RN: El Salvador Urges Women Not To Get Pregnant Till 2018 To Combat Spread Of Zika Virus

[China]

El Salvador Urges Women Not To Get Pregnant Till 2018 To Combat Spread Of Zika Virus

 

El Salvador has urged its citizens to hold off on getting pregnant for two years, fearing newborns could contract the growth-stunting virus that has been plaguing the region over the last few months.

 

Until last year, Zika virus hadn’t been detected in the Americas. The mosquito-borne virus was first documented in Africa in 1947.

 

The newly landed virus has been ravaging countries in Central America, South America and the Caribbean. With more than a million reported cases, Brazil has been hit hardest by the virus.

 

Fearing the effects of the Zika virus on babies, El Salvador has urged its citizens to avoid getting pregnant for at least two years. Though not as drastic, other countries have gone down a similar path.

 

Close to 4,000 of Brazil’s reported cases of Zika virus included thedevelopment of microcephaly in babies. Microcephaly is a condition that stunts the growth of the head, hindering the development of the brain as a result.

 

In El Salvador, the number of Zika virus cases reported was just south of 5,400 near the start of the new year. Ninety-six pregnant women in the Central American country are believed to have contracted the virus, though there haven’t been any confirmed cases of microcephaly.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[twa]

I have a good feeling about this working.

[Riggo-toni]

Just say blow.

Suck for El Salvador.

No babies please, just stay on your knees.

[nonniey]

Not certain how this would effect the spread of the virus. Fewer babies would certainly impact the numbers of cases of Microcephaly, but imagine it would have no impact on Zika.

[dfitzo53]

The headline isn't great.  I think it's more about not endangering babies than it is about directly combating the spread of the virus.  Hopefully in a few years it'll be safer to have children, I think that's the idea.

[Vilandil Tasardur]

Can we discuss the far more egregious issue of the word "till" being increasingly used and acceptable in print? Would it really kill you to add two more letters to make the headline read like proper english and not emoji speak? 

 

Conversationally? Use it "till" the some comes up. But in print? Come on, man!

[JamesMadisonSkins]

Wife and I had to cancel a Jamaica baby moon last week because of this. Fortunately the airlines and resort are giving us a year to go back and AA waived my transfer fees.

Wife didn't want to risk it. Most medical professionals she talked to said there's too many unknowns, and even though there hadnt been any cited cases in Jamaica as of 2 weeks ago, she felt very strongly about not risking it. I was fine with swallowing the costs given the awful outcomes if she had contracted Zika, however small the chances were. Just wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if anything happened. Thankfully everyone understood and we will go sometime next fall when my wife isn't pregnant..

Oh, did I mentioned we were to be gone Thursday to Monday night? So instead of Jamaica we got 2' of snow lol

[Springfield]

There's a confirmed case in Richmond VA.

[nonniey]

There's a confirmed case in Richmond VA.

Not a pregnant woman I hope.

[China]

Arkansan tests positive for mosquito-borne Zika virus

[Riggo-toni]

I wonder how far this will have to spread before people reconsider the DDT ban.

[PeterMP]

I wonder how far this will have to spread before people reconsider the DDT ban.

 

DDT resistance is pretty common in the relevant mosquitoes.  It has a repellent factor, but that normally means it is used in small enclosed spaces (people spray their interior walls in some countries), and while that can be effective, it obviously isn't super effective because it still leaves you vulnerable anytime you go outside.  Generally, in the US mosquitoes in homes isn't a huge issue (because our home construction tends to be pretty good compared to other countries).  Wide spread spraying is just going to reduce its effectiveness even more.

 

And if my wife was pregnant, I'd not be super happy about having DDT sprayed inside my house.

 

With respect to the US, the Asian Tigers are also caring the virus now.  Their territory has reached up to NY state during the summer so we'll definitely see some cases this summer up into the mid-Atlantic states.

 

If the issues with babies is conclusively tied to the virus and a general effect (not something to some specific condition or genetic trait in Brazil), I suspect we'll see a vaccine (at least in western countries) in a 3 years or so.

 

Until then, they are already doing things like using GMO mosquitoes to control things in places like Brazil.

[nonniey]

DDT resistance is pretty common in the relevant mosquitoes.  It has a repellent factor, but that normally means it is used in small enclosed spaces (people spray their interior walls in some countries), and while that can be effective, it obviously isn't super effective because it still leaves you vulnerable anytime you go outside.  Generally, in the US mosquitoes in homes isn't a huge issue (because our home construction tends to be pretty good compared to other countries).  Wide spread spraying is just going to reduce its effectiveness even more.

 

And if my wife was pregnant, I'd not be super happy about having DDT sprayed inside my house.

 

With respect to the US, the Asian Tigers are also caring the virus now.  Their territory has reached up to NY state during the summer so we'll definitely see some cases this summer up into the mid-Atlantic states.

 

If the issues with babies is conclusively tied to the virus and a general effect (not something to some specific condition or genetic trait in Brazil), I suspect we'll see a vaccine (at least in western countries) in a 3 years or so.

 

Until then, they are already doing things like using GMO mosquitoes to control things in places like Brazil.

I'd never heard about built up DDT resistance (although I imagine it is certainly possible). I thought DDT had been strictly forbidden world wide for 46 years. Prior to it's banning it was so effective malaria was on the verge of extinction (it was also the safest pesticide ever developed). From what I've read it's ban was one of the biggest mistakes made during the 20th century (think of that).

By the way why would you not be happy about DDT in your house? It is completely harmless to humans.

[PeterMP]

I'd never heard about built up DDT resistance (although I imagine it is certainly possible). I thought DDT had been strictly forbidden world wide for 46 years. Prior to it's banning it was so effective malaria was on the verge of extinction (it was also the safest pesticide ever developed). From what I've read it's ban was one of the biggest mistakes made during the 20th century (think of that).

