Warning to Families and Couples in Tropical Americas: Zika Spreading Fast.

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by boatman61

World Health Organisation
World Bank
United Nations...
They're all the same.. look at who they pressure.. and who they ignore.
They all listen to.. and obey

Yessir Phil! Ya beat me to it.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by boatman61

World Health Organisation
World Bank
United Nations...
They're all the same.. look at who they pressure.. and who they ignore.
They all listen to.. and obey

The good thing is that this is all "subject to change"...time devoures all...

[Rustic Charm]

It seems this thread has digressed into conspiracy theories

[Alan Mighty]

Meningoencephalitis: Zika Virus (ZIKV) associated with a case of meningoencephalitis in New Caledonia. New England Journal of Medicine.

[Alan Mighty]

Neurological Disorders generally: a review of medical research into the causal association between ZIKV (Zika Virus) and neurological disorders such as Guillain–Barré syndrome, microcephaly, and meningoencephalitis. New England Journal of Medicine.

[Alan Mighty]

Acute Myelitis: ZIKV (Zika virus) caused acute myelitis in a 15 year old girl in Guadeloupe (Caribbean) in January 2016: further evidence that ZIKV may be neuroinvasive and neurovirulent similar to other flaviviruses (e.g. the flaviviruses responsible for dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile virus). The Lancet.

See also (for those of you not biased against Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotropic_virus

[Alan Mighty]

Microcephaly in French Polynesia: a retrospective study of ZIKV infection in French Polynesia 2013-15 shows (a) ZIKV (Zika Virus) infection in the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of microcephaly; and (b) in the French Polynesian population 2013-15, the risk of microcephaly to offspring of a mother infected with ZIKV in the first trimester was 1% (1 in 100). The Lancet.

To quote from the authors (Dr Cauchemez et. al): "This risk seems low compared with that for other viral infections associated to birth defects. For example, 13% of primary cytomegalovirus infections in pregnancy result in symptomatic congenital disease in neonates, the risk of congenital rubella syndrome ranges from 38% to 100% if mothers are infected in the first trimester of pregnancy, and global adverse fetal outcomes are seen in 10% of pregnant women infected by parvovirus B19. However, an important difference is that the incidence of Zika virus in the general population can be very high during outbreaks (eg, 66% in French Polynesia and 73% on the island of Yap), meaning that the risk to pregnant women is also high. By contrast, 1–4% of pregnant women are infected with cytomegalovirus, fewer than ten cases of rubella are seen in pregnant women per year in France,and 0·61–1·24% of women of childbearing age are infected with parvovirus B19. Thus, although infection with Zika virus is associated with a low fetal risk, it is an important public health issue. "


See also the 5th dot point in my post #5 in this thread.

[Alan Mighty]

Introduction of ZIKV to the Americas: Zika virus infection in Brazil/Dominican Republic/Haiti etc may have started in 2013 - roughly two years before first detected in 2015. Blood drawn in Haiti in 2014 shows presence of ZIKV. A pregnant Swiss women resident in the Dominican Republic in late 2013 delivered a microcephalic infant. Science.

[Alan Mighty]

Panama: ZIKV and microcephaly: Panama recently reported a newborn with microcephaly and occipital encephalocoele (neural tube defect) who died a few hours after birth and tested positive for Zika virus by RT-PCR. 24 March 2016. WHO.

[Alan Mighty]

Condoms and sex: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has since 25 March 2016 recommended that males suspecting ZIKV exposure should wear condoms for vaginal, anal, or oral sex, including when having sex with a pregnant female. Males should continue using condoms for 6 months after first having ZIKV fever symptoms (males in a ZIKV zone but who do not show symptoms of ZIKV fever ought consider using condoms or refraining from vaginal, anal, or oral sex for 6 weeks). Females should avoid pregnancy for at least 8 weeks after first having ZIKV fever symptoms. CDC and CDC and CDC (and more pages)

[Alan Mighty]

ZIKV causes brain damage: Medical scientists at U Texas and New Mexico State U used a mouse model to study the progress of ZIKV infection. Mice are normally immune to ZIKV, so they used an engineered strain of mice that ZIKV would infect. ZIKV were detected on Day 3 after infection; by Day 6 after infection, mice showed signs of neurological damage including tremors. Young mice (3 weeks) died by Day 7. Older mice (11 weeks) started recovery from Day 8. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

It seems this thread has digressed into conspiracy theories

Its all theory so far anyway..
Seeing as ZIKA has been known? about since 1947.. and lots and lots of Cubans went across and fought in Africa in various revolutions I'm surprised ZIKA waited till 2013 to hit S America.. but then again.. it could be an evil Castro plot..

[Alan Mighty]

AXL receptor protein is the likely door by which ZIKV infects nerve cells: Tomasz Nowakowski and others at U California San Francisco have identified the AXL receptor tyrosine kinase as the entryway that ZIKV uses to enter human neural stem cells (the cells that would normally develop into nerve cells). Dengue Virus and ZIKV are known to hijack the AXL receptor protein found on skin cells to enter the skin cells, causing a skin rash. AXL receptor protein is not normally found on mature nerve cells. Nowakowski and co-workers found that AXL receptor protein is highly abundant on radial glial cells, one of the neural stem cells in the developing brain, and also in cortical astrocytes, blood microcapillaries, microglia, and progenitors in the neural retina and ciliary marginal zone of the developing eye. Nowakowski and colleagues suggest that ZIKV crosses the placenta/foetus barrier and penetrates either cerebrospinal fluid or the blood/brain barrier. ZIKV then invades radial glial cells. Destruction of the radial glial cells would result in microcephaly. Destruction of cortical astrocytes would explain the optical lesions known to be caused by ZIKV. Cell: Stem Cell.

Notes:
1. More research work will need to be done to test Nowakowski & Co's hypothesis that ZIKV invades radial glial cells using the AXL receptor protein.
2. IMHO we have no way of blocking a virus using the AXL receptor protein as a way into a developing cell - by which I mean this discovery, if proven, does not lead to a means of preventing microcephaly.


For more readable versions of this research, try Nature or UC SF or AAS Eureka

[Alan Mighty]

FDA clears test for ZIKV in blood transfusions: US Food and Drug Administration has given clearance to Roche Molecular Systems for an experimental test to detect ZIKV in donated blood. FDA approval allows Puerto Rico to resume collecting blood donations from PR residents. USFDA.

Note: this represents exceptionally fast action by FDA and Roche Molecular Systems. The first test to screen blood for West Nile Virus took about a year to develop and be approved.

[Alan Mighty]

ZIKV 3.8 Angstrom image of the beast: Devika Sirohi, Chen Zhenguo and others have mapped the Zika Virus and two its surface proteins. ZIKV shows resemblance to its related flaviviruses, dengue fever virus (DENV) and West Nile virus (WNV), but there is an surface area with significant differences from DENV and WNV. Differences in this area may relate to how ZIKV infects humans and how ZIKV damages the human nervous system. Science.