizens. He's interested in federal help now because it affects business interests in Florida. Money. It's all about money. Not your health. Never was.
42
When Republicans want science classes to focus on Creationism instead of basic biology and also want to eliminate sex education is it any wonder that neither the politicians or the people who vote them in to office have any idea of how this, or any disease, can be spread?
"We have two small areas", Gov Scott said.
Very densly populated areas!!!!!
Very densly populated areas!!!!!
26
The picture says a thousand words. Look at the stagnant water next to the runner. What more you want?
19
Perhaps the stagnant water is water from a "nuisance flood," which is what they call it when Biscayne Bay sloshes into the streets of Miami Beach, which it regularly does. They are raising streets in Miami Beach three feet higher in order to hold off the water from these pesky "nuisance floods."
There's no area on the Florida coast that isn't isn't sinking under water due to nonexistent climate change. Just ask Trump. It's a hoax.
1
Coastal Florida and South Florida are at or near sea level, with sandy soil. There is nowhere for the water to go and flooding in the rainy season is a fact of life. Outsiders who come here to live are often loudmouthed about why these "problems" can't be solved as they are in other states, where the environment and geography are completely different. Katrina was not the cause of the Louisiana flooding - it was development in areas where you should not build, and then ignoring the upkeep of dikes. People who collude with developers in destroying Florida's barrier islands for the sake of having a view of the ocean from their high rise condos have to live with the consequences of the workings of the natural world, just as those who live inside the Mississippi flood plain. You cast your money and place your bets.
The burqa once again proves itself to be the perfect maternity outfit - stylish, functional and the most effective known deterrent against Zika infection.
And now, the burqini : perfect for beach vacations - whether in South Beach or the south of France.
And now, the burqini : perfect for beach vacations - whether in South Beach or the south of France.
32
Wait a minute...does Gov Scott actually not realize that Zika is being carried over long distances by PEOPLE, not the mosquitoes? Otherwise, I can't make sense of his comments:
“We have two small areas,” he said. “One less than a mile, and we’ve already been able to reduce the footprint. We have another area now that’s 1.5 miles on Miami Beach. That’s out of a state that takes 15 hours to drive from Key West to Pensacola, so let’s put things in perspective.”
PERSPECTIVE INDEED! When three of your five infected were from thousands of miles away - and they're just the ones who happened to be IDENTIFIED as having contracted the virus - you MUST ask: "how many others have had NO symptoms, and/or are on planes back home now?"
“We have two small areas,” he said. “One less than a mile, and we’ve already been able to reduce the footprint. We have another area now that’s 1.5 miles on Miami Beach. That’s out of a state that takes 15 hours to drive from Key West to Pensacola, so let’s put things in perspective.”
PERSPECTIVE INDEED! When three of your five infected were from thousands of miles away - and they're just the ones who happened to be IDENTIFIED as having contracted the virus - you MUST ask: "how many others have had NO symptoms, and/or are on planes back home now?"
37
No no! You must have seen the press conference where the governor expected people to not ask questions. He, and the others, clearly said that the state of Florida will provide all of the information people will need when they consider it necessary. There is no need to ask questions.
31
And what will be done as Spring Break approaches, with hundreds of thousands of young people travelling to The Beach.....
14
Young people don't go to Florida anymore.
1
A not uncommon theme of apocalyptic novels is the failure of the human race because we can no longer breed healthy children. Just saying.
20
Yo, Paul Ryan how about bringing the congress back so funds can be allocated for fighting Zika! Since you adjourned without allocating the money perhaps you could head back NOW.
57
As if there weren't already enough reasons to avoid Florida.
45
I am proud to say that in Texas, our leadership has taken the bull by the horns: the indigent will be allowed to purchase mosquito repellent with their Medicaid funds!
34
Dear Mr. Scott:
I am sure the mosquitoes are very obedient and will just stay in the 2 hot zones. We don't have a problem or as you say: Let's put things in perspective (jajaja).
I am sure the mosquitoes are very obedient and will just stay in the 2 hot zones. We don't have a problem or as you say: Let's put things in perspective (jajaja).
40
A strong breeze will carry mosquitoes further than their usual flying radius on a calm day with no wind.
14
I believe that many people have yet to understand that Zika is sexually transmitted. A family I know goes every year to visit the grandparents in Miami. This year the husband went alone with the children because the wife is pregnant. When I mentioned that he had to be careful with mosquito bites too because he could be infected and then pass the virus to his wife, he was surprised. They are both professionals, the class of people most likely to be well-informed. America needs to wake up and see that this could quickly get out of hand if not properly addressed now.
93
Thank you rcnc, my thoughts exactly. All of the notifications mention pregnant women which leads people to believe that they are the only ones affected. If a man gets zika he can give it to a woman and there was also a report of a woman transmitting the disease to a man. True, pregnant women have the most to lose in terms of harm to a fetus but the disease can be spread by mosquitoes biting someone carrying the virus or by sex from either male or female sexual partners. That has been lost in the focus on pregnant women...
26
Riding the subway in NYC, there have been notices in English and Spanish, mostly Spanish, for months, about Zika, and how it is spread. This should not be a surprise. In the boroughs, my understanding is the infected are returning from Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico from their summer visits to family and homeland. And these have been the original source for reports of transmission from infected female to uninfected male, is my understanding.
1
Rick Scott was one of the Republican governors in hysterics over Ebola, mandating precautions and draconian measures well beyond those recommended by the CDC. He seems to be taking a very different, almost lackadaisical approach with what is a much more serious and present health threat to the United States and in particular Florida: Zika. While I certainly understand the urge not to overreact, I'm tired of elected officials (and it's almost always Republicans) playing cynical politics with public health. What a joke...
49
Zika's biggest impact is on women and children and Republicans don't care about women and children.
42
Rick Scott reacted to Ebola because Ebola affects people without regard to sex and age. Zika, on the other hand, seems to disproportionately affect people who are female -- which Scott is not. It also affects fetuses, and Scott was born in 1952. Thus he has no vested personal interest in Zika.
What might get Scott going is the new research indicating Zika can, with regard to anyone, affect brain function in ways similar to Alzheimers.
There you go, Governor, something to look forward to: screams from your male constituents.
What might get Scott going is the new research indicating Zika can, with regard to anyone, affect brain function in ways similar to Alzheimers.
There you go, Governor, something to look forward to: screams from your male constituents.
The GOP, which won't pass a bill to help provide funding for this potential catastrophe, does not have our country's interests at heart.
