http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/s...ravel.html

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The has issued a travel alert (Level 2-Practice Enhanced Precautions) for people traveling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico...

Locally acquired Zika was reported for the first time in Brazil in May 2015, and the virus has since been reported in 14 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

According to Brazilian health authorities, more than 3,500 microcephaly cases were reported in Brazil 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. Health authorities in Brazil, with assistance from the Pan American Health Organization, CDC, and other agencies, have been investigating the possible association between Zika virus infection and microcephaly in infants. However, additional studies are needed to further characterize this relationship. More studies are planned to learn more about the risks of Zika virus infection during pregnancy.

I heard on the news that they suspect it was introduced to Brazil during the World Cup. Also, that it is likely to be transmissible via sexual intercourse and saliva in addition to the main pathway, mosquito bites.

cnn.com/2016/01/26/health/zika-what-you-need-to-know/

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"That's a pandemic in progress," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. "It isn't as if it's turning around and dying out, it's getting worse and worse as the days go by."

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If mosquitoes in the United States do become carriers, a model created by Toronto researchers found more than 63% of the U.S. population lives in areas where Zika virus might spread during seasonally warm months. A little over 7% of Americans live in areas where the cold might not kill off the mosquito in the winter, leaving them vulnerable year round.

The Zika virus is some scary shit. Can you imagine if it spreads worldwide and a huge portion of babies are born with microcephaly? We could potentially see humans go extinct.

Heard this for the first time on CNN tonight where there was a big caption saying, "El Salvador recommends no pregnancies for two years." Yeah, ok.

First thought that came to mind was there may be an ounce of truth behind the virus but being blown out of proportion to try and get Latinos to slow down their breeding habits. May go in line with the population control narrative.

I used to get worked up about these announcements. Now I feel like I'm getting numb to these apocalyptic disease outbreaks where people think it's going to sweep the world and wreak havoc on humanity. Of course it rarely ends up as bad as the "experts" in media say it will be.

I'm still a bit confused about this virus. One of my girls had Zika. She was ill for 3-4 days with flu-like symptoms. Then she was fine. It didn't seem to be a big deal, but does this mean her future babies will potentially suffer?

Between all the bird flus and ebola I could care less.

When there's a real outbreak, no one's going to care from the media crying wolf all of the time.

Watch a really serious disease break out and people die because of the over reporting BS.

Quote:Quote:

I'm still a bit confused about this virus. One of my girls had Zika. She was ill for 3-4 days with flu-like symptoms. Then she was fine. It didn't seem to be a big deal, but does this mean her future babies will potentially suffer?

I don't think so. It sounds like it's only an issue if they contract the virus while actually pregnant. Out of caution I would assume that it may be in your system for a few weeks after the symptoms go away.

Quote: (01-27-2016 02:47 AM)Spectrumwalker Wrote:  

Heard this for the first time on CNN tonight where there was a big caption saying, "El Salvador recommends no pregnancies for two years." Yeah, ok.

First thought that came to mind was there may be an ounce of truth behind the virus but being blown out of proportion to try and get Latinos to slow down their breeding habits. May go in line with the population control narrative.

I used to get worked up about these announcements. Now I feel like I'm getting numb to these apocalyptic disease outbreaks where people think it's going to sweep the world and wreak havoc on humanity. Of course it rarely ends up as bad as the "experts" in media say it will be.

From Wikipedia:

"...since the 1950s has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia. In 2014, the virus spread eastward across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia, then to Easter Island and in 2015 to Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, where the Zika outbreak has reached pandemic levels."

Add to that the fact that governments have advised people to not have kids for 2 years.

Wasn't 2014 the year of the largest Ebola outbreak in history and the first time it got outside Africa (or at least in the US)?

There's been quite a few other strange things happening since last year, as can be seen on other threads here. Just sayin.

