RE:Zika, an alert Re:an emerging public health issue

Meow, just read an article with a CDC person discussing that DDT may have to be considered b/c of the risk of this virus. Other modalities were discussed too. I'll see if I can find it. This is it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/business/new-weapon-to-fight-zika-the-mosquito.html?_r=0

Again, as I said in the topic box. The recognition that Zika causes a birth defect is only recent compared to the length of time that Zika has been identified

From Wiki re: other viruses known to cause birth defects.

"For infants who are infected by their mothers before birth, two potential adverse scenarios exist:

• Generalized infection may occur in the infant, and can cause complications such as low birth weight, microcephaly, seizures, petechial rash similar to the "blueberry muffin" rash of congenital rubella syndrome, and moderate hepatosplenomegaly (with jaundice). Though severe cases can be fatal, with supportive treatment most infants with CMV disease will survive. However, from 80% to 90% will have complications within the first few years of life that may include hearing loss, vision impairment, and varying degrees of mental retardation.
• Another 5% to 10% of infants who are infected but without symptoms at birth will subsequently have varying degrees of hearing and mental or coordination problems. The onset of hearing loss can occur at any point during childhood, although commonly within the first decade. It is progressive and can affect both ears.

These risks appear to be almost exclusively associated with women who previously have not been infected with CMV and who are having their first infection with the virus during pregnancy. There appears to be little risk of CMV-related complications for women who have been infected at least 6 months prior to conception. For this group, which makes up 50% to 80% of the women of child-bearing age, the rate of newborn CMV infection is 1%, and these infants appear to have no significant illness or abnormalities.^[11]

The virus can also be transmitted to the infant at delivery from contact with genital secretions or later in infancy through breast milk. However, these infections usually result in little or no clinical illness in the infant.

To summarise, during a pregnancy when a woman who has never had CMV infection becomes infected with CMV, there is a risk that after birth the infant may have CMV-related complications, the most common of which are associated with hearing loss, visual impairment, or diminished mental and motor capabilities. On the other hand, infants and children who acquire CMV after birth have few, if any, symptoms or complications."

On Zika History from Wiki:

First identified in 1947 and named in 1952. This cluster of microcephaly in Brazil " According to the CDC, Brazilian health authorities reported more than 3,500 microcephaly cases between October 2015 and January 2016. Some of the affected infants have had a severe type of microcephaly and some have died. The full spectrum of outcomes that might be associated with infection during pregnancy and the factors that might increase risk to the fetus are not yet fully understood. More studies are planned to learn more about the risks of Zika virus infection during pregnancy.^[46] In the worst affected region of Brazil, approximately 1 percent of newborns are suspected of being microcephalic.^[47]".

Eventually, they're will be a vaccine, until then this is going to be a very troublesome bug.