How - HOW? - can anyone in Florida possibly cast a vote for ANY of these deadbeats????
How - HOW? - can anyone in Florida possibly cast a vote for ANY of these deadbeats????
59
What killed the bill that was pending in the Senate were provisions that had nothing to do with combatting the Zika issue. Both parties must share equal fault by loading bills with provisions that have nothing to do with the original intent of a bill.
5
This is why bills should pass one at a time. Bundling should be made illegal. It is against the best interest of the public which both parties are supposed to serve, not hurt.
3
With each passing month, our reaction time to this will be all the more urgent. As someone who has had dengue, my concern is not only for women who intend to have children but for the long term and as yet unknown damage that viruses can cause. But given its effect on the unborn child, it is obviously not to be taken lightly. Since people are often asymptomatic, it is almost a certainty that more people have already been infected. So while it may not be a "national emergency" as one glib (male) person noted, it is a most definite concern that should have had a policy--or at least a strategy and awareness campaign--in place months ago.
Complete inaction and near total incompetence are now the cornerstones of republican "leadership" and Mr. Scott's "perspective," while appallingly shortsighted and uninformed, is in no way surprising.
Complete inaction and near total incompetence are now the cornerstones of republican "leadership" and Mr. Scott's "perspective," while appallingly shortsighted and uninformed, is in no way surprising.
40
mj, Mr. Scott and his buddies are more interested in controlling women's reproductive systems than in controlling Zika.
25
Is it not possible for women to put off getting pregnant until this horrific problem is resolved?
It appears not.
It appears not.
5
FSMLives! "Is it not possible for women to put off getting pregnant until this horrific problem is resolved?"
Or the men could give up sex until this horrific problem is resolved?
It appears not.
Or the men could give up sex until this horrific problem is resolved?
It appears not.
16
But no demands from you about men, who do the impersonating, to abstain from sex, or using birth control, or not raping. Yesiree, it's always her fault, isn't it.
Sickening.
Sickening.
4
As a woman I certainly don't allow my make sex partners to control my fertility and reproductive choices. Surprised that so many of you are willing to roll the dice that way.
FSM is right. The prudent woman will take drastic steps to avoid pregnancy now. not leave the choice up to someone else.
FSM is right. The prudent woman will take drastic steps to avoid pregnancy now. not leave the choice up to someone else.
Question-- once you have the Zika virus in your blood, can you get infected a second time? Or is it like chickenpox, that once you get it, generally that's it?
Because if you get Zika and then it passes, and 'having it' is often asymptomatic anyway, then couldn't a young woman deliberately get infected before ever being pregnant, and avoid the infection risk that happens if you contract *during* pregnancy?
But that sounds too easy, so I assume it's wrong. Would welcome an explanation here.
Because if you get Zika and then it passes, and 'having it' is often asymptomatic anyway, then couldn't a young woman deliberately get infected before ever being pregnant, and avoid the infection risk that happens if you contract *during* pregnancy?
But that sounds too easy, so I assume it's wrong. Would welcome an explanation here.
8
Search NPR, they had a good Q & A on this.
It's a good question. Studies so far on monkeys appear to indicate a level of immunity after first infection with pregnant monkeys having the virus longer than the average 10 days or so. But once it goes none were able to be reinfected. Still testing is very new so this immunity could be temporary or for life as scientists have no way to confirm yet.
5
Matt, People who are infected with Zika virus tend to develop a strong antibody response that can protect them against new infections in the future. This is why there are so many efforts to develop a vaccine. (If there is a poor immune response against an infectious agent, it is not an attractive candidate for a vaccine. There is an excellent article about this by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee in the August 22 issue of the New Yorker. Unfortunately, there is not enough money available for the much needed work on developing a vaccine. (The Republicans in Congress who have refused to fully fund this effort should be impeached.) Incidentally, chickenpox is not a good example for lifelong immunity after infection. The virus stays within the nervous system for life and can emerge again in older people as "shingles".
27
Nothing has been done to halt the spread of the Zika virus because it is viewed by the Republicans as a 'woman's issue'. Women and their babies are the ones at risk. As Marco Rubio declared that abortion should not be a remedy for suspected microsephly, that made it pretty clear that we are on our own ladies! Mr. Scott sees it as a minor inconvenience. Maybe when tourism falls off and the state begins to loose significant revenue Mr. Scott will whine to Congress.
107
Have to wonder whether Floridians are happy that the House would not provide funds to fight Zika unless they also defunded Planned Parenthood. Or do they believe that Zika is a plot perpetrated by the Obama-Clinton cartel and it, along with climate change (set to inundate the Florida coastline) does not really exist?
51
Just wait until all the Olympic tourists return to their home cities. Soon Zika will be all over the country, if not the world.
22
400 thousand condems provided freely says no that ain't going to happen.
doesn't protect from mosquitoes.
3
Just because the condoms were free doesn't mean the anyone bothered to use them.
7
Back during the US "Ebola crisis" a certain Republican northeastern governor received a great deal of flack for taking the crisis too seriously by trying to isolate those who may have been exposed. Now the Republican governor of Florida is taking flack for not taking the "Zika crisis" too seriously. This may not be a medical emergency but it's certainly a political election year emergency!
7
The important variable here is are our politicians following medical recommendations. In the Ebola cases, not so much. Certain politicians were engaged in over-kill. In the present case, again, not so much. The Republicans are using a strategy of avoidance and under-kill.
10
Ya, I remember. Bowling ball alleys were closing down because of the fear of contracting ebola in New Jersey.
1
Nice try but the two things are in no way comparable.
7
People should remember this the Party that doesn't believe in climate change and evolution. Science is not their thing. I am waiting for them to challenge the germ theory of disease too. I know they think the world is 6,000 years old, denying germ theory is not that far of a stretch for them as well.
67
There is a simple, although Draconian, solution to end anti-science craziness. Those who set policy based on such nonsense must be enjoined from acquiring any drugs or receiving any medical procedures that were developed by scientific methods.
20
Yo Governor Rick. Why don't you lead the way in putting things in perspective by showing a rare thing for you - responsible leadership.
If it is so safe, lead a walking tour there with your entire extended family. Nothing like an example to convince us that your intentions are honorable.
If it is so safe, lead a walking tour there with your entire extended family. Nothing like an example to convince us that your intentions are honorable.
