Alarm Spreads in Brazil Over a Virus and a Surge in Malformed Infants

The New York Times ^ | Ded. 30, 2015 | Simon Romero

[heartwood]

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A little-known virus spread by mosquitoes is causing one of the most alarming health crises to hit Brazil in decades, officials here warn: thousands of cases of brain damage, in which babies are born with unusually small heads.

...The alarm stems from a huge surge in babies with microcephaly, a rare, incurable condition in which their heads are abnormally small. Brazilian officials have registered at least 2,782 cases this year, compared with just 147 in 2014 and 167 the year before.

...No one knows precisely when the Zika virus made the leap to Brazil from its place of origin in Africa. Some researchers say it could have arrived during the 2014 World Cup, when Brazil welcomed travelers from around the globe. Others think the virus may have come during a canoe race weeks later, when paddlers from French Polynesia, the site of a recent Zika outbreak, arrived in Rio de Janeiro.

Researchers, alert to the rapid increase in cases, say that Zika's spread to Brazil reflects how easily viruses are jumping from one part of the planet to another.

They are particularly worried that the disease is wreaking havoc in a region where the population has not encountered it before, and that climate change may be allowing viruses like Zika to thrive in new domains.

[Lil Flower]

Even though I didn’t believe it when I read it, do you suppose this is why ICE is rounding up Central Americans and sending them back?

[Mastador1]

Nothing a little DDT wouldn't prevent...

You know I was just thinking, if only there was some product, some sort of compound that could be applied easily, maybe by spraying that would kill, even eradicate not only adult disease carrying mosquitos, but their larvae too. So sad that so many lives are lost and ruined because we just don't have such a product available.

[JohnBovenmyer]

Some diseases won’t be revealed by blood testing. TB, for instance.

First is true, but not the 'for instance.' There is a TB blood test available. And for immigrants it's probably a better test than the more familiar skin test that takes a few days. Down side is it costs more and may not be able to be drawn, or run, everyday. At least when I had it done last month (required by my hospital for we doctors) I was limited in when and where I could have it drawn. Up side is it doesn't give 'false' positives in those who've had the TB vaccine (BCG), which is widely used in the third world as a cheap, partial, TB control measure. But everyone who's had BCG flunks the TB test. The US strategy of not vaccinating for TB, but testing contacts and those a higher risk worked better (as long as we didn't import a ton of TB,) but required a more expensive public health infrastructure than the third world could afford.

[heartwood]

thanks for the info

[GOPJ]

Or a whole lot of DDT - enough to wipe mosquitoes out of existence forever.

[JohnBovenmyer]

They are trying to develop ways to force sterility genes into the wild mosquito population, hoping to drive the disease carrying species to extinction. I’m hoping some underdressed PETA type, ‘feed the mosquito’ protests will target the remaining bugs wisely. THIS disease would be redundant for eco-libs, but surely it’s worth THEM risking dengue, malaria, etc. for to save the planet.

[justrepublican]

Did you say “extinction”?
Has to be an “endangered species” first, right?(sarcasm)

[JohnBovenmyer]

Plenty of species have gone extinct without the greenies noticing they’d been endangered. And any species that seriously peeves the toughest species of all is in danger.

[Lurker]

I blame Rachel Carson.

[Popman]

I blame Rachel Carson.

At the Harbor in Baltimore there is a science museum for children that has a section for the worship of Rachel Carson...

I took particular pleasure in a loud enough voice explaining to my nieces and nephews who RC was and that she was responsible for millions of deaths because of her bogus research and the politicians who bought her environmental ideology...

Needless to say I got several side glances from other patrons...Truth hurts...

[JohnBovenmyer]

Carson is up there with Mao and Stalin as the worst mass killers of the 20th century.

[Lurker]

Good for you. The time for silence is over.

[daniel1212]

After blasphemous gay pride parade, Brazil seeks to ban ‘Christophobia’ https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/after-blasphemous-gay-pride-parade-brazil-seeks-to-ban-christophobia

[daniel1212]

"Microcephaly" means "smallheadedness" (New Latin microcephalia, from Ancient Greek μικρός "small" and κεφαλή "head"[10]). "Microencephaly" means "small brain". Because the size of the brain is mostly determined by the size of the head, microencephaly is implied when discussing microcephaly.

Affected newborns generally have striking neurological defects and seizures. Severely impaired intellectual development is common, but disturbances in motor functions may not appear until later in life.[citation needed]

Infants with microcephaly are born with either a normal or reduced head size. Subsequently, the head fails to grow, while the face continues to develop at a normal rate, producing a child with a small head and a receding forehead, and a loose, often wrinkled scalp. As the child grows older, the smallness of the skull becomes more obvious, although the entire body also is often underweight and dwarfed. Development of motor functions and speech may be delayed. Hyperactivity and intellectual disability are common occurrences, although the degree of each varies. Convulsions may also occur. Motor ability varies, ranging from clumsiness in some to spastic quadriplegia in others

After the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, several women close to ground zero who had been pregnant at the time gave birth to children with microcephaly.[12] Microcephaly prevalence was seven of a group of 11 pregnant women at 11–17 weeks of gestation who survived the blast at less than 1.2 km from ground zero. Due to their proximity to the bomb, the pregnant women's in utero children received a biologically significant radiation dose that was relatively high due to the massive neutron output of the lower explosive-yielding Little Boy.[13] Microcephaly is the only proven malformation, or congenital abnormality, found in the children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[13]

People with microcephaly were sometimes sold to freak shows in North America and Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries, where they were known by the name "pinheads". Many of them were presented as different species (e.g., "monkey man") and described as being the missing link.[14]

Generally, no specific cure is known for microcephaly. Treatment is symptomatic and supportive. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcephaly