Zika spreads... and kills

[Gay Boy Roberto]

A baby born in Texas with the Zika-linked birth defect microcephaly has died, health officials say.

The baby was infected in the womb while the mother was travelling in Latin America, though state officials have not identified where.

The defect causes abnormally small heads and other developmental damage.

Florida Governor Rick Scott also announced four more people had contracted the Zika virus, bringing the state's total to 21 cases.

[RW]

And so it begins...



:(

[Anonymous]

A baby born in Texas with the Zika-linked birth defect microcephaly has died, health officials say.

The baby was infected in the womb while the mother was travelling in Latin America, though state officials have not identified where.

The defect causes abnormally small heads and other developmental damage.

Florida Governor Rick Scott also announced four more people had contracted the Zika virus, bringing the state's total to 21 cases.

Are there any risks to anyone besides those that are expecting?

[Renee]

I'm thinking DDT is the answer.

[JOE]

I think the spread of Zika was caused by human meddling and the wonders of genetic engineering. Our scientists and the corporations who back them have completely trashed what was once an environmentally beautiful continent - by introducing foreign species or modifying them. The Zika crisis mirrors that of the African Bee which was introduced to Brazil in the 1950s. And someone let it loose, and the rest is history, with scores of marauding bees which have killed hundreds of people all the way down south as far as Argentina right up into Texas.

[cc]

Are there any risks to anyone besides those that are expecting?

People exposed to bites by infected mosquitos are at risk of contracting Zika. Additionally, evidence has shown that the virus can be transmitted sexually. Studies are currently examining other possible transmission modes.



While the virus itself may not present any symptoms (though symptoms can include fever, skin rash, headache, and joint pain), researchers have identified conclusive links between the virus and two rare but serious conditions: microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.



While most people who contract Guillain-Barré syndrome will recover fully within a few weeks, babies born with microcephaly can suffer physical or developmental disabilities and require support their entire lives.



http://stories.plancanada.ca/the-zika-virus-4-things-you-need-to-know/?gclid=CKOXysTmuc4CFYphfgod2ZwCog">http://stories.plancanada.ca/the-zika-v ... fgod2ZwCog">http://stories.plancanada.ca/the-zika-virus-4-things-you-need-to-know/?gclid=CKOXysTmuc4CFYphfgod2ZwCog

[JOE]

What I've noticed when walking around Vancouver is that there are increasing numbers of Latino women from Brazil having children here. The ones who have the money may be fleeing north just for the privilege of having a normal child. I suppose the net benefit is twofold for them - a baby born sans the effects of the Zika virus because Canada doesn't breed those kind of mosquitos (yet), and the child is conferred with Canadian and dual citizenship. In a way, I can hardly blame them. If the price to concieve and to deliver a normal child is to fly thousands of miles north and pay tens of thousands offoreign hospital fees, then perhaps its worth it. Otherwise a deformed child will end up costing the parents and the state hundreds of thousands of dollars of their lifetime.

[Anonymous]

What I've noticed when walking around Vancouver is that there are increasing numbers of Latino women from Brazil having children here. The ones who have the money may be fleeing north just for the privilege of having a normal child. I suppose the net benefit is twofold for them - a baby born sans the effects of the Zika virus because Canada doesn't breed those kind of mosquitos (yet), and the child is conferred with Canadian and dual citizenship. In a way, I can hardly blame them. If the price to concieve and to deliver a normal child is to fly thousands of miles north and pay tens of thousands offoreign hospital fees, then perhaps its worth it. Otherwise a deformed child will end up costing the parents and the state hundreds of thousands of dollars of their lifetime.

Most Spanish speakers I have met in Calgary are from Central American nations.

[RW]

Uh oh TD



http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/zika-virus-costa-rica">http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/ale ... costa-rica">http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/zika-virus-costa-rica

[Gay Boy Roberto]

Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish.  Perhaps a 'friend' taught Joe Portuguese.

[Anonymous]

Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish.  Perhaps a 'friend' taught Joe Portuguese.

Did he say Spanish is the official language in Brazil?

[Anonymous]

Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish.  Perhaps a 'friend' taught Joe Portuguese.

Did he say Spanish is the official language in Brazil?

It doesn't seem to matter.

[Gay Boy Roberto]

"There is not active surveillance going on in the at-risk states in the United States," said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. "I think there's not just Zika transmission going on in Miami, it's going on all up and down the Gulf Coast and in Arizona, it's just that nobody's looking."



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/17/zika-virus-outbreaks-us-testing-difficulties-mosquitoes">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... mosquitoes">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/17/zika-virus-outbreaks-us-testing-difficulties-mosquitoes

[Twenty Dollars]

Uh oh TD



http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/zika-virus-costa-rica">http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/ale ... costa-rica">http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/zika-virus-costa-rica

Costa Rica is doing its best to eradicate Zika. Tourist dollars are important. Sure hasent slowed chubby sunburned Canadians from visiting.

[Romero]

The CDC is estimating that a quarter of Peurto Ricans will be infected with by the end of 2016. I've also read it could cost $4 million in lifetime healthcare costs for every infected child.

I'm thinking DDT is the answer.

Sure, let's replace something that causes health defects with something else that causes health defects. We can finally get rid of those pesky bald eagles.