58
Republicans, as a party, are on suicide watch. They have continuously stabbed themselves since 2008. Their embrace of hate talk radio hosts, Fox News, Palin and now Trump have completely destroyed the image of this party which was a party of Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush.
34
Sorry but they have been going on this way since 1968. Look up Lee Atwater, southern strategy, Karl Rove. They have been dog whistling racism, prejudice and wedge issues for the last 48 years.
29
Somehow connect this problem to Planned Parenthood and this Congress will come out from under their rocks to get right on it.
13
It is connected to planned parenthood. Marco Rubio has come out against permitting abortions for women with Zika effected pregnancies.
18
Will the Republicans in Congress appropriate the required money to fight the Zika virus in a clean bill, i.e., without ideological riders that de-fund Planned Parenthood?
Obama has already had to side-step Congress and move 81 million dollars from other research and healthcare funding just to keep vital Zika research from coming to a standstill. The Republicans meanwhile are playing politics with pregnant women's lives.
Scientists need in excess of 1 billion dollars to work on vaccine development, treatment options, and to learn more about how to stop this threat.
Congress should act now.
Obama has already had to side-step Congress and move 81 million dollars from other research and healthcare funding just to keep vital Zika research from coming to a standstill. The Republicans meanwhile are playing politics with pregnant women's lives.
Scientists need in excess of 1 billion dollars to work on vaccine development, treatment options, and to learn more about how to stop this threat.
Congress should act now.
136
What are the republicans doing?
How about sending a clear bill to Obama's desk without the stupid Planned Parenthood and Obamacare riders on it?
How about sending a clear bill to Obama's desk without the stupid Planned Parenthood and Obamacare riders on it?
200
Oh but they are on vacation...
11
I hope vacationing in Miami
14
I thought President Obama signed an "executive order" by-passing those parasites in Congress and got emergency funding. I thought I read it on this site.
1
So the CDC says there can be a major problem and Governor Scott said not to sweat it. So who do you want to believe? I'll bet the people of Dade County will believe the Feds. Now you've got a nice little panic brewing.
People can be transmitting the disease even though they may not know they have it. Every mosquito will be considered a carrier. The Republican controlled Congress couldn't care less.
People can be transmitting the disease even though they may not know they have it. Every mosquito will be considered a carrier. The Republican controlled Congress couldn't care less.
57
Governor Rick Scott tries to minimize this, and says "let’s put things in perspective". This is unhelpful at best, dangerous at worst. We need wide spread immunization and treatment - especially for fetuses in danger. Considering he signed a bill earlier this year to de-fund planned parenthood abortions, he should relate to this.
While this is not about him, this is global humanitarian crisis (until there is treatment this is as dangerous as eBola or Bird flue),, the zone now includes South Beach and area he governs. This is obviously full of tourists from all around the country and all around world - this will clearly catalyze the spread of the virus.
On a personal note, my mother lives in Miami, in that region, I have dozens of cousins, aunts and uncles living in that area, I am not reassured.
While this is not about him, this is global humanitarian crisis (until there is treatment this is as dangerous as eBola or Bird flue),, the zone now includes South Beach and area he governs. This is obviously full of tourists from all around the country and all around world - this will clearly catalyze the spread of the virus.
On a personal note, my mother lives in Miami, in that region, I have dozens of cousins, aunts and uncles living in that area, I am not reassured.
118
There is no immunization and treatment for Zika. Mosquito control is the solution for this particular virus. Don't wait for the government to do it. Residents can easily take effective measure to significantly reduce their chances of being bitten by mosquitoes. There are mass quantities of do it yourself pest control resources on the internet that are legal and effective. Most of the public information provided by governments don't mention or emphasize pest control but people can easily spray to kill adult mosquitoes and treat water sources with larvicides and insect growth inhibitors.
3
4
Well, unfortunately, we are probably years away from a vaccine. May be a treatment is nearer but not so near. So, in that sense, this is like Ebola, SARS and bird flu, we cannot treat it. However, this is not Ebola in the sense that Ebola often has over 50% fatality rate while Zika is often non-fatal. The main danger of Zika is causing birth defect in unborn babies. It is a major concern as Zika is likely to spread and will affect couples who are planning to have babies. With global warming and the hospitability of many parts of the country to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, it is likely a major health challenge.
1
"Mr. Scott minimized the extent of the spread." Not unlike my Village of Pinecrest, a suburb of Miami. I feel truly nauseous reading this, the denial and consequences overwhelming.
Please visit Pinecrest Floods and/or Pinecrest Bans Sumpland to see the issues:
Pinecrest Floods
https://pinecrestfloods.blogspot.com/
Pinecrest Bans Sumpland
https://pinecrestbanssumpland.blogspot.com/
Permitting/ building homes without drainage upfront, years of pretending all was OK despite the obvious, pleasing the developers paramount. The suburbs depend on building like Miami Beach relies on tourism.
My grandson attends middle school on the Beach, school starts Monday. What about Zika don’t we know?
Please visit Pinecrest Floods and/or Pinecrest Bans Sumpland to see the issues:
Pinecrest Floods
https://pinecrestfloods.blogspot.com/
Pinecrest Bans Sumpland
https://pinecrestbanssumpland.blogspot.com/
Permitting/ building homes without drainage upfront, years of pretending all was OK despite the obvious, pleasing the developers paramount. The suburbs depend on building like Miami Beach relies on tourism.
My grandson attends middle school on the Beach, school starts Monday. What about Zika don’t we know?
27
Paul Ryan refused to fund this emergency. Donald Trump denies climate change and says it is a Chinese hoax. So who do you think we should vote for?
25
The Republican controlled Congress is negligent in their responsibilities. It is an outrage that they left for vacation knowing this threat was already in place. Clearly, leadership is NOT the quality that should be associated with Republicans.
37
The Republicans haven't ducked this - it's the Dems who won't go with the effective solution. In fact - the only ever applied by mankind solution which actually works to stamp out disease carrying mosquitoes. And what would that be? DDT - yes - DDT. It's time to go for the nuke. What do you want to save - babies or Ospreys? Actually - we can round up the birds, house them for a year while the DDT does its thing - then release them to flutter away.
Used in the controlled manner there would be little residual DDT still around (unlike in the past use when farmers caked their fields in the stuff). No Zika babies - and lots of happy birds. Contact your cowardly congressfolks now for DDT.
Used in the controlled manner there would be little residual DDT still around (unlike in the past use when farmers caked their fields in the stuff). No Zika babies - and lots of happy birds. Contact your cowardly congressfolks now for DDT.