 

DDT was used for 2 reasons.  For control of insects that spread parasites, mostly malaria, and as an agricultural pesticide (its primary use in the US).  Countries like the US banned it totally.

 

DDT resistance was recognized pretty early (going back to the 1950s).  

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13209325

 

That's one reason why it was banned from agricultural situations to help limit the spread of the resistance.

 

In many countries, its use to control insects related to diseases continued for decades after that ban, but in most cases it was banned for agricultural issues and today it is still legal in many countries to control disease spreading insects.  Its use in India is still legal in that capacity.  India recently entered into a UN agreement to ban it completely by 2020, but that's now being reconsidered even though resistance is now wide spread in India, it still seems to have somewhat of a repellent affect (especially in enclosed, but poorly constructed structures that don't do a good job of keeping mosquitoes out).

 

The re-emergence of malaria had very little to do with the "ban" on DDT.  It was mostly related to the emergence of resistance of the mosquitoes to DDT and the malaria causing parasite to drugs that were being used to treat it, and lack of attention/funding as the prevalence of the disease dropped it became less of a priority at a political/spending level.  But when you have low prevalence that's actually the time when funding is most needed.

 

We actually saw the same issue in this country with TB.  In the early 1980s, TB was almost eliminated in the US.  It was essentially down to a few areas in New York City, but those areas were the poorest/worse areas where people are the least likely to trust and ask for support from the government.  The governments cut funding to the TB effort and TB has now come back.

 

With respect to DDT being safe that depends on your priorities.  DDT has a long life time in the environment that means it accumulates and moves up the food chain so for organisms at or near the top of the food chain, it can be a real issue, and we still don't really have a good idea of what long term exposure of DDT does to humans (those sorts of studies are hard to do) and given its long life time in the environment, spraying essentially guarantees long exposure times.

[Riggo-toni]

Always appreciate your insights on biochemistry and other scientific wisdom.

Thanks for the info Peter.

[PeterMP]

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/02/19/467318839/colombian-clinic-probes-a-mystery-is-zika-triggering-a-rare-disorder

 

Zika, potentially (very very preliminary) is being tied to GBS.  Other viruses are known to rarely contribute to GBS so it wouldn't be shocking, but the percent might be an issue.

[Bliz]

Wife and I had to cancel a Jamaica baby moon last week because of this. Fortunately the airlines and resort are giving us a year to go back and AA waived my transfer fees.

Wife didn't want to risk it. Most medical professionals she talked to said there's too many unknowns, and even though there hadnt been any cited cases in Jamaica as of 2 weeks ago, she felt very strongly about not risking it. I was fine with swallowing the costs given the awful outcomes if she had contracted Zika, however small the chances were. Just wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if anything happened. Thankfully everyone understood and we will go sometime next fall when my wife isn't pregnant..

Oh, did I mentioned we were to be gone Thursday to Monday night? So instead of Jamaica we got 2' of snow lol

Buddy of mine cancelled a work trip because he and his wife are in the middle of an ivf regimen. Their doctor said there's no good test for it now, and you could be an asymptomatic carrier, therefore if the pregnancy took he recommended no sex (or similar replacement activities) for the duration of the pregnancy. And if it didn't take and they intended to try additional implantations, none for a year

So yeah. Trip cancelled

[PeterMP]

A new study links Zika to GBS

 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/29/health/zika-guillain-barre-study/index.html

 

First Zika vaccine in animals that I know of has been done, with possible human clinical trials potentially by the end of the years:

 

http://www.livescience.com/53764-zika-vaccine-works-in-mice.html

 

(They'll do some more animal tests, and then they'll start recruiting participants, and if the animal models still look, then they'll go into humans.)

[visionary]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/first-us-zika-related-death-puerto-rico-172744690.html?ref=gs

First US Zika-related death in Puerto Rico

 

The first death related to the mosquito-borne Zika virus infection on US soil was reported Friday in the US territory of Puerto Rico, health authorities said.

 

"The patient died of complications related to severe thrombocytopenia," a condition related to a low number of platelets in the blood, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

[Elessar78]

Lets send millions of people into Brazil this summer, get infected by mosquito bites and return to their home countries. No worries right?

[Destino]

Lets send millions of people into Brazil this summer, get infected by mosquito bites and return to their home countries. No worries right?

Really does seem like the plot of a bad movie doesn't it?  

[Elessar78]

Yup and inept govt's won't have the balls to do a boycott on medical grounds. 

[China]

Lets send millions of people into Brazil this summer, get infected by mosquito bites and return to their home countries. No worries right?

 

From the Harvard Public Health Review:

 

Off the Podium: Why Public Health Concerns for Global Spread of Zika Virus Means That Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Olympic Games Must Not Proceed

 

Amir Attaran, DPhil, LLB, MS. Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa

 

razil’s Zika problem is inconveniently not ending.  The outbreak that began in the country’s northeast has reached Rio de Janeiro, where it is flourishing.  Clinical studies are also mounting that Zika infection is associated not just with pediatric microcephaly and brain damage, but also adult conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome[1] and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which are debilitating and sometimes fatal.[2]

 

Simply put, Zika infection is more dangerous, and Brazil’s outbreak more extensive, than scientists reckoned a short time ago.  Which leads to a bitter truth: the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games must be postponed, moved, or both, as a precautionary concession.  There are five reasons.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[PeterMP]

Trials on people to start in Sept on one vaccine:

 

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/05/zika-vaccine-efficacy-trials-could-start-2017

[RichmondRedskin88]

If this struck during the 2014 WC we would be screwed right now....