The link between microcephaly is....weird. So far the only cases i have read about that happened in Brazil. The virus have been around the world since ages, but only now there are a reported connection between the virus and the condition?

http://theantimedia.org/zika-outbreak-ep...d-in-2015/

Zika Outbreak Epicenter in Same Area Where GM Mosquitoes Were Released in 2015

I've lost count of how many times I've seen "Zika Virus Crece" as a headline while watching my daily dose of Spanish-language news.

For the vast majority of people who catch this disease it's nothing more than an inconvenience: it is self-limiting, you'll feel terrible for a couple of days and then it will be over. An extremely limited amount of people have died while having this disease (and it's not completely certain that Zika was the cause of death). More worrying is the possible complication of Guillain Barré syndrome which is associated with Zika. This is a really bad thing. The association with microcephaly needs to be investigated further and is of interest for pregnant women.

Take care

My girls mom just got bit few days ago in outskirts of Medellin.

She has a fever and is sick as hell resting.

We'll see how this turns out.

From what I read- they couldn't actually "prove" a link between Zika and Microcephaly. Just there was a huge increase in the latter, and when they investigated, they found the mothers were infected with Zika. But Zika had existed for hundreds of years in Africa/South Pacific(without finding a link- though maybe because they weren't recording).

The more likely explanation is the heavy pesticide use because of the GM roundup ready crops.

Quote: (02-08-2016 12:46 AM)Centurion Wrote:  

The more likely explanation is the heavy pesticide use because of the GM roundup ready crops.

That's possible.

Activist, feminist, and abortionist are using this as a reason to push more abortions and birth control on South American countries. "Never let a good tragedy go to waste" as they say.

Quote: (02-08-2016 02:47 AM)username Wrote:  

Quote: (02-08-2016 12:46 AM)Centurion Wrote:  

The more likely explanation is the heavy pesticide use because of the GM roundup ready crops.

That's possible.

Activist, feminist, and abortionist are using this as a reason to push more abortions and birth control on South American countries. "Never let a good tragedy go to waste" as they say.

Yes colombianas have been very affected by the news. It has reduced the chance of a one night by 10 to 20 percent.
Similar to Aids in the USA, in the 90s. Hysteria.

Quote: (02-08-2016 11:08 AM)chochemonger1 Wrote:  

Quote: (02-08-2016 02:47 AM)username Wrote:  

Quote: (02-08-2016 12:46 AM)Centurion Wrote:  

The more likely explanation is the heavy pesticide use because of the GM roundup ready crops.

That's possible.

Activist, feminist, and abortionist are using this as a reason to push more abortions and birth control on South American countries. "Never let a good tragedy go to waste" as they say.

Yes colombianas have been very affected by the news. It has reduced the chance of a one night by 10 to 20 percent.
Similar to Aids in the USA, in the 90s. Hysteria.

I do hope you're not serious with the "AIDS level" hysteria. That would be a travesty for guys like us checking out Colombia.

They say it can be spread via saliva and sex. It's carnaval right now here in Brazil, let's see if the number of cases are going to go up.

Quote: (01-29-2016 05:48 PM)DamienCasanova Wrote:  

http://theantimedia.org/zika-outbreak-ep...d-in-2015/

Zika Outbreak Epicenter in Same Area Where GM Mosquitoes Were Released in 2015

Summed up perfectly.

Quote: (02-08-2016 03:23 PM)MasculineProfiles Wrote:  

Quote: (02-08-2016 11:08 AM)chochemonger1 Wrote:  

Quote: (02-08-2016 02:47 AM)username Wrote:  

Quote: (02-08-2016 12:46 AM)Centurion Wrote:  

The more likely explanation is the heavy pesticide use because of the GM roundup ready crops.

That's possible.

Activist, feminist, and abortionist are using this as a reason to push more abortions and birth control on South American countries. "Never let a good tragedy go to waste" as they say.

Yes colombianas have been very affected by the news. It has reduced the chance of a one night by 10 to 20 percent.
Similar to Aids in the USA, in the 90s. Hysteria.

