The argument that Zika is comparable to HIV seems far-fetched. In my very close-up view of that era, not even close. Also, as an aside, I was somewhat surprised that bioethics is considered a science-intensive area; seems more like philosophy. The program is a MA and the curriculum did not seem to include much in the way of core science.
14
I live in the Ft. Lauderdale Area, just 30 miles north of Miami-Dade. Although my wife and I are beyond the child-bearing age, our daughter and the adult children of our friends certainly fall into the age range.
Having read quite a bit on Zika, I Emailed CDC and asked: if a woman who had previously been infected with Zika, can it still be transmitted to the fetus. The response was "probably not". Notice, the uncertainty. Part of the problem is that, without sufficient funding, research and vaccine development is behind--and will remain so.
The original idea of the Zika being limited to a postage stamp area (Wynwood), in Miami, was laughable. And the media doesn't help by constantly showing videos of pregnant women walking around--unprotected--in the Zika Area.
In areas like downtown Miami and Miami Beach, tall buildings and winds off the water make aerial spraying useless.
Miami has almost the same longitude as Rio, just barely outside the tropics where the mosquitos breed. Since 2010, scientists at University of San Paolo have been studying Zika--and the positive effect of Global Warming on its spread. Our Congress doesn't even acknowledge Climate Change, and our Governor has banned such words from his Administration.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
Having read quite a bit on Zika, I Emailed CDC and asked: if a woman who had previously been infected with Zika, can it still be transmitted to the fetus. The response was "probably not". Notice, the uncertainty. Part of the problem is that, without sufficient funding, research and vaccine development is behind--and will remain so.
The original idea of the Zika being limited to a postage stamp area (Wynwood), in Miami, was laughable. And the media doesn't help by constantly showing videos of pregnant women walking around--unprotected--in the Zika Area.
In areas like downtown Miami and Miami Beach, tall buildings and winds off the water make aerial spraying useless.
Miami has almost the same longitude as Rio, just barely outside the tropics where the mosquitos breed. Since 2010, scientists at University of San Paolo have been studying Zika--and the positive effect of Global Warming on its spread. Our Congress doesn't even acknowledge Climate Change, and our Governor has banned such words from his Administration.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
19
It's easy to see where this is all going. Hysterical demand for indiscriminate pesticide use is probably already on the rise, with the capacity to decimate populations of butterflies, dragonflies, bats, birds, fish and already declining amphibian species. All so a species already decimating the planet with over-population can continue its march to destruction of the biosphere. It's disappointing that the author of this piece, supposedly a bioethicist, can not see the bigger picture.
13
Why isn't the NY Times reporting the link between a Zika infection in adults and early dementia? What are they trying to hide?
http://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/08/zika-adult-brain-cells/4...
http://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/08/zika-adult-brain-cells/4...
10
I sympathize with those who have contracted ZIka and understand the anxiety of those who worry they will. But when every new virus or strain is heralded by the media as a potential scourge, it's hard for me to assign this report an appropriate context. It's not that long since the Ebola scare, and what did it anount to in the end?
5
Certainly your generation is entitled to its own STD (sorry you missed out on the glamour of AIDS, but it will always be out there).
We should all be very concerned about Zika, but this bizarre need to adopt it as the mascot for the Pepsi generation is a bit unsettling ( while not as common, some Gen Xers are still having kids so hold your horses).
We should all be very concerned about Zika, but this bizarre need to adopt it as the mascot for the Pepsi generation is a bit unsettling ( while not as common, some Gen Xers are still having kids so hold your horses).
8
Zika is the new rubella (German measles). Bad for fetus. Less issue for adults. The mmr vaccine has nearly eliminated congenital rubella. A Zika vaccine will likely do the same. This will be true only if Americans believe in vaccines. Those who do not will be the willing victims
Millennialist should worry about Zika if they are nearing or in pregnancy- however they should worry even more about real dangers. Auto accidents kill 10 times each year than died on 9/11. Poor diet and inactivity kill 10x as much as auto accidents - every day as many Americans as died on 9/11. Smoking is just as bad as poor diet and inactivity. There are some millennials that know this well - they are working 80 hour weeks in teaching hospitals as residents and are now taking care of those who had auto accidents, smoked, and has poor diet and inactivity
Millennialist should worry about Zika if they are nearing or in pregnancy- however they should worry even more about real dangers. Auto accidents kill 10 times each year than died on 9/11. Poor diet and inactivity kill 10x as much as auto accidents - every day as many Americans as died on 9/11. Smoking is just as bad as poor diet and inactivity. There are some millennials that know this well - they are working 80 hour weeks in teaching hospitals as residents and are now taking care of those who had auto accidents, smoked, and has poor diet and inactivity
8
>>>>
If there is one problem that this world will not suffer from it is to have too few people in it.
Zika may spin the neurotic in circles and falsely limit its life potentialities, but rest assured it's no match for Eros; for he has factored in every obstacle (e.g., homosexuality, erectile dysfunction, the plague, cancer etc....) as to his upstream core mission. As Freud wrote in 1939: “In no other case does Eros so clearly betray the core of his being, his purpose of making many out of one; but when he has achieved this in the proverbial way through the love of two human beings, he refuses to go further."
"In accordance with my conception of life, I have chosen not to bring children into the world. A coin is examined, and only after careful deliberation, given to a beggar, whereas a child is flung out into the cosmic brutality without hesitation".
(To Be a Human Being (1989–90); the philosopher Peter Wessel Zapffe.
If there is one problem that this world will not suffer from it is to have too few people in it.
Zika may spin the neurotic in circles and falsely limit its life potentialities, but rest assured it's no match for Eros; for he has factored in every obstacle (e.g., homosexuality, erectile dysfunction, the plague, cancer etc....) as to his upstream core mission. As Freud wrote in 1939: “In no other case does Eros so clearly betray the core of his being, his purpose of making many out of one; but when he has achieved this in the proverbial way through the love of two human beings, he refuses to go further."
"In accordance with my conception of life, I have chosen not to bring children into the world. A coin is examined, and only after careful deliberation, given to a beggar, whereas a child is flung out into the cosmic brutality without hesitation".
(To Be a Human Being (1989–90); the philosopher Peter Wessel Zapffe.
5
Perhaps this is just the beginning , the beginning of what happens to a species that over-populates their habitat.Nature has a way of eliminating species , we know so little about our planet. Although this virus is horrific for the individual, our species should be more aware that the future is grim. Why are we bringing more children into this world when things will be so unimaginably hard for them. What will you tell your kids when there is no clean water or air ,reduced food supply, continuous wars overs resources.
I wish your generation would wake up to the real tragedy coming for you and your children.
I only wish this was an exaggeration yet the earth will hopefully recover from our infestation. Very sad for your generation.
I wish your generation would wake up to the real tragedy coming for you and your children.
I only wish this was an exaggeration yet the earth will hopefully recover from our infestation. Very sad for your generation.
11
Zika and other diseases that hinder human procreation may be our salvation, because just as Zika is a disease afflicting humans, humans are a disease afflicting the ecosystem of this planet. There are far too many of us to be supported sustainably by the natural processes and resources of Earth.
In 1804, the number of people reached 1 billion; in 1927, 2 billion; in 1959, 3 billion; in 1974, 4 billion; in 1987, 5 billion; in 1999, 6 billion; in 2012, 7 billion; and we are on target to reach 8 billion in 2026.
See www.vhemt.org.
In 1804, the number of people reached 1 billion; in 1927, 2 billion; in 1959, 3 billion; in 1974, 4 billion; in 1987, 5 billion; in 1999, 6 billion; in 2012, 7 billion; and we are on target to reach 8 billion in 2026.
See www.vhemt.org.
6
Not too long ago, malaria was a widespread problem in the US until we made advancements in public health and controlled mosquito activity through insecticide spraying and eliminating unnecessary standing water sources.
Zika will be controlled and largely eliminated in the US just like every other mosquito borne illness has been controlled the last century here, so long as our governments are willing to spend the money and make the effort. Take that from another "millennial" in graduate school, for whatever that's worth
Zika will be controlled and largely eliminated in the US just like every other mosquito borne illness has been controlled the last century here, so long as our governments are willing to spend the money and make the effort. Take that from another "millennial" in graduate school, for whatever that's worth
5
What are this writer's grounds for expertise on Zika? She is not a physician, scientist, or epidemiologist. Shes a "research associate" getting a Master's in bioethics--hardly what sounds like an expert to me. I have no way of knowing if she did anything more than a Google search to prepare for this article.
I would hope that NYT did a better job of ensuring its writers were properly credentialed. Especially when writing about important, and confusing, public health topics such as Zika. We deserve information from people who know what they are talking about.
This is a well written article, but with the author having no real credentials, I don't really know what make of it.
I would hope that NYT did a better job of ensuring its writers were properly credentialed. Especially when writing about important, and confusing, public health topics such as Zika. We deserve information from people who know what they are talking about.
This is a well written article, but with the author having no real credentials, I don't really know what make of it.
16
Enough with the fear tactics! Start giving us what you factually know and now what you think you know or been told to tell us. Stop supporting corporations who are making another antivirus drug, because it can't be sued, which may not work and we will end up paying the cost, not only with losing more of our freedom of choice and our money, but with our health and lives.
Zika virus infections late in pregnancy may pose less risk to the fetus than widely feared. In June of this year, researchers report they found no overt Microcephaly among 616 babies in Colombia whose mothers showed symptoms of Zika virus disease in their third trimester of pregnancy.
Zika is not a new 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?”
What hasn't changed is the media hype to play on our emotions of what the government and corporations are about to do by misdirecting and lying to Americans once again.
Zika virus infections late in pregnancy may pose less risk to the fetus than widely feared. In June of this year, researchers report they found no overt Microcephaly among 616 babies in Colombia whose mothers showed symptoms of Zika virus disease in their third trimester of pregnancy.
Zika is not a new 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?”
What hasn't changed is the media hype to play on our emotions of what the government and corporations are about to do by misdirecting and lying to Americans once again.
4
Another example of the Republican Congress refusing to act or do their job. Another example of their inability to see what needs to be done. We need to vote them out of office so this country can move forward and address our problems. It is an outrage that this Congress could not even address the issue of a dangerous virus heading for our shores. Now it's here and what is being done? Congress is on vacation and people are being told to use bug spray and not have sex. What modern and scientific approaches to use for a deadly virus. Shame.
11
Thoughtful, reasonable, compelling and helpful. Thank you for taking time to share these vital precautions for a very legitimate concern.
Your contribution to the public awareness on how to best guard one's safety and the safety of a future baby during the current health threat by ZIKV is nothing less than a life saving public service. Well done and deeply appreciated.
Your contribution to the public awareness on how to best guard one's safety and the safety of a future baby during the current health threat by ZIKV is nothing less than a life saving public service. Well done and deeply appreciated.
6
The millennial generation is partially responsible for the outbreak and inaction on this crisis. It refuses to vote and get involved in the electoral process. Attending rallies is not enough.
It must vote in order to be heard.
It must vote in order to be heard.
4
Support abortion rights so that a couple has a handy back-up plan if the baby has neurological defects? What a horrible thought. For one thing, abortion is still killing a human being. For another thing, having unprotected sex will just spread the virus further, increasing the suffering for more people. Not having sex IS an option, people.
3
Programs to limit mosquito populations through genetic engineering should be encouraged, or even required. The beasts are a scourge on the earth killing millions every year and also render warm summer evenings an itchy if not dangerous time to be outside.
3
Is Zika something new? Hasn't it always been with us, just humanity did not notice? If it is really new, what caused its sudden appareance?
6
"Congress has yet to pass a bill that would allocate $1.1 billion to fighting Zika.
Until then, we should focus on what we can control. We can choose to use condoms or, to be extra cautious, not to have sex at all, to wear bug spray every time we go outside and to consider postponing having a baby until the Zika vaccine is available. We can also fight to keep hard-won reproductive freedoms safe from those who want to limit them; no one should be forced to carry neurologically devastated babies to term."
Get real millennials. The Republican Congress is threatening your progeny so that it can de-fund Planned Parenthood. Not Congress, the Republican Congress that denies women and their partners the right to chose to end fetal development. The actions of the Republican Congress guarantees increased abortions, or a lifetime of medical costs that will be borne by tax payers. Are Millennials not incensed?
