Experts Are Working Hard To Get Rid Of The Zika Virus In Brazil

As the number of birth defects linked to a mosquito-borne virus surpasses 4,000 in Brazil, and scientists scramble to create a vaccine to protect against the untreatable disease, public health officials are bracing themselves for a potential outbreak in the U.S.
The threat has some advocacy groups pushing for tighter health screenings among travelers and immigrants from Zika-afflicted countries, while public health officials and tropical disease experts argue preparing to fight the Aedes aegypti, an insect that doesn’t respond to common pesticide, is more pressing.

CDC advises young women not on birth control to stop drinking alcohol

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised Tuesday that sexually active young women not on birth control against drinking alcohol to reduce instances of fetal alcohol syndrome. The CDC also urged health care providers to counsel patients on abstaining from drinking when they stop using birth control.In its CDC Vital Signs report, the agency found three in four women who want to get pregnant do not stop drinking alcohol when they stop using birth control. It further warned that there is no safe amount of alcohol for a woman to drink at any stage of pregnancy, including before she knows she is pregnant, which for most is four to six weeks into the pregnancy.Alcohol use during pregnancy can cause lasting physical, behavioral and intellectual disabilities for the developing fetus, which is known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).“Alcohol can permanently harm a developing baby before a woman knows she is pregnant,” Anne Schuchat, the CDC principal deputy director, said in the report. “About half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and even if planned, most women won’t know they are pregnant for the first month or so, when they might still be drinking. The risk is real. Why take the chance?”
For the report, scientists analyzed data from the 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth.

Brazil Zika virus: 'War' declared on deadly mosquitoes

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has declared war on mosquitoes responsible for spreading the Zika virus in a recorded TV message to the nation.She said a national mobilisation day would be held on Saturday, during which thousands of soldiers and state employees would work to eradicate the insects in homes and offices.Ms Rousseff said most mosquitoes breed in or near people's homes.Zika has been linked to babies being born with underdeveloped brains.It is spreading through the Americas and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the microcephaly disease linked to the virus a global public health emergency.In her address, Ms Rousseff said that substantial federal resources were being released to fight Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, because it was a fight that "cannot be lost".
"All of us need to take part in this battle," she said."We need help and good will from everyone. Collaborate, mobilise your family and your community."I will insist, since science has not yet developed a vaccine against the Zika virus, that the only efficient method we have to prevent this illness is the vigorous battle against the mosquito."

A Sexually Transmitted Zika Virus Has Been Confirmed In Texas

 Health officials on Tuesday reported that a person in Texas has become infected with the Zika virus through sex in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States amid the current outbreak in Latin America.

The unidentified person had not traveled but had sex with a person who had returned from Venezuela and fallen ill with Zika, Dallas County health officials said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a statement saying lab tests confirmed the non-traveler was infected with Zika.The virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas, is primarily spread through mosquito bites, but investigators had been exploring the possibility it could be sexually transmitted. There was a report of a Colorado researcher who picked up the virus in Africa and apparently spread it to his wife back home in 2008, and it was found in one man's semen in Tahiti.

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DECLARES GLOBAL EMERGENCY ON ZIKA VIRUS

The World Health Organization declared a global emergency Monday over the explosive spread of the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas, calling it an "extraordinary event" that poses a public health threat to other parts of the world.
The U.N. agency took the rare step despite a lack of definitive evidence proving the mosquito-borne virus is causing a surge in babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads in Brazil and following a 2013-14 outbreak in French Polynesia.Monday's emergency meeting of independent experts was called in response to the spike in babies born with microcephaly in Brazil since the virus was first found there last year. Officials in French Polynesia also documented a connection between Zika and neurological complications when the virus was spreading there two years ago, at the same time as dengue fever.



After a review of the evidence, the committee advised that the clusters of microcephaly and other neurological complications constitute an extraordinary event and public health threat to other parts of the world," WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said.
WHO, which was widely criticized for its sluggish response to the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa, has been eager to show its responsiveness this time. Despite dire warnings that Ebola was out of control in mid-2014, WHO didn't declare an emergency until months later, after nearly 1,000 people had died.If indeed, the scientific linkage between Zika and microcephaly is established, can you imagine if we do not do all this work now and wait until the scientific evidence comes out?" Chan said. "Then people will say, 'Why didn't you take action?WHO estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of Zika in the Americas in the next year, but no recommendations were made to restrict travel or trade.It is important to understand, there are several measures pregnant women can take," Chan said. "If you can delay travel and it does not affect your other family commitments, it is something to consider.If they need to travel, they can get advice from their physician and take personal protective measures, like wearing long sleeves and shirts and pants and using mosquito repellent."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has advised pregnant women to postpone visits to Brazil and other countries in the region with Zika outbreaks, though officials say it's unlikely the virus could cause widespread problems in the U.S. On Monday, health officials added four more destinations to a list that now includes 28 locations, most of them in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The last time WHO declared a public health emergency was for the devastating Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people. Similar declarations were made for polio in 2013 and the 2009 swine flu pandemic.