4
Why should we play the lesser of two evils, yet again?
This link explains why DDT is not a solution to reach for when GMO mosquitoes can be effective:
http://www.panna.org/resources/ddt-story
This link explains why DDT is not a solution to reach for when GMO mosquitoes can be effective:
http://www.panna.org/resources/ddt-story
4
Another solution out of the '50s and '60s that would be a perfect solution for the Right.
10
Or how about getting serious about eliminating standing pools of water like that shown in the photo? Mosquitoes have a short life span and eliminating breeding grounds is an essential part of the solution. We don't have to regress to the bad old days of DDT.
12
The Republicans have turned a political stunt into a human and public health catastrophe. How anyone could vote for them is beyond me.
73
If the GOP runs true to form, they'll attach riders de-funding Planed Parenthood and repealing the ACA.
23
Further evidence that Miami is ground zero in this country for what happens when we refuse to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The only hoax left are the deniers.
The only hoax left are the deniers.
28
Like their Orange God, Trump.
Aedes mosquitoes, the primary Zika vector, are well-established in many areas in the U.S., and they are particularly adapted to urban environments. Many cities outside of Florida have them flying around right now. Miami made perfect sense that it'd be the first place to document local transmission because it has a lot of mosquitoes, a lot of travelers from affected regions in Latin America, high population density, and a lot of outdoor activities. But Miami by no means has an exclusive on this risk. All you need is one infected traveler from there or elsewhere landing in another city with the same conditions to set off the cascade. Statistically less likely, but by no means improbable.
Keep in mind that with most people with no symptoms (and hence continuing to walk around outside infectious) and no routine surveillance occurring for asymptomatic cases, except possibly some blood screening in FL, the expectation is that transmission will be occurring for weeks in an area before it would be known, assuming it's eventually detected at all.
With Congress at a complete standstill and understaffed public health departments, there isn't going to be a magic salve. People need to be good citizens and do their part to remove standing water and put down mosquito dunks on their properties. The upside is these mosquitoes don't fly far once they hatch. At least at home your neighbors in your 2-3 block radius really are the key to whether you have aedes mosquitoes flying around or not.
Keep in mind that with most people with no symptoms (and hence continuing to walk around outside infectious) and no routine surveillance occurring for asymptomatic cases, except possibly some blood screening in FL, the expectation is that transmission will be occurring for weeks in an area before it would be known, assuming it's eventually detected at all.
With Congress at a complete standstill and understaffed public health departments, there isn't going to be a magic salve. People need to be good citizens and do their part to remove standing water and put down mosquito dunks on their properties. The upside is these mosquitoes don't fly far once they hatch. At least at home your neighbors in your 2-3 block radius really are the key to whether you have aedes mosquitoes flying around or not.
139
Very nicely stated, K. People should stop waiting for the knight in white armor who will never come and start doing simple things as you suggest to protect themselves.
5
Cases in NYC.
1
Tourists visiting South Florida often travel to other parts of the state. We do when we visit - from Miami to the Keys, to Orlando, to the Gulf Coast, to St. Augustine - we've moved about quite a lot when visiting the state. I expect local mosquitoes could become infected with the virus very easily as people, unaware they carry the virus, travel about the state (and return home), and the infected mosquitoes spread the infection to people in other parts of the state.
Perhaps I don't understand how this is spreading; I'd love to hear I'm misinformed.
Perhaps I don't understand how this is spreading; I'd love to hear I'm misinformed.
14
Only one way to avoid it: don't go to Florida. It has already shown up in Orlando.
It is now clear to researchers that it is not just fetuses that are at risk with a Zika infection. It can effect adult and children's brains. So, there's that, Gov Scott. Can't wait for the liability suits to come in ...
23
Please familiarize yourself with the notion of sovereign immunity.
2
How do Republicans defend now their all-out "let's do nothing" on Zika?
418
Another great strategy by the Republican leadership. Shows their actual commitment to the healthy birth and well being of babies (sic). Call it a Planned Parenthood Virus and congress would be back in session with hearings on TV by next week. Otherwise, another banner ad for why women love the Republican party (sic).
2
Money.
2
I understand that before this situation blew up, Congress authorized the spending of hundreds of millions of dollars on Zika prevention and control that your hero-idler Obama chose to hand over to the United Nations to handle the climate scare instead. Half a billion would have helped, right?
How do you feel about that?
How do you feel about that?
2
Where is Congress? How about approving the funds to fight Zika?
72
The Repubs you elected from Florida are, like the rest, do nothings.
22
Being a"small-government" governor, Rick Scott doesn't need or want any federal interference in how he runs his state. Until he does.
30
Anyone buy mosquito spray?
While the most devastating effects have been documented for transmission of the Zika virus to a fetus, there are other dangers for those who contract it as well. Some recent research has shown that the Zika virus attacks cells in the brain that are crucial for memory and other activities. There is concern that some who contract it may suffer impairment of their brain function to some degree. This is serious for all of us. It won't stay in Florida for sure; we are too global a society at this point.
95
The Feds should handle this eradication exclusively. We should not put the fate of millions of Americans in the hands of elected leadership in Florida. I trust Rick Scott with Zika like I trust Rick Snyder to safeguard drinking water. I chose not to live in locales like these because we have witnessed years of inhumane and cruel policies.
263
inhumane and cruel policies against mosquitos?
A smart person, finally.
2
No against the residents of Flint, MI and Miami, FL
Interesting to read the perception of this story from those outside Miami-Dade.
I am a businessman who works in Miami's financial district (3.2 Miles from Wynwood and 5.5 miles from South Beach) and trust me, there is ZERO panic. In fact, no one has even mentioned it in the office. Business as usual folks. Let's not call this a 'great american health emergency' just yet.
I am a businessman who works in Miami's financial district (3.2 Miles from Wynwood and 5.5 miles from South Beach) and trust me, there is ZERO panic. In fact, no one has even mentioned it in the office. Business as usual folks. Let's not call this a 'great american health emergency' just yet.
5
Perhaps you are right. But for those of us trying to conceive or are in the early days of our pregnancy, traveling anywhere near the Miami and all of the landmasses south of it is now akin to abstaining from everything else one is not supposed to do while pregnant.
50
Mr. Rodriguez, I wonder how comforting such complacency rings for a Mrs. Rodriguez.
68
Miami resident Rodriguez interrupts our theorizing with a message from the REAL world.