Until then, we should focus on what we can control. We can choose to use condoms or, to be extra cautious, not to have sex at all, to wear bug spray every time we go outside and to consider postponing having a baby until the Zika vaccine is available. We can also fight to keep hard-won reproductive freedoms safe from those who want to limit them; no one should be forced to carry neurologically devastated babies to term."
Get real millennials. The Republican Congress is threatening your progeny so that it can de-fund Planned Parenthood. Not Congress, the Republican Congress that denies women and their partners the right to chose to end fetal development. The actions of the Republican Congress guarantees increased abortions, or a lifetime of medical costs that will be borne by tax payers. Are Millennials not incensed?
15
The Zika threat to the general public is a bit overblown. Unless a woman has the virus when pregnant, the symptoms are usually mild, self limited, and will likely result in immunity to recurrent infection. A vaccine will likely be developed. But even if that proves difficult, in time, most people in endemic areas will have Zika as children. I see Zika as more akin to Rubella (German Measles) than HIV.
6
With due respect to the author and her generation, the most important thing in the time of Zika is not their choice to have kids. The planet is in trouble and we are the culprits. The best way to help is to limit the size of your family to one child or none at all.
I don't want the kids we have growing up in a mangled world. Our carbon output has helped to spread Zika. More tropical diseases will follow in Zika's wake.
Our form of capitalism is based up endless growth: that is the way a cancer spreads, until it kills the host. In our era of automation, we can figure out a free-enterprise solution that supports a declining population without wrecking the economy. That's the best thing we can do for our planet, and yes, for our children.
I don't want the kids we have growing up in a mangled world. Our carbon output has helped to spread Zika. More tropical diseases will follow in Zika's wake.
Our form of capitalism is based up endless growth: that is the way a cancer spreads, until it kills the host. In our era of automation, we can figure out a free-enterprise solution that supports a declining population without wrecking the economy. That's the best thing we can do for our planet, and yes, for our children.
7
Here's an idea for 'Millennials.'Vote in midterms, and don't vote Republican. Then, when a manageable public health problem like Zika arises, our Congress will be able to fund efforts to kill mosquitoes, monitor the threat, and otherwise combat an epidemic. And you will not have to write editorials about how uniquely bad and scary the world has become.
See: "Youth Voter Turnout For 2014 Midterm Election Lowest In 40 Years: Report" http://www.ibtimes.com/youth-voter-turnout-2014-midterm-election-lowest-...
See: "Youth Voter Turnout For 2014 Midterm Election Lowest In 40 Years: Report" http://www.ibtimes.com/youth-voter-turnout-2014-midterm-election-lowest-...
8
The Republican controlled Congress can't be bothered with Zika funding - - there's just no money in it for them.... Until of course one of their children is struck with it. Or their wife or grandchild.
The Republicans' message is 'Let them eat cake.' And, all you little millennials out there are just going to have to pull yourselves up by your own bootstraps.
That is..., after you manage to find some boots.
The Republicans' message is 'Let them eat cake.' And, all you little millennials out there are just going to have to pull yourselves up by your own bootstraps.
That is..., after you manage to find some boots.
10
One wonders, which is worse or causes more issues. The Zika that has been around more than 70yrs., or the chemicals and pesticides being spayed anywhere and everywhere. When and where did the birth defects appear? Before or after all the spraying?
Disclaimer: Not a scientist nor do I play one on TV.
Disclaimer: Not a scientist nor do I play one on TV.
1
A weakness of this article is a failure to discuss the length of time in which the virus resides in the body and a person can infect another. This contributes towards an unhealthy fear hyping. This can lead to inadequately addressing the problem by encouraging forms of despair, which limit our ability to address the issue properly.
I've read that it stays in the blood for a week or two. This is disastrous if a woman is pregnant, but it doesn't appear to carry long term effects for the future capacity to have a healthy baby.
It also, however, can be carried in male semen and transmitted sexually for up to 6 months (I heard that this number is inflated by x3 as a precaution). Here it should be treated as an STD: couples should wait 6 months after being in high risk areas before trying to conceive and men with multiple or serial partners should report to their partners the risk of infection. Hyping Zika and misinformation will discourage honesty.
As noted above, however, this is already a US problem. There is an epidemic in Puerto Rico. Our failure as a nation to properly fund prevention and vaccine research treats our fellow US citizens, Puerto Ricans, as less than second-class citizens. The times has done some good coverage on this, but we need to do more to recognize this as a national problem (not to mention a human one), and not just a problem for tourists-citizens and islanders.
We should not fear monger, but we must recognize this is a pressing issue in our country.
I've read that it stays in the blood for a week or two. This is disastrous if a woman is pregnant, but it doesn't appear to carry long term effects for the future capacity to have a healthy baby.
It also, however, can be carried in male semen and transmitted sexually for up to 6 months (I heard that this number is inflated by x3 as a precaution). Here it should be treated as an STD: couples should wait 6 months after being in high risk areas before trying to conceive and men with multiple or serial partners should report to their partners the risk of infection. Hyping Zika and misinformation will discourage honesty.
As noted above, however, this is already a US problem. There is an epidemic in Puerto Rico. Our failure as a nation to properly fund prevention and vaccine research treats our fellow US citizens, Puerto Ricans, as less than second-class citizens. The times has done some good coverage on this, but we need to do more to recognize this as a national problem (not to mention a human one), and not just a problem for tourists-citizens and islanders.
We should not fear monger, but we must recognize this is a pressing issue in our country.
7
As the spread of HIV in the 80s and early 90s demonstrated, there's a very efficient disease vector in the gay male community. 300,000 men died. In recent years health officials, and even New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo, have been encouraging the use of the drug Truvada by gay men because it stops the transmission of HIV.
While a laudable goal, predictably many gay men stop using condoms as a result. The result is a viral superhighway that the next virus, most likely Zika, will zoom down. While this won't substantially increase the danger to heterosexual women via sex, it does multiply the number of opportunities for mosquitos to acquire the virus and thus endangers all.
Gay men need to stop relying on Trudada--which stops only one virus--and return to condoms which stop all. There's no magic pill, guys.
While a laudable goal, predictably many gay men stop using condoms as a result. The result is a viral superhighway that the next virus, most likely Zika, will zoom down. While this won't substantially increase the danger to heterosexual women via sex, it does multiply the number of opportunities for mosquitos to acquire the virus and thus endangers all.
Gay men need to stop relying on Trudada--which stops only one virus--and return to condoms which stop all. There's no magic pill, guys.
This is ridiculous, and way below the standard of the New York Times. Zika is not going to change a generation. Pregnant women should take precautions, but keep things in perspective. IF you are pregnant and IF you get Zika and IF it's in the first trimester, your baby has a 1% probability of developing microcephaly:
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)00742-...
This article is unethical and downright dangerous. Feeding the fear frenzy will only lead to making public health mistakes, like aerial spraying entire areas of cities with pesticides that are banned in many countries and who's effects on humans (not to mention the environment) are potentially worse than the effects of Zika.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)00742-...
This article is unethical and downright dangerous. Feeding the fear frenzy will only lead to making public health mistakes, like aerial spraying entire areas of cities with pesticides that are banned in many countries and who's effects on humans (not to mention the environment) are potentially worse than the effects of Zika.
4
I'll leave aside the STD and other medical comments of this write-up. Here's what I find interesting.
I've contemplated the fact that humanity is the biggest herd this planet has ever seen. As far as we know. There are +7 Billion of us on this wee rock circling its star. And as a collective, as a habit, we are consuming everything on it in the rapacious fashion of a swarm of locust. Intelligent, but unwise, locusts. But I digress. There are +7B of us. And we're all not being very....umm...kind to 'ol Mother Earth. The web of life on Earth is a dynamic, self-correcting system. I've been wondering what (and when) the natural blow-back, the natural counter-force, would arise from our collective behavior. Because you have to admit our myopic, consumption oriented, behavior needs adjusting.
So isn't it interesting that a virus is appearing that seems specifically designed to attack the one thing that has made us so rapacious? Our intelligence? Our, brain? A virus that can pull us back into the web of life; make us a bit more complacent as animals and stop us tearing at it? I know this is a bit over the top in the fanciful contemplation department but...anthromorphizing Nature in this fashion...but did I mention Nature's, a dynamic self-correcting system? It appears a balance is starting to be redressed? Especially if we don't learn to control ourselves as but one participant in that web of life?
John~
American Net'Zen
I've contemplated the fact that humanity is the biggest herd this planet has ever seen. As far as we know. There are +7 Billion of us on this wee rock circling its star. And as a collective, as a habit, we are consuming everything on it in the rapacious fashion of a swarm of locust. Intelligent, but unwise, locusts. But I digress. There are +7B of us. And we're all not being very....umm...kind to 'ol Mother Earth. The web of life on Earth is a dynamic, self-correcting system. I've been wondering what (and when) the natural blow-back, the natural counter-force, would arise from our collective behavior. Because you have to admit our myopic, consumption oriented, behavior needs adjusting.
So isn't it interesting that a virus is appearing that seems specifically designed to attack the one thing that has made us so rapacious? Our intelligence? Our, brain? A virus that can pull us back into the web of life; make us a bit more complacent as animals and stop us tearing at it? I know this is a bit over the top in the fanciful contemplation department but...anthromorphizing Nature in this fashion...but did I mention Nature's, a dynamic self-correcting system? It appears a balance is starting to be redressed? Especially if we don't learn to control ourselves as but one participant in that web of life?
John~
American Net'Zen
3
Great, yet another "benefit" of globalisation.
The world is sinking to the lowest common denominator, not moving up to aspire to the best. Ebola should never have spread as it did either, neither should this disease.
Zika should have been dealt with many months ago and funds should have been provided to Latin American countries who were and are at the forefront of this battle.
This is bad, but it is likely to be insignificant in comparison to the scale of the problem faced by the pregnant women who live in these areas.
Ebola, AIDS, swine flu, etc. had the potential to spread like wildfire. Sooner or later a disease will develop that is easily passed from human to human - perhaps just from sitting next to someone on an aeroplane - and is resistant to known antibiotics.
Pathogens are a greater threat than ISIS, North Korea and Russia combined. (More people died from Spanish flu in 1918-1919 than died from bullets and bombs in World War I.) But you would reach the opposite conclusion if you compare the budgets for health care versus military preparedness.
Maybe this a necessary wake-up call for millenials that they need to be focused on what's really happening in the world and get involved to change the trajectory we are on.
The world is sinking to the lowest common denominator, not moving up to aspire to the best. Ebola should never have spread as it did either, neither should this disease.
Zika should have been dealt with many months ago and funds should have been provided to Latin American countries who were and are at the forefront of this battle.
This is bad, but it is likely to be insignificant in comparison to the scale of the problem faced by the pregnant women who live in these areas.
Ebola, AIDS, swine flu, etc. had the potential to spread like wildfire. Sooner or later a disease will develop that is easily passed from human to human - perhaps just from sitting next to someone on an aeroplane - and is resistant to known antibiotics.
Pathogens are a greater threat than ISIS, North Korea and Russia combined. (More people died from Spanish flu in 1918-1919 than died from bullets and bombs in World War I.) But you would reach the opposite conclusion if you compare the budgets for health care versus military preparedness.
Maybe this a necessary wake-up call for millenials that they need to be focused on what's really happening in the world and get involved to change the trajectory we are on.
10
A perfect illustration of the effect on thinking an upbringing of indulgence, trophies for all, and helicopter parenting has wrought. Life in extremis, inability to cope with unscheduled happenings, extrapolation devoid of logic or nuance. The leaders of tomorrow. Deep space travel cannot come soon enough.
2
Let's be sure I've got this straight:
1) GOP refuses to move on funding to fight Zika.
2) Certain GOP members believe that woman whose fetus has been confined infected with Zika virus must carry baby to term, regardless of the woman's own feelings and beliefs.
A dangerous, backward-looking, impractical, non-reality-based philosophy.
The GOP: Less government when it's needed, excessive government when it's not. The hypocrisy is nauseating.
1) GOP refuses to move on funding to fight Zika.
