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Anybody else following this story?

I'd post a link but the story I read was from a local news station's site and talked mostly about Utahns and their risks.

I know we have some super knowledgeable people in this field here on THP so I thought I'd start this and help people become aware.

I was hoping to sneak my wife away in May for a cruise but we'll be trying to get pregnant pretty soon and just don't want to risk it.
 
My brother is having his wedding in Mexico in April. Had my wife been pregnant, she wouldn't be going. Our plans are going on hold until after the wedding.
 
Anybody else following this story?
Yep, pretty scary stuff. A couple cases of Zika infection have been reported in the United States. Honestly, I think it's time to put a lot of resources into eliminating the specific species of mosquitoes which are known to transmit this, and other damaging diseases (West Nile, Yellow Fever) in the United States and elsewhere (Malaria is one of the hugest killers in the world). But in the meantime you can take steps to protect yourself with proper clothing and repellent selections. If we don't go mosquito elimination route, then we're going to have to develop vaccines ... but we're three to five years out - at a minimum - for a Zika virus.

CDC Zika FAQs: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/disease-qa.html

Depending where you two plan on cruising, you may be safe. Check here: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-travel-information
 
Zika Virus

Company just put out a big memo for us to protect ourselves down there.

Supposed to take the family in March. Not discounting the severity of it but I'm sure CNN will do its best to scare the crap out of everyone.
 
Haven't paid much attention until now... Going to read up. Is this the next Swine Flu?
 
Company just put out a big memo for us to protect ourselves down there.

Supposed to take the family in March. Not discounting the severity of it but I'm sure CNN will do its best to scare the crap out of everyone.

Haven't paid much attention until now... Going to read up. Is this the next Swine Flu?
As far as they know, the symptoms of being infected with the Zika virus are usually mild. It's when a woman is pregnant that the disease is particularly troubling as it's linked to causing deformities in the fetus (microencephaly).
 
Haven't been following but did hear about the case in the US which caught my attention and has me wanting to learn more.
 
Yeah I have been following it and we have discussed it in my health class. We just went over communicable disease and pandemics so the kids were pretty good when it came to having discussion about it. Seem that if you are not pregnant or plan on getting pregnant you will be fine. Saw where one country that has abortion as an illegal crime has asked the women to not get pregnant till 2018.

We also read about in class that they are working with mutating male mosquitoes with some chemical that will cause the female to die when they reproduce. Over time they hope to kill the majority of the population.
 
Yep, pretty scary stuff. A couple cases of Zika infection have been reported in the United States. Honestly, I think it's time to put a lot of resources into eliminating the specific species of mosquitoes which are known to transmit this, and other damaging diseases (West Nile, Yellow Fever) in the United States and elsewhere (Malaria is one of the hugest killers in the world). But in the meantime you can take steps to protect yourself with proper clothing and repellent selections. If we don't go mosquito elimination route, then we're going to have to develop vaccines ... but we're three to five years out - at a minimum - for a Zika virus.

You down with DDT?
 
Yeah I have been following it and we have discussed it in my health class. We just went over communicable disease and pandemics so the kids were pretty good when it came to having discussion about it. Seem that if you are not pregnant or plan on getting pregnant you will be fine. Saw where one country that has abortion as an illegal crime has asked the women to not get pregnant till 2018.

We also read about in class that they are working with mutating male mosquitoes with some chemical that will cause the female to die when they reproduce. Over time they hope to kill the majority of the population.
Or create a swarm of super mosquitoes immune to pesticides haha
 
While the cases in the US make for good news, they all (to my knowledge) have been people coming back from a trip to an effected area with the disease. It's not like we're seeing a reservoir here in the US (yet). As temperatures continue to increase, diseases that are traditionally thought of as "tropical" are going to become more common in warmer, wetter areas of the US, like the southeast - that is obviously a concern.

As for vaccines, I would imagine the earliest we'd see anything even for emergency use would be the end of the year. For it to go through full trials and all that, deuce's 3-5 years sounds about right to me.
 
You down with DDT?
I could be, but would prefer a selective, targeted approach as opposed to a shotgun wholesale spraying. It's also about the only thing that will kill bed bugs, but it can also wreak havoc on raptors (the bird, not the dinosaur).
 
While the cases in the US make for good news, they all (to my knowledge) have been people coming back from a trip to an effected area with the disease. It's not like we're seeing a reservoir here in the US (yet). As temperatures continue to increase, diseases that are traditionally thought of as "tropical" are going to become more common in warmer, wetter areas of the US, like the southeast - that is obviously a concern.

As for vaccines, I would imagine the earliest we'd see anything even for emergency use would be the end of the year. For it to go through full trials and all that, deuce's 3-5 years sounds about right to me.

Latest I saw was that the areas they think would be a possible target for the mosquitoes in the US is the gulf states.
 
From what I've read they have seen some correlation between areas where the virus is present and higher rates of birth defects, but have not yet established any actual correlation between having the virus and birth defects. Is that inaccurate?
 
From what I've read they have seen some correlation between areas where the virus is present and higher rates of birth defects, but have not yet established any actual correlation between having the virus and birth defects. Is that inaccurate?
Depends ... the uptick in microcephaly only started after they started documenting cases of Zika infection, but the more damning evidence is that they've isolated Zika virus from the amniotic fluid of women who are giving birth to children with microcephaly, and there are several cases of isolating Zika from the brains of these children who died shortly after birth. So I'd consider those correlations pretty good, particularly the isolation of Zika in known cases.
 
My local news channel last night said the symptoms are a 3-5 day flu, possibly not even anything if very healthy. If you have other health issues or are a new born baby, then there should be some concern (like every other thing)
 
It seems that Brazil is the hardest hit by this right now - I'm wondering what effect this outbreak will have on the Olympics. Could be disastrous
 
I too was in Costa Rica for Christmas. Did not get but 2 bites but my wife got tour up on our horse back ride. Neither of us have shown any signs. What side of the country was he in?

Not sure, sorry. I'll see if I can find out and add it to this post.
 
All the more reason to travel locally and spend your hard earned money in America, friends.

Except for the south of the U.S. We have Zika down here.
 
Except for the south of the U.S. We have Zika down here.
Yeah, Zika infections are picking up. People are really going to have to be careful about mosquito protection and prevention. Avoid all standing/stagnant water on your property, use DEET, and wear clothing that prevents mosquito bites (long sleeves in summer aren't fun, but better that than Zika).
 
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