In Louisiana, meanwhile a weeks-long flooding crisis still sees no Obama - even though Obama ripped President George W. Bush left & right for not being on the ground after Hurricane Katrina.
It is too bad that golfing matters much more to Obama now than actual people in a crisis.
In Louisiana, meanwhile a weeks-long flooding crisis still sees no Obama - even though Obama ripped President George W. Bush left & right for not being on the ground after Hurricane Katrina.
It is too bad that golfing matters much more to Obama now than actual people in a crisis.
3
My wife and daughter and two friends were down in South Beach last week. They stayed out of the Winwood section (although they wanted to visit) and saw one mosquito near their hotel on Collins (at an outdoor cafe). Better safe than sorry but since no one in the group was pregnant, they totally enjoyed their visit. My daughter in particular loved the area and everyone in their party spent most of their time in the delightfully warm ocean waters across the street from their hotel. The beaches were EMPTY give or take a few people here and there. They stayed a few blocks north of the South Beach warning zone.
2
Lucky......
1
1. Mosquitoes are rather hard to see in the dark.
2. Mosquitoes do this thing called, well, "flying."
2. Mosquitoes do this thing called, well, "flying."
11
See if your Tea-Party pals in Congress will help you out Mr Scott! Oh that's right their typical respnse to this issue and all others is no.
79
Maybe the GOP congress would act if the virus was spread by ISIS mosquitos?
151
EXCELLENT comment, Jeff!
4
Probably but bombing mosquitoes would be pretty tricky.
3
Paul Ryan went on vacation without allowing a vote on emergency funds. May his soul be forever tormented should any of these unfortunate women have a baby with microcephaly.
283
I wish we could post pictures--and remind people that microcephaly is a lifelong condition with varying degrees of severity. It's not only the unfortunate child born with the disability, and of course the mother and family, but the effects down the line regarding the resources for health care and developmental services.
Halting or even minimizing the spread of an insect born virus is a tricky and difficult task. But there are things that can be done--and should have been started many months ago. Instead: nothing.
It's only fortunate that crickets don't spread a virus...because that's all we hear from republicans. Paul Ryan? Crickets.
Halting or even minimizing the spread of an insect born virus is a tricky and difficult task. But there are things that can be done--and should have been started many months ago. Instead: nothing.
It's only fortunate that crickets don't spread a virus...because that's all we hear from republicans. Paul Ryan? Crickets.
6
Ahhh, the same GOP that is against abortion under all circumstances...
1
Sorry @MoneyRules, you're speaking of ryan, there is nothing to torment, there is no "soul" as you say to torment. lyin aynryan could care less. Let a billionaires wife get it, then you'd see action.
2
About the $ the GOP refused to vote on that would have gone to this issue? How's that working out for you, GOP?
28
The GOP position, "We'll vote for Zika research funding and abatement only with a corresponding tax cut for the rich."
11
When will the politicians learn? Two small areas? Remember AIDS, Swine Flu, Ebola and SARS? They deny, deny, deny until a small, containable crisis explodes into a full-blown emergency. Shame on them for putting millions at risk unnecessarily.
353
Well said.
3
Robert, you need to calm down. None of the diseases that you mention were transmitted by mosquitoes. All of those were human to human transmission. No one is being put at risk because the Governor makes a comment trying to assuage the fears of the public. The CDC generally is the voice of reason in these situations and the best people can do is follow their recommendations regarding personal protection with repellents and removal of standing water sources in their immediate vicinity.
1
Are you aware that Zika can also be transmitted by sexual contact? The disease resides in the semen of men (just as Ebola does) If you didn't know, now you do.
10
Once again the Republicans put their hatred for Obama and their desire to placate their reactionary donor base ahead of sound public health policy. How Marco Rubio goes on the campaign trail with Rick Scott is beyond me, especially after his outrageous comment about women and Zika. What the Congressional and Senatorial Republicans did was criminal and an injustice to the people of Florida.
76
The good people of Floriduh consistently elect fools like Rick Scott, who pretend they do not believe in science. Forgive me if I think of this as Karma getting in a good shot.
133
It would be but unfortunately it isn't going to be Rick Scott that suffers; that is reserved for pregnant women and children born with microcephaly and other birth defects.
9
Jeff- The effected areas of Miami, and south east Florida as a whole, overwhelmingly vote for Democrats. If this is Karma the rural and Northern parts of the state can take their Zika.
Florida should have two governors. The central part of the state who are Rick Scott fans and the coast line who are members of the lox and bagel party.
1
"...so let's put things in perspective."
It would be great if the Governor would actually acknowledge how serious this is...not only for Florida, but for the rest of the States. Does he think this is just going to go away? Did it not just spread throughout Brazil, let alone South America?
This isn't "crying wolf." The wolf is in your backyard, Governor.
It would be great if the Governor would actually acknowledge how serious this is...not only for Florida, but for the rest of the States. Does he think this is just going to go away? Did it not just spread throughout Brazil, let alone South America?
This isn't "crying wolf." The wolf is in your backyard, Governor.
402
Actually mathematically he is correct. It is very large state. 65 thousand miles square to be exact. So 1.5 divided by 65,000 is 0.000023 of Florida at risk. I appreciate his scientifically accurate description of "let's put things in perspective." How would you suggest he acknowledge the gravity of the situation?
What, exactly, does Governor Scott do to earn his salary. Surely not what is properly his job in fighting a public danger.
I guess he thinks his job is promoting death of "undesirables" by malign neglect.
At the very least, he's embezzling his salary from the State of Florida, just like the healthcare firm he had headed embezzled money from Medicare.
I guess he thinks his job is promoting death of "undesirables" by malign neglect.
At the very least, he's embezzling his salary from the State of Florida, just like the healthcare firm he had headed embezzled money from Medicare.
2
The only thing ole scotty has ever accomplished was to steal 250 million from Medicare before getting elected governor by ignoramuses in florida. The government should make scotty use it to fight the virus before it overtakes florida and the rest of the country. make the congress come back vacation in a special session to pass a CLEAN BILL to fight the virus. Maybe it a few of those mosquitoes made it to wisconsin, lyin aynryan would come back to Washington and actually accomplish something.
2
Will pregnant women stay away from the new Zika Zone? There has been considerable media coverage of them walking casually through the original area that had been identified. And coverage bt TV and other media merely makes it look safer than it really is.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
8
Over 35 years ago the NYT ran its first article on a "rare cancer"
affecting gay men. It was the canary in the coal mine of a virus
that went on to kill millions and still infects tens of millions worldwide.