2) Certain GOP members believe that woman whose fetus has been confined infected with Zika virus must carry baby to term, regardless of the woman's own feelings and beliefs.
A dangerous, backward-looking, impractical, non-reality-based philosophy.
The GOP: Less government when it's needed, excessive government when it's not. The hypocrisy is nauseating.
13
Thank you Rick Scott and the republicans in congress for playing politics with the lives of the American people.
7
Congress, as usual, is dragging its feet on funding research and vaccine development for this disease. An interesting New Yorker article on Zika Vaccine development touches on Congressional inaction. An excerpt:
"'In early 2017,' [Anthony] Fauci says, 'we will transition straight into the Phase II studies'—controlled trials to compare vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, which will enroll between twenty-four hundred and five thousand subjects. These studies, which may involve DNA vaccines, inactivated viruses, or other candidates, will cost about a hundred and fifty million dollars, and will answer the critical question of whether these vaccines actually work. If those trials go as predicted—if every step goes exactly as planned—the first Zika vaccines may be ready in early 2018 or soon afterward.
"Fauci is frustrated that Congress still hasn’t authorized emergency funds for the Zika effort. (President Obama requested $1.9 billion in February.) “We have had to borrow money from other accounts to get our work started,” Fauci said. “If we don’t receive the requested appropriations very soon, this will slow down the important preparations for the Phase II trial.”
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/22/the-race-for-a-zika-vaccine
"'In early 2017,' [Anthony] Fauci says, 'we will transition straight into the Phase II studies'—controlled trials to compare vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, which will enroll between twenty-four hundred and five thousand subjects. These studies, which may involve DNA vaccines, inactivated viruses, or other candidates, will cost about a hundred and fifty million dollars, and will answer the critical question of whether these vaccines actually work. If those trials go as predicted—if every step goes exactly as planned—the first Zika vaccines may be ready in early 2018 or soon afterward.
"Fauci is frustrated that Congress still hasn’t authorized emergency funds for the Zika effort. (President Obama requested $1.9 billion in February.) “We have had to borrow money from other accounts to get our work started,” Fauci said. “If we don’t receive the requested appropriations very soon, this will slow down the important preparations for the Phase II trial.”
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/22/the-race-for-a-zika-vaccine
5
Zika has this going for it: it physically affects (future) cute little babies, not gay men. People in power are paying attention. Wanna-be parents are thinking about it and talking about it. It would have been heartening to see this concern in the 80's. Not even Westboro Baptists would make signs saying "God Hates Babies".
2
Look multiple effective Zika vaccines have been developed and are ready to go, and there are cutting edge methods now of controlling mosquitoes. The only thing that stands in the way of deploying these tools is republican intransigence, particularly in the house. Mainly because it involves "science and stuff" and "costs money." If it was funding for a nonworking Jet fighter (F-35) or other weapons system, it would be full speed ahead.
9
Well written article with just a little bit too much of an alarmist undertone.
The issue is not only with infant brains but also with adults brains, only less so.
Still, as long as some of those hotspots for the virus, such as Brazil or Puerto Rico, are a favourite travel destination, the virus will continue to spread at an alarming rate.
Maybe it is time to reconsider travel behaviour.
Having the Olympic Games in Rio with hundreds of thousands of people that will travel back home, quite a few carrying the virus, is pure idiocy.
The issue is not only with infant brains but also with adults brains, only less so.
Still, as long as some of those hotspots for the virus, such as Brazil or Puerto Rico, are a favourite travel destination, the virus will continue to spread at an alarming rate.
Maybe it is time to reconsider travel behaviour.
Having the Olympic Games in Rio with hundreds of thousands of people that will travel back home, quite a few carrying the virus, is pure idiocy.
6
Based on my experience with the poor work ethic and elevated expectations of Millenials, reliance on them to seriously address this issue is misplaced.
5
Think of the number of times in your life you've absently scratched a mosquito bite. Now imagine if every one of those bites equalled a severely, permanently disabled human. What in the name of Jonas Salk is our dysfunctional Congress thinking of? While everyone stews over the threat of terrorist attacks, it's viral attacks that warrant our constant vigilance. They've only to look at the many African nations that have been devastated by mosquito-transmitted diseases. If they think healthcare is a problem now...
9
The reproduction number/ infectiousness for Zika depends strongly on where you are, as far as we know. It is mostly spread by mosquitoes and only mosquitoes who only live in tropical climates. Transmission through sex seems to be rare. It would also almost certainly spread through blood transfusion. Even though Zika has been around for a reasonably long time (at least since 1950), there has never been an epidemic in a temperate region of the world. Likely, this is because the transmission rate is quite low in temperature regions. While there is evidence that the virus persists in your body for a while there does not seem to be evidence that it causes birth defects after the acute phase is over.
So, likely you can still have normal children. Just avoid tropical areas and sex with people who have recently been to tropical areas, particularly in the summer.
So, likely you can still have normal children. Just avoid tropical areas and sex with people who have recently been to tropical areas, particularly in the summer.
1
We don't know if there are other long term side effects of an infection in adults. Adult stem cells in the brain may be impacted. Does it impact memory or Altzheimers susceptibility? Unknown. See link reporting on this. Couldn't find original study doc.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/zika-alzheimers-effect-adults-...
Personally, I wish tick born diseases would get the attention they deserve as an epidemic. I am waiting for a Republican to get a really bad case so we can fund that.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/zika-alzheimers-effect-adults-...
Personally, I wish tick born diseases would get the attention they deserve as an epidemic. I am waiting for a Republican to get a really bad case so we can fund that.
8
When I was identified as a group at risk for a sexually transmitted disease I was told:
To stop having sex.
That I deserved what I got if I didn't.
Can't heterosexuals control themselves enough to stop the damage caused by this "bug"?
Do we really need to spray poison (Naled) on an entire city (Miami) when the at risk group is so tiny?
The whole circus/knee jerk reaction surrounding Zika is ridiculous.
To stop having sex.
That I deserved what I got if I didn't.
Can't heterosexuals control themselves enough to stop the damage caused by this "bug"?
Do we really need to spray poison (Naled) on an entire city (Miami) when the at risk group is so tiny?
The whole circus/knee jerk reaction surrounding Zika is ridiculous.
5
"The sky is falling!" relax... Besides maybe Mother Nature is finally taking care of the planet -- there is an abundance of homo sapiens.
Oh no -- I can't go to Disney World -- is this a joke? A vaccine is being developed and throwing billions at anything does not change the TIME factor (patience already!!) PS in my generation the problem was toxoplasmosis from cat feces.
Too much Hollywood, not enough history. Meaantime stop drinking so much... Alcohol also affects the developing fetus and ... guess what you can get pregnant while using birth control.. We still have no idea how what goes into the body affects, well, everything.
Oh no -- I can't go to Disney World -- is this a joke? A vaccine is being developed and throwing billions at anything does not change the TIME factor (patience already!!) PS in my generation the problem was toxoplasmosis from cat feces.
Too much Hollywood, not enough history. Meaantime stop drinking so much... Alcohol also affects the developing fetus and ... guess what you can get pregnant while using birth control.. We still have no idea how what goes into the body affects, well, everything.
6
Zika is the disease that will cause society to look at abortion for the personal choice it needs to be. As a Jewish woman who tested for Tay Sachs when I was pregnant I know the choice I would make if my baby was sick. Who is anyone to judge or block my decision as I am one who must live the outcome.
We don't know everything about Zika, but the more we learn the scarier it gets. Zika can stay in semen for 6 months. Your partner can infect you while you are pregnant. You can get bit any time during your pregnancy . They are now finding healthy born babies that deteriorate after as the microcephaly progresses.
All scary news happening in southern red states that have passed more than 200 laws to limit a women's access to choose. Incredibly our do nothing congress went on vacation without voting to provide funds.
The republicans simply don't want to govern. Their way to help the deficit is to simply do nothing. Think about that in November.
We don't know everything about Zika, but the more we learn the scarier it gets. Zika can stay in semen for 6 months. Your partner can infect you while you are pregnant. You can get bit any time during your pregnancy . They are now finding healthy born babies that deteriorate after as the microcephaly progresses.
All scary news happening in southern red states that have passed more than 200 laws to limit a women's access to choose. Incredibly our do nothing congress went on vacation without voting to provide funds.
The republicans simply don't want to govern. Their way to help the deficit is to simply do nothing. Think about that in November.
23
Well for now, thank goodness for GMO research and development. Without it, we would have one less important weapon against a growing scourge.
3
Mosquitoes are drawn to me like bees to honey; I have gone camping with groups (thus sleeping in large shared tents) and I would be the only one covered with mosquito bites in the morning, as though the mosquitoes purposely skipped my tent mates just to feast on me.
So for people like me, protection against mosquitoss to ensure a healthy baby would mean 12 months (the months preceding conception and 9 months during pregnancy) of 24 hours a day 7 days a week non-stop and vigilant protection to cover up every millimeter of bare skin with either bug spray or when sleeping a mosquito net (and hoping if I go to the bathroom at night, no mosquito gets in the net when I get out and back into bed).
And the same routine for my partner if I am to have sex during the pregnancy.
That is way too much stress (and bug spray) to be healthy for me or my partner or the fetus.
So for people like me, protection against mosquitoss to ensure a healthy baby would mean 12 months (the months preceding conception and 9 months during pregnancy) of 24 hours a day 7 days a week non-stop and vigilant protection to cover up every millimeter of bare skin with either bug spray or when sleeping a mosquito net (and hoping if I go to the bathroom at night, no mosquito gets in the net when I get out and back into bed).
And the same routine for my partner if I am to have sex during the pregnancy.
That is way too much stress (and bug spray) to be healthy for me or my partner or the fetus.
6
I appreciate the potential severity of the issue and the points the author makes. But the breathless, Oh My God! tone of the article definitely reduces the impact of the story.
3
People who are not hyper-attractive to mosquitoes don't realize what it means to live with bug spray 24 hours a day: if there is a spot that is not covered, a mosquito with find that spot. And only the strongest, nastiest stuff works to repel them, otherwise, with the natural stuff, you hear the mosquitoes just buzzing around you searching for a safe spot to land. And you need to keep applying the stuff as it wears off. And the strongest, nasties stuff tastes nasty and bitter because it gets all over your hands and and lips and you have to handle food. And it dries your skin.
The alternative is to walk around in a burqa. With the face mask.
The alternative is to walk around in a burqa. With the face mask.
4
Just another alarmist piece about the potential consequences of the virus for those wishing to perpetuate the old paradigm of fulfillment through the parenting of "perfect" children...
I am surprised we don't see more commentary concerning the population control (i.e., reduction) benefits this virus may bring to the planet, at a time when human overpopulation threatens our environment more than ever before.
I am surprised we don't see more commentary concerning the population control (i.e., reduction) benefits this virus may bring to the planet, at a time when human overpopulation threatens our environment more than ever before.
6
While I agree we need to act decisively and aggressively on this I find the author's call to treat this as a new sexually transmitted disease disturbing. We don't need another disease that will just have a load of stigma attached to this. No thank you. And then you are less likely to have congressional support. Let's treat it as the disease it is and use the prevention methods available to us. We should be promoting condom use among young people regardless. But people should first and foremost try to prevent getting bit in the first place. Yes it is also sexually transmitted which complicates prevention of the disease but groups that are most likely affected and that will see the effects on their babies are probably majority married or cohabitating couples. Sure there are single pregnant women and young girls out there - but let's not add to the stigma they already face in the US. Millenials who get bit or the virus through sex and are not in relationships or not planning on having kids - not so much to worry about unless they find it lingers longer. I have seen the devastating effects of stigma of HIV in both the US since the 80's and in Africa. The last thing we need is to promote this as an std.
6
D to DO something about reality.
R to RETREAT from reality.
November 8, 2016.
Vote America.
It makes a difference to reality when you vote....really.
R to RETREAT from reality.
November 8, 2016.
Vote America.
It makes a difference to reality when you vote....really.
15
I don't get the very lax attitude many millennials have toward condom use, especially in the gay community. Now Zika can be added to the list of infections that could come with unprotected sex. Why not just use them and be safe? It's absolutely baffling.