I do hope you're not serious with the "AIDS level" hysteria. That would be a travesty for guys like us checking out Colombia.

Is this a serious problem in Colombia right now? This is a popular place on the forum and I'm looking at relocating there myself in a few months.

I'm personally not worried, this is just the latest pandemic sensationalism like SARS, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Ebola, etc...but we need to know if there is a serious panic about on the ground this that is causing women to not want to hook up.

Update: the link between Zika and microcephaly seems to be very plausible.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1600651

And I can personally confirm the increase in Guillain Barré cases during this Zika epidemic.

Take care

I think the main concern for guys here might be traveling to SA or the Caribbean, picking it up, and infecting their girl back home. It's good to be aware of it.

I doubt it will world spread out.

The mosquito/the fly needs warm tropical weather. So I would guess North America is kind of out of question (they would all die in the cold freezing). Unless they adapt to the weather.

It's impossible to control it in Brazil. The country is huge, and there are tons of water (that is not a current stream of water like a river, lakes, ETC) every where for it to reproduce. In the past the mosquito could only get it's eggs on clean water, but now it seems that it can reproduce on dirty water... so it is adapting.

Interesting development- Zika may not be the cause of the microcephaly cases.

Seems there have been cases going back to at least 2012. New study suggests it may have been underreported, but when the Zika outbreak began, people assumed there was a connection started reporting it more.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/microcepha...-1.3442580

Looks like most (80%) of the microcephaly cases are in Northeastern Brazil. That's Amazon rainforest territory.

Are there herbicides or pesticides being used in that area that can cause birth defects?

Quote: (02-11-2016 04:20 PM)marinhogomes Wrote:  

I doubt it will world spread out.

The mosquito/the fly needs warm tropical weather. So I would guess North America is kind of out of question (they would all die in the cold freezing). Unless they adapt to the weather.

It's impossible to control it in Brazil. The country is huge, and there are tons of water (that is not a current stream of water like a river, lakes, ETC) every where for it to reproduce. In the past the mosquito could only get it's eggs on clean water, but now it seems that it can reproduce on dirty water... so it is adapting.

Yes, as I understand it, the mosquito species carrying the virus is limited to tropical and sub-tropical areas. But surprises are possible (eg, malaria carrying mosquitos are in high latitudes, too).

Why encephalopathy? Why now? Since it has been known in tropical Africa since the 1940s?

One possibility is suggested by its advance eastward along tropical zones towards SE Asia and Oceana - then leaping to South America. Time and populations providing varied hosts and various geographical environments for evolution to find new niches to root quietly - until it sprung to SA.

That's one possibility. Scientific studies will attempt to 'connect-the-dots' to support or disprove this theory. The obvious alternative is that it leapt from Africa more directly.

Meanwhile, the risk of encephalopathy during pregnancy may well be limited to a certain stage of pregnancy. Research is desperately needed to identify the parameters of the time at risk. Then education can be circulated to prevent infection during that time.

As for a vaccine? A news story headline from the UN states that 18 months is the current fastest time horizon to achieve one.

The only good news on that front has been the suggestion that a closely related disease does have one, and therefore it may be possible to either tweak that vaccine or apply a similar technique to derive one for Zika.

Many infectious diseases sit idly by, not presenting a human threat, making it almost benign - until conditions change and upset its relative isolation. Such was the case with Ebola - very dangerous, but so virulent that it always burned out before it could spread far enough to kill people on a wide scale...until new conditions emerged, and its transmissibility through bodily fluids increased (evolution, again).

That Zika remains a minor disease for most means that it can spread far and wide, undetected. Until it unleashes life-long harm, after gestation and birth, many months later.

Thus, characterizing the likeliest periods of virulent susceptibility is most urgent. Only then can efforts to minimize the most harmful exposure be put to good use.

It's possible the populations in the Western Hemisphere have less immunity compared to Africa, where it is endemic.