Homophobia wasted years of action and consequent lives. Our
society has changed greatly since then and we already see the
mechanism's of our government quickly taking action. Having lived
here in NYC during all of AIDS worst years on our city it's heartening
to see efforts happening now with ZIKA and still heart breaking to think
of all the friends and co workers who still may have been here if fear
had not slowed progress so greatly.
affecting gay men. It was the canary in the coal mine of a virus
that went on to kill millions and still infects tens of millions worldwide.
Homophobia wasted years of action and consequent lives. Our
society has changed greatly since then and we already see the
mechanism's of our government quickly taking action. Having lived
here in NYC during all of AIDS worst years on our city it's heartening
to see efforts happening now with ZIKA and still heart breaking to think
of all the friends and co workers who still may have been here if fear
had not slowed progress so greatly.
18
The Republican Congress left town without allocating monies to counter the devastating effects of the Zika virus, despite abundant and repeated warnings that exactly the sorts of things described in this article were likely to occur in the absence of the sort of federal funding the President has been seeking. Even if every molecule in your body urges you to vote Republican in November, this fact alone may persuade you that it's finally time to come in from the cold -- unless, of course, you relish the thought of microcephaly.
As you contemplate your civil obligation this election, keep in mind that a vote for a third-party candidate, a write-in vote, or a decision to vote for no one because you've concluded that representative democracy is about exercising your emotions as opposed to exercising your responsibilties, is tantamount to a vote for the G.O.P.
You don't have to like Clinton. You just have to consider the alternative.
As you contemplate your civil obligation this election, keep in mind that a vote for a third-party candidate, a write-in vote, or a decision to vote for no one because you've concluded that representative democracy is about exercising your emotions as opposed to exercising your responsibilties, is tantamount to a vote for the G.O.P.
You don't have to like Clinton. You just have to consider the alternative.
49
Move along........Nothing here to see.
So thoughtful of a certain political party to refusing to approve funding for anti-zika spraying and abatement, before it hit mainland US. It will absolutely destroy Puerto Rico, probably DR, Cuba and everything to the south.
Nice.
So thoughtful of a certain political party to refusing to approve funding for anti-zika spraying and abatement, before it hit mainland US. It will absolutely destroy Puerto Rico, probably DR, Cuba and everything to the south.
Nice.
11
I visited the Florida Keys in the 1990s and loved it.
I took my wife to the Florida Key two years ago and I hated it.
Floridians have trashed out their slice of paradise, and the main memory I have of the Key are all the police cars zooming up and down US 1. Nothing happened to us, but I didn't feel safe...from the humans...not the mosquitoes.
In the future I'll stick to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Even with Zika and Puerto Rico's financial collapse, both are better places to visit than is south Florida.
Although I heard that Republicans are planning to give away the national wildlife refuge on Vieques, which will totally trash that little piece of paradise.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/opinion/dont-give-away-our-wildlife-re...
I took my wife to the Florida Key two years ago and I hated it.
Floridians have trashed out their slice of paradise, and the main memory I have of the Key are all the police cars zooming up and down US 1. Nothing happened to us, but I didn't feel safe...from the humans...not the mosquitoes.
In the future I'll stick to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Even with Zika and Puerto Rico's financial collapse, both are better places to visit than is south Florida.
Although I heard that Republicans are planning to give away the national wildlife refuge on Vieques, which will totally trash that little piece of paradise.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/opinion/dont-give-away-our-wildlife-re...
7
The names remain the same, but Key West and the Florida Keys no longer exist, and haven't for a long while. They are irreparably damaged. They won't be back.
6
"Mr. Scott minimized the extent of the spread."
If there is a small patch in Florida that has infections, no doubt there are more areas in the south, and maybe even in northern states. The C.D.C. would be wise to mention the possibility, the percentages--based on spread throughout South America--of other areas in the South becoming Zika zones. Let people make their own decisions based on the hard science of possible and probable growth that we have already charted.
If there is a small patch in Florida that has infections, no doubt there are more areas in the south, and maybe even in northern states. The C.D.C. would be wise to mention the possibility, the percentages--based on spread throughout South America--of other areas in the South becoming Zika zones. Let people make their own decisions based on the hard science of possible and probable growth that we have already charted.
6
...and when we see the inevitable flooding in FLA, like has punished those people in Louisiana, then an immediate uptick will be seen in Zika will be seen. I think it's West Nile that is most prevalent in Louisiana right now--but I'm guessing the cases have soared, given the rise in the number of people working and dealing with the situation in a suddenly even swampier, mosquito heavy conditions.
4
How 'bout this headline:
"All U.S. Congress members advised that they must travel to Washington, and pass serious Zika funding"
They all steal like crazy, but when there is important work to done, they all disappear like they think the rest of us must be crazy - or at least stupid.
"All U.S. Congress members advised that they must travel to Washington, and pass serious Zika funding"
They all steal like crazy, but when there is important work to done, they all disappear like they think the rest of us must be crazy - or at least stupid.
13
If the mosquitoes are Republicans they'll just deny that they exist and that will solve the problem.
18
If Obama can use his "executive powers" to wage war on Syria, Iraq and Libya shouldn't he use those same powers to wage war on Zika.
6
He has. Last week he allocated money that would have been used for other health initiatives to combat Zika. But that money will run out in a month.
9
He did. When Congress went on Vacation, he authorized funds knowing that if he didn't NOTHING would be done by the Republican Congress.
19
He's trying. Look up the NYT article about him diverting funds for this purpose.
11
Excuse me....Republican Congress....I'm sorry to disturb you from your year-round vacation, but there's a national reproductive and health emergency that 320 million Americans are concerned about....would you mind doing something besides outlawing contraception ?
Hello ?
Hello ?
645
No the republican response is to
Implement the methodology of the Salem witch trials :throw them into the water bound and see if they sink or float.
Implement the methodology of the Salem witch trials :throw them into the water bound and see if they sink or float.
5
Excuse me...Democratic President...I'm sorry to disturb you from your visit to the flood stricken Louisiana...oh, sorry, I mean your golf outing in Hawaii....oh, sorry, I mean, well never mind. Anyway, the CDC is doing a great job handling this public health emergency, so you can go back to dismantling our health care system and paying ransom to the Iranians, because we got this covered.
Hello?
Hello?
3
Remember, Dick Scott is the one who cut off funds for mosquito control in 2011. And it is the repubnicants who will not restore funds. What else would one expect?