4
Another strange article, as if "millennials" are the only ones reading the NY Times - and may be they are. The oldest millenials are now 36 years old (born in 1980, that cohort turns 36 this year). That group are nearing middle age - and must be more concerned about the links between infection with the Zika virus and early dementia, as reported in most news outlets this week. Regarding Zika as an STD - the risks of it must be put IN PERSPECTIVE with other STDS - the risks of chlamydia, gonnorhea and syphilis are certainly higher in the US than Zika. It would be more educational to have an infectious disease expert writing an op-ed on the relaive risk of Zika - when will the NY Times get over its fixation with "millenials" and publish a better report on it than this click-bait article that tries to spike fear without really providing any new information?
3
Really, millenials should not have children. It is completely unfair to children to bring them into this world, which could begin to collapse in the next 20 to 30 years. Additionally, giving the pressure that Americans place on the planet, we should refrain from having children. It is a moral issue.
Zika is perhaps one of those threats that we will be facing -- the spreading range of infection-bearing mosquitoes, plus floods of refugees, food shortages, severe storms, and more.
http://www.npr.org/2016/08/18/479349760/should-we-be-having-kids-in-the-...?
Zika is perhaps one of those threats that we will be facing -- the spreading range of infection-bearing mosquitoes, plus floods of refugees, food shortages, severe storms, and more.
http://www.npr.org/2016/08/18/479349760/should-we-be-having-kids-in-the-...?
5
We need fewer people on the planet.
7
Thank you Thomas for your kind words! I want to add that many people in the metro area of Puerto Rico have gotten Zika! I think a flaw in most awareness campaigns is the fact that no one knows the symptoms for non-pregnant individuals! You get a pretty nasty rash all over your body, headaches, a slight fever and flu-like symptoms. In addition, you often get a sick stomach. It's nothing to panic about but I think if people were more aware of the risks Zika poses to the non-pregnant individual preventative measures may be more effective!
6
This is a fine column, the second that I know about from the NYT and this must be my 4th comment. The HIV/AIDS wars scarred me for life so Zika has become something of an obsession for me. As much as I like the NYT, VOX.COM and THEATLANTIC.COM are way out in front on Zika. Go to the sites and search on Zika and read article after article especially articles by a pregnant women in Miami and a woman (not pregnant) who contracted Zika in the Dominican Republic and lives in D.C. We are not prepared for this epidemic, getting tested, finding literate health care workers--if you are pregnant or want to be pregnant, then good luck with all that. As for the Zika vaccine race (the finish line for a vaccine with lots of luck is 2 years away) see: New Yorker magazine August 22,2016, "The Chase: can Zika be stopped?". Not in time for many children, I can tell you that. If you are pregnant with a fetus that has become microcephalic, will die young, is deformed, and will never recognize its parents, then maybe a woman should be allowed to choose. I do not have enough characters to debate this, but on the Florida front lines, senator Marco Rubio is clear, a woman should never have such a right if it takes a constitutional amendment to forever preclude that right under any circumstance. If you are pregnant or want to be and you live in Florida and mosquitos and any kind of unprotected sex and Senator Rubio worries you, consider Nova Scotia.
5
This opinion piece is a fear-mongering piece and spreading inaccuracies that can cause more harm than Zika itself.
1. Zika does not cause microcephaly.
The Centre for Disease Control has published that ZIka increases
"can increase risk of having a baby with these health problems. It does not mean, however, that all women who have Zika virus infection during pregnancy will have babies with problems. "
"The report notes that no single piece of evidence provides conclusive proof that Zika virus infection is a cause of microcephaly and other fetal brain defects."
2. This piece also infers, while not directly, that people in New York have the right to be worried. There is absolutely no proof that it can spread there because the conditions needed are only found in the tropics.
3. The author also refers to Zika data from Colombia yet neglects to mention any of the other key findings from their studies. Most powerful is that in Colombia there were 50 cases of microcephaly between January 2016 and May 2016 and only 4 were connected to Zika. And that stat is on-par with national averages.
My goal is not to temper the directed efforts to deal with this epidemic, it is to ensure that there isn't a second epidemic to deal with: panic based on unfounded articles like this one. If you want to liken it to the start of Aids (a terrible idea in my opinion) let's remember that the start of that global epidemic fuelled ignorance and hate crimes because of terrible reporting like this.
1. Zika does not cause microcephaly.
The Centre for Disease Control has published that ZIka increases
"can increase risk of having a baby with these health problems. It does not mean, however, that all women who have Zika virus infection during pregnancy will have babies with problems. "
"The report notes that no single piece of evidence provides conclusive proof that Zika virus infection is a cause of microcephaly and other fetal brain defects."
2. This piece also infers, while not directly, that people in New York have the right to be worried. There is absolutely no proof that it can spread there because the conditions needed are only found in the tropics.
3. The author also refers to Zika data from Colombia yet neglects to mention any of the other key findings from their studies. Most powerful is that in Colombia there were 50 cases of microcephaly between January 2016 and May 2016 and only 4 were connected to Zika. And that stat is on-par with national averages.
My goal is not to temper the directed efforts to deal with this epidemic, it is to ensure that there isn't a second epidemic to deal with: panic based on unfounded articles like this one. If you want to liken it to the start of Aids (a terrible idea in my opinion) let's remember that the start of that global epidemic fuelled ignorance and hate crimes because of terrible reporting like this.
4
This is silly. We know very little about Zika at this point. We'll also probably have a vaccine within 5 years.
1
Further points of clarification--Zika is an Arbovirus, which have been good targets for vaccines (Yellow fever virus).
Far more people will die next year from the influenza virus. Many will elect to pass on their flu vaccine shot. Where's the outrage?
Far more people will die next year from the influenza virus. Many will elect to pass on their flu vaccine shot. Where's the outrage?
1
I'm not understanding how this a threat to an entire generation. It seems more like an inconvenience for the next few years. "Based on the available evidence, we think that Zika virus infection in a woman who is not pregnant would not pose a risk for birth defects in future pregnancies after the virus has cleared from her blood. From what we know about similar infections, once a person has been infected with Zika virus, he or she is likely to be protected from a future Zika infection."
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/healtheffects/birth_defects.html
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/healtheffects/birth_defects.html
6
Sounds like it will cause and increase in abortions....
1
I was confused about the difference in basic reproduction numbers between seasonal influenza and HIV. It would seem that HIV, with a number of between 2 and 5, is much more virulent than influenza, with a number of 1.3. But unstated in the article is the fact that HIV is generally a lifetime infection, so those who are sick have their entire lives to pass along the virus, while those who are sick with the flu have only a week.
2
This is an important issue and I am happy that the NYT is taking it up. On the other hand, I wonder whether it's wise to have graduate students write on such important matters. Not that I doubt the competence of the author, but congress won't be impressed by the "expert testimony" of a research assistant working towards a masters and release $1.1 billion dollars because of it. There is such a thing as professional standing and the NYT should fully exploit the reputation of leading researchers when it comes to advocating for the fight against Zika.
9
Interesting to view Zika as an STD. As such, we can use HIV prevention practices as a model - one should always use condoms with new partners, and get tested as recommended by one's doctor. But if HIV is the model, then that also means that Zika won't spread rapidly where they're aren't infectious mosquitoes and where there are safe sex practices. In other words maybe the picture isn't so grim.
1
I'm all for an all out attempt to defeat Zika. Without even going into the cost of emotional pain, consider the pure economics: assume cost of care of a special needs person to be 20k a year for 50 years = 1 million dollars. 1000 such cases cost 1 billion dollars.
Now take into account the emotional pain avoided, the joy of being able to help those in other countries such as Brazil who have a far bigger problem with Zika, and all the experienced gained along with the research which will bear forward to future problems.
Now the good news: The human immune system responds well to Zika and completely clears it from the body. "... the Zika virus is only alive and active in an individual for approximately seven days ... ", "... Zika virus appears to prompt people to develop immunity after they've had it once, making it unlikely that the virus will cause problems later...". That means getting Zika now would not have any adverse effect on a child conceived after getting over Zika. In fact, having just gotten over Zika would mean the mother's immunity would protect her from getting Zika again while pregnant - an definite advantage!
Probably the solution to Zika will be immunization. Then, anyone planning to get pregnant can get immunized in advance.
By the way, unless MIllenials have evolved some special powers, they are also vulnerable to getting STD's during unprotected sex, regardless of Zika.
Now take into account the emotional pain avoided, the joy of being able to help those in other countries such as Brazil who have a far bigger problem with Zika, and all the experienced gained along with the research which will bear forward to future problems.
Now the good news: The human immune system responds well to Zika and completely clears it from the body. "... the Zika virus is only alive and active in an individual for approximately seven days ... ", "... Zika virus appears to prompt people to develop immunity after they've had it once, making it unlikely that the virus will cause problems later...". That means getting Zika now would not have any adverse effect on a child conceived after getting over Zika. In fact, having just gotten over Zika would mean the mother's immunity would protect her from getting Zika again while pregnant - an definite advantage!
Probably the solution to Zika will be immunization. Then, anyone planning to get pregnant can get immunized in advance.
By the way, unless MIllenials have evolved some special powers, they are also vulnerable to getting STD's during unprotected sex, regardless of Zika.
3
Zika gives the most self absorbed generation something else to be self obsessed about. It's always all about them.
9
Of course we need to fund initiatives to combat this disease, however our reaction to Zika may prove more devastating in the long run. Nobody died from radiation at Fukushima but 1,600+ died during the evacuation. If women started to postpone pregnancy in large numbers, we would end up with a population bottleneck that would have real effects on our lives and society as a whole, for generations after Zika has been long forgotten.
3
Solution to this is much simpler than any deadly infection. Let's infect everybody who is not pregnant and get it over with in couple of months that takes to flush the virus out.
2
There's the small problem of genetic mutation creating new strains, as happens with the influenza virus every year. Also, it isn't like polio or smallpox.
4
The op-art is wickedly beautiful. Zoom out, it looks like a hideous monster emerging out of a clutch of limbs. Zoom in, you can clearly man, woman and child.
3
Perhaps the Ebola scare and then how it fizzled is misleading people into not worrying about Zika. Congress certainly hasn't.
2
The advice to avoid mosquito bites seems like a reasonable thing to say but really it is not effective advice. In hot humid climates people are extremely uncomfortable wearing long sleeved shirts and long pants that can prevent bites.
The rapid and extensive spread indicates that a majority of people are soon exposed and the disease will be established as endemic. We already know men become carriers in their semen for six months or longer when infected.
Therefore we will see a drop in pregnancies as women postpone pregnancy and those who attempt pregnancy despite the epidemic will suffer a large number of deformed babies with severe permanent crippling birth defects.
There is no doubt that there will be a drop in human reproductive success until Zika is brought under control.
It is startling that this virus has a such a specialized and limited tropism for fetal neural stem cell progenitors. Will Zika mutate into a deadly neurological disease that kills healthy adults? Now Zika is relatively benign in healthy adults and the viral virulence is for the developing fetal brain. That might change, we do not know how many mutations are needed to trigger a change in virulence, and instead of only a few adults with weak immune systems dying from Zika it might suddenly become widely virulent and much more dangerous.
All the more reason to accelerate vaccine development.
The rapid and extensive spread indicates that a majority of people are soon exposed and the disease will be established as endemic. We already know men become carriers in their semen for six months or longer when infected.
Therefore we will see a drop in pregnancies as women postpone pregnancy and those who attempt pregnancy despite the epidemic will suffer a large number of deformed babies with severe permanent crippling birth defects.
There is no doubt that there will be a drop in human reproductive success until Zika is brought under control.
It is startling that this virus has a such a specialized and limited tropism for fetal neural stem cell progenitors. Will Zika mutate into a deadly neurological disease that kills healthy adults? Now Zika is relatively benign in healthy adults and the viral virulence is for the developing fetal brain. That might change, we do not know how many mutations are needed to trigger a change in virulence, and instead of only a few adults with weak immune systems dying from Zika it might suddenly become widely virulent and much more dangerous.
All the more reason to accelerate vaccine development.
6
@infrederick-
Such advice is akin to "don't get hit by a car".
When you consider how much of Lousiana is still flooded after epic AGW-driven storms how can that state's underfunded mosquito control agencies effectively prevent a mosquito population explosion? And how can five million people (or more) clearing water-logged wreckage from their homes realistically avoid being bitten?
Even if only 2.5% of those bites cause Zika transmission that's still a colossal number of new cases, most which will go undetected because public health services were drastically reduced by Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax-cutting Republican administration.
The host island for transmission throughout the Lower 48 is now in Louisiana, Mississippi and East Texas.
Such advice is akin to "don't get hit by a car".
When you consider how much of Lousiana is still flooded after epic AGW-driven storms how can that state's underfunded mosquito control agencies effectively prevent a mosquito population explosion? And how can five million people (or more) clearing water-logged wreckage from their homes realistically avoid being bitten?
Even if only 2.5% of those bites cause Zika transmission that's still a colossal number of new cases, most which will go undetected because public health services were drastically reduced by Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax-cutting Republican administration.
The host island for transmission throughout the Lower 48 is now in Louisiana, Mississippi and East Texas.
1
Bioethics has apparently come a long way. "We can also fight to keep hard-won reproductive freedoms safe from those who want to limit them; no one should be forced to carry neurologically devastated babies to term." There was a time when human life in the womb was important and valued even when less then perfict. Adoption certainly remains a loving alternative for parents of a Zika infected baby, As an attorney I know why legal ethics changed (one vote) but I don't see why that should change bioethics. "Do no harm" is still a very good rule.
2
Don't worry millennials; a vaccine is already under development, compliments of your boring predecessors. You can get back to your selfie sticks and whining about the lack of opportunities available to you. There is an article about Jack Wills you might find interesting elsewhere.
2
People get sick in all kinds of ways. Grow up and be reasonable.
3
Why we are not taking the Zika virus more seriously is beyond me.
Having lost relatives to the "Flu Epidemic" of 1919, to Yellow Fever,
Black Water Fever, Pneumonia and having contracted Polio as a boy -
I do not view diseases as something we have a "natural right" to be free
of as many "Millennials" may.
Whether it is a new and more virulent strain of S.T.D. or Zika or some other bacterium or virus - that can be transmitted through/by casual sex -
- maybe it would be wiser to take the moral standards of our Grandparents
more seriously and stop putting hedonism ahead of common sense.
Having lost relatives to the "Flu Epidemic" of 1919, to Yellow Fever,
Black Water Fever, Pneumonia and having contracted Polio as a boy -
I do not view diseases as something we have a "natural right" to be free
of as many "Millennials" may.
Whether it is a new and more virulent strain of S.T.D. or Zika or some other bacterium or virus - that can be transmitted through/by casual sex -
- maybe it would be wiser to take the moral standards of our Grandparents
more seriously and stop putting hedonism ahead of common sense.
7
This seems an insane over-reaction. The odds you will get Zika, even in a tropical area, are small. The odds you will get it while pregnant are even smaller. The odds your baby will have birth defects is even smaller. You do realized that:
1) In all of Brazil, a country with a population of over 200M, there were less than 5,000 cases of microcephaly as of April of this year.
2) It is extremely unlikely Zika will make it in any signifiant numbers to areas where there are winter frosts, where mosquitos die in the winter.
3) Zika itself is not that harmful. It's like a flu. As long as you aren't pregnant while with the disease or for a few months after, the possible impacts are very minimal.
For someone who is a scientist, this is a very emotion-based column.
1) In all of Brazil, a country with a population of over 200M, there were less than 5,000 cases of microcephaly as of April of this year.
2) It is extremely unlikely Zika will make it in any signifiant numbers to areas where there are winter frosts, where mosquitos die in the winter.
3) Zika itself is not that harmful. It's like a flu. As long as you aren't pregnant while with the disease or for a few months after, the possible impacts are very minimal.
For someone who is a scientist, this is a very emotion-based column.
4
Have you read about the epidemic in Puerto Rico? The odds there are overwhelming that you would get Zika.
6
No mention of Puerto Rico where they are fighting an epidemic of Zika.
9
Alarmast. Yes Zika is an urgent problem that needs immediate attention and will cause undue suffering in the short run. But ruin a generation's ability to have healthy kids? I'm sure that there will be vaccine to Zika available if and when we commit to doing it.
3
Two different Zika vaccines are ready for human trial. One--GLS-5700--was already approved for human testing back in June. Another is on the way.
Calm down, kid.
Calm down, kid.
5
Following up on my prior comment (re that horrendously written sentence: "Unlike with H.I.V. and other well-known S.T.D.s, it’s not us who will be affected primarily."): Then there's the content.
Zika won't primarily affect the parents of a baby with microcephaly? Or the expectant parents of a fetus with microcephaly? Really?
I don't think we need to parse whether it's worse to be the parent of a child with brain injury sufficient to prevent the child from being aware of his or her condition, or to be the child yourself. I think we can agree that Zika would have a profound -- devastating -- impact on parent and child alike. I think we can agree the same is true in the case of a fetus.
Ms. Folkers opens her essay with "I am a millennial." It's notable that she begins an essay about Zika & the millennial generation with a statement about herself (a statement that begins with "I," so that the *entire essay* begins with "I"; a statement that's also pompously expressed, with its choice of the formal two words "I am" over the informal contraction "I'm"). But it's not only notable, it's also appropriate. Ms Folkers tells us a lot about herself in this essay (she's a scientist, she's working on a masters, etc.), but based on both the writing and content of this piece, the most important thing about her (and it) appears to be that she is, indeed, "millennial," in the worst sense of the word.
I begin to see what college professors and employers have been complaining about.
Zika won't primarily affect the parents of a baby with microcephaly? Or the expectant parents of a fetus with microcephaly? Really?
I don't think we need to parse whether it's worse to be the parent of a child with brain injury sufficient to prevent the child from being aware of his or her condition, or to be the child yourself. I think we can agree that Zika would have a profound -- devastating -- impact on parent and child alike. I think we can agree the same is true in the case of a fetus.
Ms. Folkers opens her essay with "I am a millennial." It's notable that she begins an essay about Zika & the millennial generation with a statement about herself (a statement that begins with "I," so that the *entire essay* begins with "I"; a statement that's also pompously expressed, with its choice of the formal two words "I am" over the informal contraction "I'm"). But it's not only notable, it's also appropriate. Ms Folkers tells us a lot about herself in this essay (she's a scientist, she's working on a masters, etc.), but based on both the writing and content of this piece, the most important thing about her (and it) appears to be that she is, indeed, "millennial," in the worst sense of the word.
I begin to see what college professors and employers have been complaining about.
8
God help Gen X, we're surrounded by boomers on one side (I I I I I I I) and millenials on the other (me me me me me me me me).
It was a good article. She meant physically affected, by the way.
It was a good article. She meant physically affected, by the way.
If you get zika, whose symptoms appear to be fairly mild if you are not pregnant, and then get pregnant some point in the future, (after your body has fought off the virus), are you safe? Is this one of those viruses like chicken pox that you only get once? Or are women at constant risk of getting zika over and over again? If it's the former, seems like you'd want to get exposed well before you plan on getting pregnant - then you'll be immune and don't have to worry anymore. If you can keep getting reinfected, that's very troubling...
7
I disagree with some of the posts thus far, and disagree strongly.
No, Zika is not an inconvenience that we shouldn't worry about and yes, it can indeed stop a major proportion of the next generation from being born. What is more terrifying to a mother than knowing that you may give birth to a child with microcephaly, a child without half his or her normal head and brain size who will need to be cared for intensively for the rest of his life, and your own as well?
It is a horror out of a nightmare. In just months it had spread through South America and the Caribbean and is now embedded in Miami, Florida.
Our governor, Rick Scott, and his state tourist board have made public pronouncements that there's nothing to be worried about so please keep coming to Florida, just make sure you use mosquito repellant and all will be fine. After all, we don't want to lose your tourist dollars. As for Florida residents, sure hope they're not poor because Richie Rick has made sure that President Obama's expansion of Medicaid never entered Florida. So you're on your own, folks, it's your own fault for being poor.
And Congressional Republicans refuse to fund what needs to be an onslaught of medical research to find not only a cure but also methods of early detection of the virus and an inoculation against the disease.
Zika has the potential of become the first major health catastrophe of the 21st century. We need urgent action now to stop this epidemic.
No, Zika is not an inconvenience that we shouldn't worry about and yes, it can indeed stop a major proportion of the next generation from being born. What is more terrifying to a mother than knowing that you may give birth to a child with microcephaly, a child without half his or her normal head and brain size who will need to be cared for intensively for the rest of his life, and your own as well?
It is a horror out of a nightmare. In just months it had spread through South America and the Caribbean and is now embedded in Miami, Florida.
Our governor, Rick Scott, and his state tourist board have made public pronouncements that there's nothing to be worried about so please keep coming to Florida, just make sure you use mosquito repellant and all will be fine. After all, we don't want to lose your tourist dollars. As for Florida residents, sure hope they're not poor because Richie Rick has made sure that President Obama's expansion of Medicaid never entered Florida. So you're on your own, folks, it's your own fault for being poor.
And Congressional Republicans refuse to fund what needs to be an onslaught of medical research to find not only a cure but also methods of early detection of the virus and an inoculation against the disease.
Zika has the potential of become the first major health catastrophe of the 21st century. We need urgent action now to stop this epidemic.
8
Perhaps if congress would have allocated some money for Zika before they went on their most recent summer vacation of 2 months, some research could have been done and maybe we would be further along in finding a vaccine for Zika. But they had to put a line item in the bill that they worked on so Planned Parenthood would get no money. I guess they made their point. Sorry to all of you millennials that you got caught up in the political mess. Just remember to vote for Democrats in this (and all) elections until we get a working congress again.
10
Minor point re the author's friend in NY; streams are not breeding ground for mosquitoes - stagnant pools are.
4
Dear Millennial Kelly McBride Folkers, ZIKA is more than your S.T.D. It will prove to be the H.I.V. of this hinge of history we are hanging from. AIDS rampaged and devastated America during the 1980s, before you were born, during your parents' youths. And during your grandparents' times, the sexual revolution and women's rights movement began with Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan and people in their 80 snow. Millennials and all women of child-bearing age around the world should fear the ZIKA virus as it will irreparably damage babies as Thalidomide did during the 1960s.
There is far more to fear from ZIKA, because this virus, transmitted by Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes also carries the virus for Dengue, Yellow Fever, Malaria,and Chikungunya and West Nile Encephalitis or Meningitis. All it takes is one mosquito bite to cause mayhem, severe illness and sometimes death in humans. It is not mainly a sexually transmitted disease, it is transmitted by mosquito bites, as malaria was in the late 1800s. It is great that you are a research associate at NYU Langone Medical Center! You and your colleagues - scientists and bioethicists - are on the cutting edge of discovering more about the epidemic that ZIKA will become. Just as epidemics from the past were cured - smallpox, polio, measles, diphtheria, in cholera, and so many more, so ZIKA will eventually, with the help of you Millennials, burn out, and babies will hopefully be born free of microcephaly. ZIKA is such a grave worry!
There is far more to fear from ZIKA, because this virus, transmitted by Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes also carries the virus for Dengue, Yellow Fever, Malaria,and Chikungunya and West Nile Encephalitis or Meningitis. All it takes is one mosquito bite to cause mayhem, severe illness and sometimes death in humans. It is not mainly a sexually transmitted disease, it is transmitted by mosquito bites, as malaria was in the late 1800s. It is great that you are a research associate at NYU Langone Medical Center! You and your colleagues - scientists and bioethicists - are on the cutting edge of discovering more about the epidemic that ZIKA will become. Just as epidemics from the past were cured - smallpox, polio, measles, diphtheria, in cholera, and so many more, so ZIKA will eventually, with the help of you Millennials, burn out, and babies will hopefully be born free of microcephaly. ZIKA is such a grave worry!
9
My husband and I have been very concerned the possibility of the Zika virus and its harm to pregnancy. We are going through fertility treatments after an ectopic pregnancy and are worried about the possible spread of Zika to the rest of the States. The CDC reports telling women to postpone pregnancy are frustrating for us and many couples who have experienced fertility struggles and cannot postpone treatments due to expense and age. We need a vaccine and we need Congress to approve spending towards the vaccine and other measures to control the mosquitos that could carry this virus. And, as this author stated, we need to ensure access to reproductive rights healthcare.