I live in Coral Gables, a part of Miami. If I go to Wynwood or South Beach and I park my car, a mosquito can find it's way into my car when I open it o get in and when I park in my driveway in CG the mosquito is in my neighborhood. I often get mosquitos in my car. And our idiotic republican city commission continuously keeps trying to make our downtown into another South Beach and Wynwood. Our tax dollars are committed to this effort. There is no money left for mosquito control. What can we do??
I live in Coral Gables, a part of Miami. If I go to Wynwood or South Beach and I park my car, a mosquito can find it's way into my car when I open it o get in and when I park in my driveway in CG the mosquito is in my neighborhood. I often get mosquitos in my car. And our idiotic republican city commission continuously keeps trying to make our downtown into another South Beach and Wynwood. Our tax dollars are committed to this effort. There is no money left for mosquito control. What can we do??
3
Pretty easy for a non-pregnant Rick Scott to say "...let's keep it in perspective." What an infuriatingly patronizing statement.
487
Perhaps women could use birth control until this problem is solved?
2
It's not patronizing at all. Put down the flaming torch and commence to think.
1
FSMLives-"Perhaps women could use birth control until this problem is solved?"
Oh wait a minute, men coud use the birth conrol-if they cared to wait a minute.
Oh wait a minute, men coud use the birth conrol-if they cared to wait a minute.
9
How about a clean anti-Zika Virus bill from congress, NO POLITICAL AGENDA ATTACHMENTS FROM REPUBLICANS? Can they grow up enough to take care of immediate business instead of forcing their fanatical agenda down America's throat?
242
Everyone needs to take the chill pill. Zika is no more dangerous than hepatitis or the countless STDs among the population. This is not a political issue. Stop spreading the mania.
7
And you know this how? Are you pregnant? Hopefully not, you silly.
11
Would you feel the same way if a loved one was pregnant?
15
And your view if you were one of those children affected at birth?
10
You have to keep on living - I live in South Beach and I have no worries
4
You won't ever get pregnant will you?
19
and you are not getting pregnant anytime soon.
31
Your picture looks like your a male: no wonder you have no problem.
22
The Republicans in the House and the Senate are far too busy with their never ending investigations of Hillary Clinton to spend any time worrying about the health of women and their children.
456
"Where there's smoke there's fire". The latest Clinton "issue" is the connection of foreign powers donating to the Clinton Foundation.
Here's the link*, and I'll let you decide. These are facts, unlike the NYTimes constant writing about Trump's behaviour and not concentrating on his policies.
*http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/us/politics/if-hillary-clinton-wins-fo...
"The moves come amid concern among some Clinton allies that additional details could emerge about relationships between Mrs. Clinton’s State Department and foundation donors.
Mr. Trump has already talked of a 2009 series of emails that showed Douglas J. Band, a chief adviser to Mr. Clinton, seeking to arrange a meeting between a senior American government official and Gilbert Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian developer and foundation donor."*
Here's the link*, and I'll let you decide. These are facts, unlike the NYTimes constant writing about Trump's behaviour and not concentrating on his policies.
*http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/us/politics/if-hillary-clinton-wins-fo...
"The moves come amid concern among some Clinton allies that additional details could emerge about relationships between Mrs. Clinton’s State Department and foundation donors.
Mr. Trump has already talked of a 2009 series of emails that showed Douglas J. Band, a chief adviser to Mr. Clinton, seeking to arrange a meeting between a senior American government official and Gilbert Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian developer and foundation donor."*
Majortrout: First of all the meeting you reference never took place. The emails in question, clearly indicated, the meeting Mr. Chagoury requested had to do with his passing on information about the political situation in Lebanon nothing else. Now, if you believe it's more important to investigate that than it is to deal with a health crisis, that's you prerogative, but you're wrong.
8
You mean the Republican Party, as in the family values party?
With their refusal to adequately fund research for the Zika virus, now the anti-abortion Republicans are not even trying to protect fetuses, which, as we know, they love far more than living breathing children. Guess they don't love those fetuses quite as much as they claimed either.
With their refusal to adequately fund research for the Zika virus, now the anti-abortion Republicans are not even trying to protect fetuses, which, as we know, they love far more than living breathing children. Guess they don't love those fetuses quite as much as they claimed either.
8
I think its safe to say that Zika-infected mosquitoes are flying well beyond these two "small areas." We need much faster screening and working vaccine ASAP if we are to keep this situation from spreading to other states, if that is even possible at this point. Sure wish Congress would stop dragging their feet at providing the necessary funds.
49
Tell that to the people in flood ravaged Louisiana. The standing water there will be a mosquito breeding ground in short order. Zika is on it's way.
11
Mosquitos flying is nonsense. A Chinese hoax. It's only a consensus of scientists who make this claim and a consensus is not science.
10
This is quickly becoming a public health emergency, more serious than that caused by the Ebola virus. The Federal Government should send in teams to eradicate mosquitoes from the afflicted areas, including ridding them of pools of stagnant water and other breeding places, spraying the areas, and dispensing mosquito netting.
If the outbreaks spread, the government should consider instituting a quarantine.
If the outbreaks spread, the government should consider instituting a quarantine.
5
Mosquito control is primarily a local and state responsibility. The federal government should be able to send funding assistance to those affected areas once the GOP-controlled Congress approves the budget that the President and CDC have requested.
5
Residents are also responsible to take basic steps to avoid mosquitos from breeding. It's not difficult, or too much to ask , that people remove standing water from around their property.
8
Where is Congress? What do they get a paycheck for?
179
They need spending money while they are shaking down corporations and foreign governments.
14
Their paycheck is just like the paycheck that servers and bartenders get. Peanuts compared to the "tips" they get.
2
They don't get a paycheck silly. The live off a trust fund from Uncle Sam.
1
Those "two small areas" are densely populated and highly touristed. Not exactly rural Florida. In the meantime, Miami Beach residents received an email from the City Manager today stating that the Florida Department of Health had not yet confirmed any Zika cases on Miami Beach. Huh?
64
Of course nobody saw this coming! Mosquito flying around to the other side of the city? *gasp*. But in all seriousness, this thing is going to spread to all of the South. Lets wait and see what the Republicans have to say once this thing spreads to their home turf.
201
Let's see what happens when some of the 1%ers get bit by mosquitoes having the Zeta Virus. Then perhaps we'll see some action faster that you can say Republican.
4
"Lets wait and see what the Republicans have to say once this thing spreads to their home turf."