6
A point the author should have made when she mentioned the couple in NY, and one that applies to you as well in Minnesota, is that the mosquitoes that carry Zika are not -- and will not be in the foreseeable future -- in your part of the country. Zika-carrying mosquitoes will certainly spread northward from Miami, but the range of the species that carries it is limited. Even once it spreads, mosquito-transmitted infections will be confined to the Gulf Coast and extreme Southeast. Sexual transmission is a danger potentially for any one who has sex with someone who has traveled to that region. However, if you are in a monogamous sexual relationship and neither of you travels to a Zika zone, you should not have to worry about contracting Zika. Millennials in the Southeast have cause for concern when it comes to family planning, but you do not.
Can you be tested for Zika?
And if so, are these tests able to be administered easily, at the same time one is tested for STDs?
And if so, are these tests able to be administered easily, at the same time one is tested for STDs?
5
I'm pretty sure the multitudes of economic woes of millenials are a bigger factor preventing us from having children than Zika.
6
Hey chicken little, the sky is falling.
4
Seven billion homo sapiens each with a trillion cells, hosting perhaps another half-trillion alien cells in its gut biome and on its skin, sharing a lively planet with perhaps 250,000,000 other species (mostly bacteria) and trillions upon trillions of phages. Viruses. Evolutionary drivers.
They are safecrackers. A million different phages might try to infect a single cell before one with the right numbers, the genetic combination, breaks through its victim's Maginot Line, invades and eats it alive. It uses its conquest to make thousands of copies of itself. That kills the infected cell, which ruptures, freeing those new phages from their incubator. They escape into the environment and the process begins anew; almost a perpetual motion machine.
"Zika" broke through. That something eventually would was inevitable given the mathematics. It won the Lotto.
Does it mean "game over"? No.
Zika will run riot and cause a lot of damage. Some we already know about: a lot of deformed and dead babies. Other, possibly more serious damage will emerge over time, as happened in non-Hodgkins Lymphoma triggered by a mysterious interaction with Epstein-Barr strains. One thing is certain: overpopulation shoves pathogenic evolution into overdrive because of math. Opportunities. The bigger the herd, more opportunity for some obscure pathogen residing in frogs, birds, even ants to "jump species", expand its range, increase its reproductive success; all that Zika actually accomplished.
They are safecrackers. A million different phages might try to infect a single cell before one with the right numbers, the genetic combination, breaks through its victim's Maginot Line, invades and eats it alive. It uses its conquest to make thousands of copies of itself. That kills the infected cell, which ruptures, freeing those new phages from their incubator. They escape into the environment and the process begins anew; almost a perpetual motion machine.
"Zika" broke through. That something eventually would was inevitable given the mathematics. It won the Lotto.
Does it mean "game over"? No.
Zika will run riot and cause a lot of damage. Some we already know about: a lot of deformed and dead babies. Other, possibly more serious damage will emerge over time, as happened in non-Hodgkins Lymphoma triggered by a mysterious interaction with Epstein-Barr strains. One thing is certain: overpopulation shoves pathogenic evolution into overdrive because of math. Opportunities. The bigger the herd, more opportunity for some obscure pathogen residing in frogs, birds, even ants to "jump species", expand its range, increase its reproductive success; all that Zika actually accomplished.
23
I believe you are right to be concerned and I don't think your column was in any way a "sky is falling" approach. One of my concerns about Zika is that we don't know everything about it yet-i fear for the countries where so many Zika babies have been born and what their quality of life will be, how their parents will cope, and more importantly will their schools be able to help them develop meaningful lives? We simply don't know the answers yet, it's too new. In this country our school budgets are always just barely enough to cover what's necessary and I wonder about the potential impact of Zika in our schools-will we be able to provide enough support? This will require financial creativity and lots of it, and it will also require expertise in educating children that have been affected, and will involve outreach to families and top notch preschool approaches.-and we may currently be in a much better place to do this than some of our neighbors. The author of this article has paid more for an education than folks from my generation, and perhaps waited longer to be able to start a family. I totally respect her concern about this virus and agree, that we shouldn't be complacent, and our leaders both at the state and federal level need to be dealing with this YESTERDAY! Well written!
11
Wearing my viral immunologist hat, I'd like to add a couple of points: 1) initial indications suggest that developing a vaccine to ZIKV as well as anti-vitals have a reasonable chance of success (it would be nice to see Congress provide significant funds toward this effort); and 2) we need to know more about the life cycle of ZIKV, how long it can persist and cofactors that put people at risk. It appears that the earlier in pregnancy a fetus is exposed, the more likely significant effects can occur. But subtle (learning disorders?) from later exposures are possible. There is a lot to learn about ZIKV, but I am hopeful we can stop its spread and reduce risks.
24
I thought it would be a meteor or the bomb, but all it took were a few mosquitos; I guess we were not so important after all. Could we at least excoriate Congress before we go?
11
Kelly, thank you for your well written commentary, and best of luck in your research. Your generation needs more role models like you.
12
Sorry, please don't take this personally, but given global over-population, climate change, pollution, species extinctions due to habitat loss, unsustainable hyper-consumption of finite resources and dwindling jobs due to ever-increasing automation, maybe the best thing that could happen would be a cessation of breeding. Nature has nasty ways of dealing with species when their numbers get out of control. Zika may very well be an example. I have faith in Millennials! I think many will shrug and say, "Having children? It's been done." And go on to find something exciting and original to do with their lives that will have more positive impact.
17
But people aren't going to use contraception or stop having sex... The U.S. is just over replacement rate in births; most of our increase is from immigration. The countries contributing most to overpopulation can't or won't provide condoms to all the people.
You're just going to end up with a bunch of third world poor bogged down by children who are mentally disabled...
You're just going to end up with a bunch of third world poor bogged down by children who are mentally disabled...
6
Everything starts small. First, you can count the number of cases on one hand. Then after a couple of sessions of Congressional inaction, millions of people are sick.
Of course, most of these epidemics don't take off and envelope the world. For example, when SARS (South Asian Respiratory Syndrome) came on the scene it was, at first, wildly contagious and often lethal. A major economic forecaster said the world's GDP would drop by 2 percent (or he might have just meant the GDP of some Asian countries; can't recall) because so many people might die. And then SARS fizzled out.
But these things don't always fizzle out. Consider AIDS, and for those of you with good recall, or bitter memories etched into their brains, what it was first called: GRID (Gay Related Immuno Deficiency Disease). Since it hit gay people (And other discreet minorities; we were called the 4 H group, Homosexuals, Haitiians, Heroin addicts and hemophiliacs) with particular ferocity, it was, for the most part, ignored. Of course, some people didn't ignore it; they thought it was funny and they used to say "Do you know what Gay means. It means Got Aids Yet"
At this juncture we don't know if this virus will bequeath an avalanche of disease and disfigurement or if it will quietly mutate into something less horrific. But I do know this: Because young straight people are getting it, the government will pay attention.
Of course, most of these epidemics don't take off and envelope the world. For example, when SARS (South Asian Respiratory Syndrome) came on the scene it was, at first, wildly contagious and often lethal. A major economic forecaster said the world's GDP would drop by 2 percent (or he might have just meant the GDP of some Asian countries; can't recall) because so many people might die. And then SARS fizzled out.
But these things don't always fizzle out. Consider AIDS, and for those of you with good recall, or bitter memories etched into their brains, what it was first called: GRID (Gay Related Immuno Deficiency Disease). Since it hit gay people (And other discreet minorities; we were called the 4 H group, Homosexuals, Haitiians, Heroin addicts and hemophiliacs) with particular ferocity, it was, for the most part, ignored. Of course, some people didn't ignore it; they thought it was funny and they used to say "Do you know what Gay means. It means Got Aids Yet"
At this juncture we don't know if this virus will bequeath an avalanche of disease and disfigurement or if it will quietly mutate into something less horrific. But I do know this: Because young straight people are getting it, the government will pay attention.
10
That's a sensible, carefully thought-out article. I'm long past my reproductive years but if waiting two or three years for a Zika vaccine is feasible, do it.
I have nephews and nieces who are rather actively reproducing, and the children are a joy. None of them are financially able to deal with a child damaged by Zika; very few parents are. Even at my age, I'm not sure I could emotionally deal with such a child. I would love the child, but trying to train a child with half a brain is a long-term project and each child will have different neurological problems.
I'm old enough to remember the days before Roe v Wade, when high-school pregnancies were terminated illegally, often at an after-hours "beauty parlor." We are had a few free clinics locally, and the doctors there were willing to prescribe the Pill, even though we were far from 18. We were among the first girls who didn't get married en masse the day after graduation.
Until Zika, nearly all STDs were treatable or preventable. Other than HIV, it was generally possible to prevent transmission to your child.
Zika is a whole new nightmare. Hopefully, an understanding of how to make safe vaccines quickly has reached laboratories. But how much will each vaccination cost? Will we be able to afford it? What of the poor in Brazil, Haiti, and the rest of the world?
I have nephews and nieces who are rather actively reproducing, and the children are a joy. None of them are financially able to deal with a child damaged by Zika; very few parents are. Even at my age, I'm not sure I could emotionally deal with such a child. I would love the child, but trying to train a child with half a brain is a long-term project and each child will have different neurological problems.
I'm old enough to remember the days before Roe v Wade, when high-school pregnancies were terminated illegally, often at an after-hours "beauty parlor." We are had a few free clinics locally, and the doctors there were willing to prescribe the Pill, even though we were far from 18. We were among the first girls who didn't get married en masse the day after graduation.
Until Zika, nearly all STDs were treatable or preventable. Other than HIV, it was generally possible to prevent transmission to your child.
Zika is a whole new nightmare. Hopefully, an understanding of how to make safe vaccines quickly has reached laboratories. But how much will each vaccination cost? Will we be able to afford it? What of the poor in Brazil, Haiti, and the rest of the world?
14
The AIDS of the generation? Really? AIDS killed hundreds of thousands. Zika has killed no one. While the dangers to preborn are real and quite scary, to compare AIDS to Zika is simply irresponsible.
17
Well, we don't know the numbers for Zika yet. It's possible now to survive with AIDS for a long time with drugs. We don't quite understand what happens with microencephaly yet. Are these just going to be unproductive and costly members of society? Only time will tell.
5
Where in this piece does the author assert an equivalence between AIDS and Zika, other than referencing AIDS in discussing the mechanics of infectious disease transmission? I can't find it.
4
There is increased mortality with Zika.
5
How does NYT vet the authors of their opinion pieces? A research associate working towards a masters in bioethics has the necessary expertise to comment on Zika?
"we should view Zika as an std that anyone can catch." "wear condoms or not have sex at all." "wear extra bug spray and consider not getting pregnant if you live in upstate NY." Talk about hysteria. First, there have only been a handful of confirmed cases of Zika being sexually transmitted, and the ease of which it is transmitted is still unknown. However, it does appear that female to male transmission is possible but extremely unlikely, which would make it not much of a threat as an STD--i.e. almost all cases of heterosexual sexual transmission would be males infected by mosquito, infecting a sexual partner, but that partner having almost zero chance of spreading the virus further.
As for worrying about Zika and getting pregnant while living in upstate NY, this should be of zero concern (to the general public) until aedes albopictus demonstrate the capacity to spread Zika.
"we should view Zika as an std that anyone can catch." "wear condoms or not have sex at all." "wear extra bug spray and consider not getting pregnant if you live in upstate NY." Talk about hysteria. First, there have only been a handful of confirmed cases of Zika being sexually transmitted, and the ease of which it is transmitted is still unknown. However, it does appear that female to male transmission is possible but extremely unlikely, which would make it not much of a threat as an STD--i.e. almost all cases of heterosexual sexual transmission would be males infected by mosquito, infecting a sexual partner, but that partner having almost zero chance of spreading the virus further.
As for worrying about Zika and getting pregnant while living in upstate NY, this should be of zero concern (to the general public) until aedes albopictus demonstrate the capacity to spread Zika.
23
Climate change makes this a bigger issue in the future. Tropical diseases in the U.S. are spreading farther and farther north. I would agree that there is some level of hysteria currently, but this is indeed a serious issue moving forward. As you say, we do not fully understand the epidemiology of the disease yet.
4
Actually Zika is our friend. It will make couples think twice about adding to an already over-populated earth. Kids "happen" without much thought, which was OK when the Old Testament was written, but today? (I myself never had kids. In fact my family is so weird I believe the choice was probably a service to humanity.) I wish we would think more about quality than quantity. I wish we could institute a parental licencing test. I never really bought the Gaia principle, but this is the perfect disease to present as evidence of its existence. Perhaps the earth is scratching an itch.
44
" I wish we would think more about quality than quantity."
It always seemed odd to me that the Chinese one child policy allowed exceptions for peasant farmers to have a second child. It would have been more logical to allow those with a PhD to have a second child.
It always seemed odd to me that the Chinese one child policy allowed exceptions for peasant farmers to have a second child. It would have been more logical to allow those with a PhD to have a second child.
1
Reminds me of when AIDS came around. Some people said it was our friend. It would kill off gays, I V drug addicts and blacks. It's our freind? That woman's suffering means nothing ?
It didn't take long, after the declaration of God's death, for the secular to create it's own vengeful god. I can understand the need to worship but isn't contempt for the rest of humanity in the name of a Gaia a bit old.
It didn't take long, after the declaration of God's death, for the secular to create it's own vengeful god. I can understand the need to worship but isn't contempt for the rest of humanity in the name of a Gaia a bit old.
4
How unfortunate that the author of this article is not thinking about this as a symptom of global warming and the root causes of global warming. For example, the United States has diverted more tax payer dollars in the last 15 years to pay for military expansion and wars than at any time in history to support the military budget. The military--all branches--are the single largest users of fossil fuels. The Military through wars and training exercises and everything else --are the entity most responsible for green house gas emissions and simultaneously the largest drain on our nations budget so that over the last 15 years there has been a steady decrease in the money allocated to the DHHS. THe agencies within the NIH year over year are squeezed and forced to fund fewer and fewer research proposals across all disease areas including cancer and AIDS research. Deciding now that Zika is a priority in the short term. This is not a problem of sexually transmitted diseases, it is a tragedy of this extraordinarily wealthy and powerful nation's priorities gone miserably and horribly wrong.
21
It is well to be concerned, but not in despair. This too shall pass. I can remember when we cringed in fear of polio every summer, when pneumonia and diabetes were virtual death sentences, and when syphilis was both wide spread in this country and untreatable. My elders spoke of a worldwide flu epidemic that had occurred in their teen years and that killed millions. Such things happen and one way or another become just bad historical memories. Even now work is being done to perfect a Zika vaccine. Take care. but keep faith.
11
It will not pass without investment in public health. Polio was stopped by vaccines, but has not been eliminated and must be vigilantly tracked and attacked when it appears again, as it has done just recently with some cases in Nigeria.
The threat of tens of millions dying from the flu remains real until a "permanent" rather than annual, vaccine is developed. As it is tens of thousands die each year from the flu.
Syphilis continues to break out and gain antibiotic resistance, but is held back by tracking, public health measures, and work to develop new antibiotics,
Unless the Republicans in Congress stop standing in the way of a full- scale public health effort against Zika, from screening ( including donated blood) to developing a vaccine and antivirals, we run a huge risk. The author is right to be concerned because, in contrast to the public health victories that you rightly celebrate, we have Republicans blocking the work needed to end the threat from Zika.
The threat of tens of millions dying from the flu remains real until a "permanent" rather than annual, vaccine is developed. As it is tens of thousands die each year from the flu.
Syphilis continues to break out and gain antibiotic resistance, but is held back by tracking, public health measures, and work to develop new antibiotics,
Unless the Republicans in Congress stop standing in the way of a full- scale public health effort against Zika, from screening ( including donated blood) to developing a vaccine and antivirals, we run a huge risk. The author is right to be concerned because, in contrast to the public health victories that you rightly celebrate, we have Republicans blocking the work needed to end the threat from Zika.
5
Lynn, your criticisms of that Republican Congress are well taken, As for a "permanent" flu vaccine, those viruses have survival of the fittest working on their side. Nature has an annoying way of generating hardier mutants that proliferate once their more vulnerable cousins get knocked off.
No worries, Congress won't rest until it has swiftly funded a comprehensive program to combat this disease.
14
Huh? Did the NY Times pick this one because of its sarcasm?
2
I am more and more worried about climate change and 10 billion people (by 2050).
If Zika gets people to be more responsible about their breeding I say it is a good thing.
If Zika gets people to be more responsible about their breeding I say it is a good thing.
4
Right on.
NO
Do your homework
One infection provides immunity (unlike ALL other STDs). Most infections occur in people who are NOT going to spread it to unborn fetuses.
The vector, (Aedes Aegypti mosquito) does NOT live in the temperate zone (most of the world!)
PLEASE be more concerned about antibiotic resistant Gonorrhea, (possibly) Chlamydia and the increasing number of Syphilis cases.
Do your homework
One infection provides immunity (unlike ALL other STDs). Most infections occur in people who are NOT going to spread it to unborn fetuses.
The vector, (Aedes Aegypti mosquito) does NOT live in the temperate zone (most of the world!)
PLEASE be more concerned about antibiotic resistant Gonorrhea, (possibly) Chlamydia and the increasing number of Syphilis cases.
7
What terrifies me most about Zika is the unknown. When Lyme disease was
first discovered, nothing was known of the long term effects of this brutal atacker. I am worried that the same will happen with Zika, causing numerous untreatable ailments as with Lyme. Both the vaccine & the test for Lyme are ineffective, so it would follow that the Zika one will be too. I understand the fear associated with releasing the genetically modified mosquitoes, but so far it's the only solution, I think.
first discovered, nothing was known of the long term effects of this brutal atacker. I am worried that the same will happen with Zika, causing numerous untreatable ailments as with Lyme. Both the vaccine & the test for Lyme are ineffective, so it would follow that the Zika one will be too. I understand the fear associated with releasing the genetically modified mosquitoes, but so far it's the only solution, I think.
7
Why has the GOP leadership in congress allocated money for fighting Zika?
1
Can ZIKA spread as fast as Gonorrhea with an incubation period of 1-3 days with sexual transmission in the temperate (non Aedes Aegytpti mosquito)zone?
How about PID/Salpingitis, the long term ramifications of GC (gonorrhea) and chlamydia.....infertility.
You millennials worry too much and NOT about the correct things.
How about PID/Salpingitis, the long term ramifications of GC (gonorrhea) and chlamydia.....infertility.
You millennials worry too much and NOT about the correct things.
1
Since the virus is so mild that 80% of people who get it don't even know they have it, wouldn't it make sense to expose kids to it? By the time they mature enough to think about having their own babies, they would be immune.
6
How long does an infected person remain able to pass along the Zika virus by any and all methods? Not forever, apparently, but articles like this don't say and hence fail by the omission. I had thought that an infected person could take measures to avoid infecting others for a limited time (one month, two months?), after which the transmission to another person or to a fetus is no longer possible. But that information seems not to be made available at all. It is essential to know this.
5
Neural progenitor cells, the cells most attractive to Zika, are most active in fetuses but continued to be active into early adulthood. Zeka, contracted by children is likely to produce long-term harm to the brain.
11
"A classmate who has kids and wants to have another baby in the next few years is hesitant to go on a family vacation to Disney World in Florida."
For every parent like that, there are at least two who are grateful for an excuse not to go to Disney World.
For every parent like that, there are at least two who are grateful for an excuse not to go to Disney World.
15
Good one! To which I'll add: First World Problem to the Nth degree.
1
"Congress has yet to pass a bill that would allocate $1.1 billion to fighting Zika."
Thank the GOP. As usual with public health, it's playing political funding games---- as it did with AIDS in the eighties when thousands were dying.
Millennials, vote your health.
Thank the GOP. As usual with public health, it's playing political funding games---- as it did with AIDS in the eighties when thousands were dying.
Millennials, vote your health.
25
And so, millenials, will you hold Congress accountable for their shameful inability to fund the fight against Zika? If you don't get off your Duff and vote, I'll have to conclude this is actually a low priority, or you are really just too jaded to care about much at all.
31
I wonder if Zika will even put a dent in the anti-abortion crowd's arguments?
11
It won't.
Anti-choice zealots are already trying to pass legislation saying women can't abort based on the fact they are carrying a defective fetus. Maybe there's already legislation in effect--I can't listen to those news reports anymore without throwing my radio against the wall. This will just ramp them up. All life is sacred. Right?
Anti-choice zealots are already trying to pass legislation saying women can't abort based on the fact they are carrying a defective fetus. Maybe there's already legislation in effect--I can't listen to those news reports anymore without throwing my radio against the wall. This will just ramp them up. All life is sacred. Right?
5
I wonder if Zika will even put a dent in the anti-euthanasia crowds arguements?
2
No complaint with the warning message of this piece, but the headline is absurd. The millennials' STD is HIV. Those of us who grew up in the 90s and 2000s had it hammered into us that sex was a potentially life-threatening activity, and intimacy became--and remains--a fraught choice. Zika changes nothing about that.
11
This is just plain hysteria . I hope this student learns to think more clearly before publishing before being granted a degree.
First the Zika infection appears to be self limiting-that is the body is clear of virus without treatment after a few weeks or months. While you can transmit influenza during sex nobody thinks of it as an STD--the principle modes of transmission lie elsewhere.
2nd-effects of Zika on the fetus are horrible but limited to a fraction of women who are unlucky to be in that few month window while pregnant.
Urgent public health measures and vaccine development are warranted. Hysteria is not
First the Zika infection appears to be self limiting-that is the body is clear of virus without treatment after a few weeks or months. While you can transmit influenza during sex nobody thinks of it as an STD--the principle modes of transmission lie elsewhere.
2nd-effects of Zika on the fetus are horrible but limited to a fraction of women who are unlucky to be in that few month window while pregnant.
Urgent public health measures and vaccine development are warranted. Hysteria is not
27
Important questions:
-Does the infection have to occur *during* pregnancy to put a fetus at risk? Or does a previous infection (one that occurred, say, more than 3 months before conception) potentially also put a fetus at risk?
-Does previous infection convey immunity to future active infections? (If you contract Zika now, can you get it again in 5 years? In 10? Or are you always immune?)
-If the risk to a fetus fades after a certain time period--after an active period of infection--and one infection gives you immunity to future infections, then shouldn't we all be trying to get Zika long before a potential pregnancy?
Probably there aren't clear answers to the questions yet, but this seems plausible to me. Like, you can't get a rubella shot during pregnancy, but you should get one (long) beforehand. If this proves to be the scenario with Zika, we should all put pregnancies on hold, and flock to Florida to get the infection NOW.
Please chime in if you have insight into these questions.
Thanks!
-Does the infection have to occur *during* pregnancy to put a fetus at risk? Or does a previous infection (one that occurred, say, more than 3 months before conception) potentially also put a fetus at risk?
-Does previous infection convey immunity to future active infections? (If you contract Zika now, can you get it again in 5 years? In 10? Or are you always immune?)
-If the risk to a fetus fades after a certain time period--after an active period of infection--and one infection gives you immunity to future infections, then shouldn't we all be trying to get Zika long before a potential pregnancy?
Probably there aren't clear answers to the questions yet, but this seems plausible to me. Like, you can't get a rubella shot during pregnancy, but you should get one (long) beforehand. If this proves to be the scenario with Zika, we should all put pregnancies on hold, and flock to Florida to get the infection NOW.
Please chime in if you have insight into these questions.
Thanks!
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1. Yes
2. Yes, individuals build immunity after infection. It is not 100% and likely decreases somewhat over time, as people age, and if the virus mutates significantly over time.
3. That's an interesting idea. Like the author said, the majority of individuals' immune systems will kill off the virus before becoming symptomatic. Maybe the authors and others can avoid all the hysteria and infect themselves now.
--JHU MPH
2. Yes, individuals build immunity after infection. It is not 100% and likely decreases somewhat over time, as people age, and if the virus mutates significantly over time.
3. That's an interesting idea. Like the author said, the majority of individuals' immune systems will kill off the virus before becoming symptomatic. Maybe the authors and others can avoid all the hysteria and infect themselves now.