We all know that it will be Obama's fault. And if Zika gets really bad, then it will become Hillary's fault. That's the benefit of being a mindless ideologue -- nothing can ever change your mind.
We all know that it will be Obama's fault. And if Zika gets really bad, then it will become Hillary's fault. That's the benefit of being a mindless ideologue -- nothing can ever change your mind.
9
The Zika virus can have long-term, devastating effects on the most vulnerable--pregnant women and unborn children. I'm sad that women today have to live in fear of their child having birth defects from an almost unpreventable transmission source.
The CDC has been calling for measures to help prevent the spread. For a long time, Congress members claimed it was a problem for Latin American countries. Now the legislation is buried and used as bargaining tactic.
The question is: How much would you pay for your unborn child be healthy and free of the Zika virus?
The CDC has been calling for measures to help prevent the spread. For a long time, Congress members claimed it was a problem for Latin American countries. Now the legislation is buried and used as bargaining tactic.
The question is: How much would you pay for your unborn child be healthy and free of the Zika virus?
32
Would you move away from Florida and other southern, sub-tropical states? Would you endorse wide-spread pesticide use? Would you outlaw sexual contact with multiple partners? Would you quarantine travelers arriving from known Zika-infested countries? Would you disperse urban populations? Would you prohibit outdoor activity at dawn and dusk (actually Aedes sp. bite mostly during the day, so better stay indoors all the time)?
This is serious. It is not two “small areas” as the Governor is trying in his downplay to keep tourist Dollars inbound to Florida. In fact, tourists visiting Florida from elsewhere can potentially carry the virus into all fifty states, and beyond. Mosquitos and the infected travel. And so will the virus. Hence, the CDC is cautious, and pragmatic.
I wonder how are the Republicans representing Florida in DC are working on this. Will they help President Obama to get the Zika funding flowing, or in true GOP tradition, keep stonewalling him, even at the cost of their state and its residents suffering health and economic damage?
This adversity also presents an opportunity for who can discern one: This is a Profile-In-Courage moment for some ambitious Republican from Florida to take the lead to break the logjam in DC with a quick, cooperative piece of legislation and funding, perhaps leading to other items. You never know, it might help him during the re-election, and four years down the road. Or maybe in November itself, if the Trump Train keeps hurtling off the tracks at its current, crazy velocity.
Did I just say Marco Rubio?
I wonder how are the Republicans representing Florida in DC are working on this. Will they help President Obama to get the Zika funding flowing, or in true GOP tradition, keep stonewalling him, even at the cost of their state and its residents suffering health and economic damage?
This adversity also presents an opportunity for who can discern one: This is a Profile-In-Courage moment for some ambitious Republican from Florida to take the lead to break the logjam in DC with a quick, cooperative piece of legislation and funding, perhaps leading to other items. You never know, it might help him during the re-election, and four years down the road. Or maybe in November itself, if the Trump Train keeps hurtling off the tracks at its current, crazy velocity.
Did I just say Marco Rubio?
72
Little Marco is too busy courting Evangelicals by telling them that he thinks pregnant women infected with the Zika virus should not be allowed abortions. You have to look elsewhere for a courageous politician
55
Sadly. Our Republican neighbors have chosen. Wisley or not the fascists have been tearing the country apart and their only strategy is to heap blame on our best president since FDR. Let us not forget that we went through a similar attempt byRepublican bihots during the post depression Roosevelt Administation - to drive America into fascist hands during the late 1930's. The Supreme Court was the same issue then as now.
please help keep America safe from tyrany. Regardless of the issue we must stand together or we will fall separatley.
please help keep America safe from tyrany. Regardless of the issue we must stand together or we will fall separatley.
6
“We have two small areas,” he said. “One less than a mile, and we’ve already been able to reduce the footprint. We have another area now that’s 1.5 miles on Miami Beach. That’s out of a state that takes 15 hours to drive from Key West to Pensacola, so let’s put things in perspective.”
Yes, and of course mosquitoes don't actually fly, so no worries that they might spread outside those areas.
Yes, and of course mosquitoes don't actually fly, so no worries that they might spread outside those areas.
357
And I'm sure the mosquitoes read the press releases.
11
Your larger point is taken and agreed to, but mosquitos actually can't fly very far. The geographic spread is due to infected people moving and being bitten again elsewhere.
4
It's not so much the mosquitoes flying as the fact that people can be bitten in those areas, carry the disease elsewhere without realizing and the mosquitoes bite them in their new spot--maybe hundreds of miles from Miami. Then bite another person and infect them. It's human travel that's the problem.
2
The Republicans can't even get together to pass a bill for this issue. Mr. Scott who wouldn't stoop so low as to take Federal dollars for health care for poor people is now begging for funding from the Feds to fight Zika. The irony is not lost on those of us living in Florida. Kind of glad Trump is running. He's forcing people to the other side. Maybe now we can stop the gridlock that has ripped this country apart and only benefitted the 1%.
479
God help us.
6
And this from Wikipedia:
[Rick Scott] "resigned as chief executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997, amid a controversy over the company's business and Medicare billing practices; the company ultimately admitted to fourteen felonies and agreed to pay the federal government over $600 million, which was the largest fraud settlement in US".
Nobody knows healthcare, like Rick Scott.
history.
[Rick Scott] "resigned as chief executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997, amid a controversy over the company's business and Medicare billing practices; the company ultimately admitted to fourteen felonies and agreed to pay the federal government over $600 million, which was the largest fraud settlement in US".
Nobody knows healthcare, like Rick Scott.
history.
10
Was not the Guv'na of Florida, in another life, involved in criminal activity that had to do with Federal Health Care Dollars? When did he adopt the new approach?
1
Yes, by all means, heed Gov. Scott's advice and keep this all in perspective when you vote in November.
In response to various replies to an earlier posting:
The Republicans refused to allow a bill that just dealt with Zika funding. The Republican bill had "provisions that would limit funding for birth control, allow pesticide spraying near water sources, and raise the Confederate flag." (Quote from Roll Call)
The relevance of Medicaid to the spread of Zika has to do with the likelihood a poor person with Zika will seek help for feeling ill, that then Zika will be diagnosed, and that the iinfected person can be isolated from mosquitoes so that they do not serve as another source from which mosquitoes can feed and then transmit the disease to others.
The Federal money currently being used to fight Zika is mostly money transferred within the Department of Health and Human Services at the President's direction, not money appropriated by Congress.