--JHU MPH
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It is unconscionable that the Republican-led Congress left town without passing a bill to fund Zika vaccine research, and tied any legislation to defunding (yet again) Planned Parenthood. Of course, that same GOP would want to force women to give birth to babies "not expected to live very long, and [who] might never be able to recognize their parents" - a cruel punishment for these families.
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A couple of years ago, a good number of Americans had panicked over Ebola. And before, there was a panic over bird flu that was going to wipe us all out.
And now, millennials will panic about Zika.
And now, millennials will panic about Zika.
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I’m not sure I would use the word “hysterical” to describe this article, but the author does come across as a bit panicky. I believe people should be aware, educated and concerned about the possibility of being infected by or transmitting any type of infectious disease. However, I also believe we should not be unnecessarily alarmist. “Unnecessarily” being the magic word. The alarm has already been activated and the Centers for Disease Control have provided clear information about how to avoid infection if you are pregnant, as well as the steps women who hope to be pregnant should take before doing so. Since health officials have reported the mosquito species that carries Zika rarely travels more than 500 feet during its lifespan and the reported cases in Miami are likely from sexual contact, it does seem a bit alarmist for a woman living in New York State to be concerned about contracting Zika if neither she nor her partner have recently travelled to Zika-affected regions. And, even if Zika mosquito eggs could travel north and survive northern winters, women in the U.S, unlike poorer regions of the world, have the luxury of being able to plan in advance and take the necessary precautions. A more pressing concern should be the possibility of Zika getting into the blood supply through blood transfusions from an infected donor.
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Maria: Kelly does border on "hysterical". Kelly says "I am a scientist" and doesn't even have a masters degree yet. Kelly needs a few more degrees to be called a scientist and a lot more years of experience to be called a scientist. THEN MAYBE Kelly will realize why more knowledge is needed before calling oneself a scientist. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
Please Kelly, thank you for your opinion, but please leave it as that. An opinion.
Please Kelly, thank you for your opinion, but please leave it as that. An opinion.
I'm guessing Ms. Folkers is a young woman of childbearing age, like my own daughter, and I can understand her angst. But, as Mark Thomason advises, let's be wise, but not panic. This is a bad virus, but not fatal and can be tested for. I think the author's approach, that it be treated like an STD, and that people are appropriately cautious, makes sense. But I would also advise everyone who cares about this issue to vote for Democrats in November, and get rid of the obstructionists in Congress who don't even care enough about their own children and grandchildren to vote the funds for fighting Zika.
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Don't count on the southern states to do anything in a big rush. They don't like spending tax dollars on public health and well, science, because they want government and taxes and science to go away. (My state tea party legislators are much more concerned about "the gay agenda" than Zika--I have zero confidence they'd do the right thing if Zika appears here.)
I'd resist the urge to move to or vacation in our southernmost states in the near future. And watch your own states vigilantly for outbreaks.
Millennials are not involved enough in politics. They say they don't like either party, they are sick of the typical Republican/Democrat whinging--and I totally get that--but powerless third party politics are not the way that things get done in this country now. You make them to earn your vote, you elect them, then you bother them some more to keep them on track. Believe me, the people who would compel you to have brain damaged children and restrict your access to birth control are in their faces all the time. But you can be too.
Those who fail to act aggressively against Zika must be held accountable. Millennials must lead the charge on this; your futures are at stake here.
I'd resist the urge to move to or vacation in our southernmost states in the near future. And watch your own states vigilantly for outbreaks.
Millennials are not involved enough in politics. They say they don't like either party, they are sick of the typical Republican/Democrat whinging--and I totally get that--but powerless third party politics are not the way that things get done in this country now. You make them to earn your vote, you elect them, then you bother them some more to keep them on track. Believe me, the people who would compel you to have brain damaged children and restrict your access to birth control are in their faces all the time. But you can be too.
Those who fail to act aggressively against Zika must be held accountable. Millennials must lead the charge on this; your futures are at stake here.
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Voters in all states need to hold the anti science, knuckle dragging, religious bigots accountable for endangering the health of all citizens.
5
Exactly. Vote 3rd party (or not at all ) and you're voting Republican/Tea Party
2
I appreciate the author's interesting take on the Zika virus. This disease needs all the publicity and illumination it can get, and millennials are right to be extra concerned.
I have read that developmental and brain experts are concerned that microcephaly, while likely the most severe consequence to newborns, is merely the tip of the iceberg. They posit that many more children will be born with milder but still significant neurological problems, such as other brain anomalies, ADHD and autism. These are often not apparent in children at birth, so have not been detected yet. Most of them do not become apparent for months or years, so it will be that long before we know what the impact will be. These kids, along with those who are microcephalic, will be huge public health, public education, and long-term care problems for many, many years to come.
This is very serious, and it deserves at least as much attention and funding as President Obama proposes we give it. To take money from that allocated to Ebola is robbing Peter to pay Paul, and will come back to haunt us when we see the next Ebola outbreak. Congress is incredibly shortsighted not to fund the research and development of this disease.
I regularly write my Congressperson about this issue, but so far I have yet to hear back. I have appealed to her mother to mother, as we each have a child with disabilities, but to her the Republican agenda is more important than the health of the country's next generation.
I have read that developmental and brain experts are concerned that microcephaly, while likely the most severe consequence to newborns, is merely the tip of the iceberg. They posit that many more children will be born with milder but still significant neurological problems, such as other brain anomalies, ADHD and autism. These are often not apparent in children at birth, so have not been detected yet. Most of them do not become apparent for months or years, so it will be that long before we know what the impact will be. These kids, along with those who are microcephalic, will be huge public health, public education, and long-term care problems for many, many years to come.
This is very serious, and it deserves at least as much attention and funding as President Obama proposes we give it. To take money from that allocated to Ebola is robbing Peter to pay Paul, and will come back to haunt us when we see the next Ebola outbreak. Congress is incredibly shortsighted not to fund the research and development of this disease.
I regularly write my Congressperson about this issue, but so far I have yet to hear back. I have appealed to her mother to mother, as we each have a child with disabilities, but to her the Republican agenda is more important than the health of the country's next generation.
94
Writing Congresspeople is a waste of time- the snail mail sits in Kansas for months for anthrax screening. Call them. E mail. It's 2016, not 1789.
2
Do Times readers remember that Puerto Rico is in the midst of a fast-spreading Zika epidemic? And that Puerto Rico is part of the United States? In other words, our country already has a *major* epidemic of Zika. I don't detect awareness of that in any of the reporting; P.R. is treated as if it were a distant country.
Oh, I almost forgot that our Republican Congress refuses to simply aupply the money necessary for fighting Zika in Puerto Rico, the Centers for Disease Control, and anywhere else. They want to use microcephalic babies as a bargaining chip to deprive women of some of their health care options. Please remember that when it's time to vote for other positions than President.
Oh, I almost forgot that our Republican Congress refuses to simply aupply the money necessary for fighting Zika in Puerto Rico, the Centers for Disease Control, and anywhere else. They want to use microcephalic babies as a bargaining chip to deprive women of some of their health care options. Please remember that when it's time to vote for other positions than President.
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How many millennials will vote for Republicans in November?
97
If even one does that is one too many.
2
Very few will bother to vote.
1
My hope is none as Trump has clearly shown us how he values women and their rights over their bodies. Please vote, millennials!
3
This is serious, but don't get hysterical. It is not going to wipe out a generation. It will cause suffering enough without such doomsday hyperventilating.
Until it can be prevented, it can be tested-for and cured. It is a hazard, and can cause terrible harm if precautions are not taken in the event of pregnancy. That is bad enough.
We should get on this and fix it. It is not the end of the world, just the hype of the moment. We give in to too many of those, never to our ultimate benefit. Just deal with it.
Until it can be prevented, it can be tested-for and cured. It is a hazard, and can cause terrible harm if precautions are not taken in the event of pregnancy. That is bad enough.
We should get on this and fix it. It is not the end of the world, just the hype of the moment. We give in to too many of those, never to our ultimate benefit. Just deal with it.
45
@Mark Thomason: You are mistaken to minimize Zika. There is no cure in the sense of a treatment to get rid of the virus. I found on line that the virus usually lingers in the body for 7-21 days. Meanwhile, mosquitos biting you will pick it up and spread it. Source:
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(Second try.) Source: https://www.quora.com/If-I-contract-the-Zika-virus-will-it-go-away-after...
32
If it goes away in one to three weeks, then it is far less devastating than the many things that don't go away.
Because of the damage done to a baby, of course we need to have a vaccine, and of course we should eradicate the virus as near as possible. That should be a high priority. There is no slightest excuse for inaction. It is basic public health.
However, it is not "a threat to our ability to have healthy children" for an entire generation. Three weeks of vulnerability is not the end of the world.
Ought a woman who gets this virus during pregnancy then terminate that pregnancy? That is an incredibly painful question. That we even ask it highlights the priority this deserves. But that does not justify "we'll never have kids" hyperventilation.
Because of the damage done to a baby, of course we need to have a vaccine, and of course we should eradicate the virus as near as possible. That should be a high priority. There is no slightest excuse for inaction. It is basic public health.
However, it is not "a threat to our ability to have healthy children" for an entire generation. Three weeks of vulnerability is not the end of the world.
Ought a woman who gets this virus during pregnancy then terminate that pregnancy? That is an incredibly painful question. That we even ask it highlights the priority this deserves. But that does not justify "we'll never have kids" hyperventilation.
30
Dr. Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine by putting himself, his family and his co-workers lives on the line to test it because he wanted to eradicate polio before it destroyed more lives. He gave the vaccine to OUR government to develop FREE and consenting children were vaccinated free at schools and adults at clinics all across America. When asked if he was going to patent the polio vaccine he said, "Of course not. Can you patent the Sun?"
Are there any Jonas Salks alive today who actually want to help humanity - help future generations - or will we have to wait for the corporate for-profit-only wars to end to get a cure. No one can convince me that with all the brilliant minds working on this we won't have an immediate vaccine. The question is, "Will it get to people in time to prevent the terrible consequences of the disease or will many have to die or have developmentally damaged babies while corporations and governments fight over profits?" This would be a great crowd-funding project. We could all pitch in a dollar and help an aspiring young person develop the cure to give to OUR government for all to have at cost to manufacture - no profit. That would prove how healthy our national/international social conscience is and how much we care for each other.
Are there any Jonas Salks alive today who actually want to help humanity - help future generations - or will we have to wait for the corporate for-profit-only wars to end to get a cure. No one can convince me that with all the brilliant minds working on this we won't have an immediate vaccine. The question is, "Will it get to people in time to prevent the terrible consequences of the disease or will many have to die or have developmentally damaged babies while corporations and governments fight over profits?" This would be a great crowd-funding project. We could all pitch in a dollar and help an aspiring young person develop the cure to give to OUR government for all to have at cost to manufacture - no profit. That would prove how healthy our national/international social conscience is and how much we care for each other.
180
Salk was a great man, no doubt about it. But there are no "immediate" vaccines. Vaccines are not snap-your-fingers products. People have been trying to find one for malaria for many decades; it's not just lack of funds, it's a difficult disease agent to fight. For AIDS, it's the same story despite plentiful funding (and not as many decades). This is real-world stuff; the real world isn't necessarily cooperative.
55
Malaria is a parasite, not a virus. That is why a vaccine has not emerged, they are anti-viral and it isn't viral. The only similarity is that mosquitoes carry it.
We turn out a new flu vaccine every year, on a few months' notice from its evolution in China. We can in fact do a rapid vaccine for the Zika virus, if not as fast as a flu we understand so well, then still pretty fast.
We turn out a new flu vaccine every year, on a few months' notice from its evolution in China. We can in fact do a rapid vaccine for the Zika virus, if not as fast as a flu we understand so well, then still pretty fast.
18
"No one can convince me that with all the brilliant minds working on this we won't have an immediate vaccine."
Interesting hopeful sentiment, but without logical foundation. It may well be extremely difficult to vaccinate against Zika. You have no clue. And your crowd fund proposal is more treacle, as these things are done in very expensive lab environments not by individuals.
Interesting hopeful sentiment, but without logical foundation. It may well be extremely difficult to vaccinate against Zika. You have no clue. And your crowd fund proposal is more treacle, as these things are done in very expensive lab environments not by individuals.
6