topic Re: ZIKA in Community Chat

ZIKA

Noel7 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:25:06 GMT

A subject worthy of discussion.

The photos of microcephalic babies are heartbreaking. Some countries are suggesting women put off having a child for two years.

There has already been a case in California.

Re: ZIKA

JustJazzmom — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:27:14 GMT

According to tonight's newscast there are 7 cases in NY now.

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Noel7 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:30:36 GMT

Several sources say the outbreaks in different parts of the world will be explosive.

Odd that it's begun here already, it was said it would happen with warm weather.

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elainemasey — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:31:57 GMT

And a confirmed case in Massachusetts.

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Kachina624 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:33:06 GMT

These diseases that seemingly come out of nowhere and have catastrophic results are very scary indeed. Can you imagine telling all the women in a third world country not to get pregnant for two years?

My own family was touched by West Nile Virus when my mom died of it in 2003. We're out here in the desert but my parents lived on a golf course about 100 yards from a pond where the water was not being aerated. I live about 1 mile away and never have mosquitos.

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Dell1 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:36:37 GMT

Does it matter how far a woman is along for this to be an issue? I have just started seeing news stories on this but don't know many details.

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JustJazzmom — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:36:50 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
These diseases that seemingly come out of nowhere and have catastrophic results are very scary indeed. Can you imagine telling all the women in a third world country not to get pregnant for two years?

My own family was touched by West Nile Virus when my mom died of it in 2003. We're out here in the desert but my parents lived on a golf course about 100 yards from a pond where the water was not being aerated. I live about 1 mile away and never have mosquitos.

These diseases are occuring with more notice due to the mobility of people in society today. We take planes all over the world and in the years before plane travel, it took longer for these diseases specific to a geographic area to spread.

Mosquitos very rarely travel for miles from where they are hatched. They hitch rides on people, clothing, luggage and travel that way.

Re: ZIKA

Noel7 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:40:18 GMT

Kachina, I'm so sorry about your mom, how awful for you.

I've read Zika is thought to have originated in Uganda. Several years ago I read about and heard PBS radio reports interviewing scientists who predicted a lot of deadly viruses would come out of certain areas of the world because of deforestation. Often because the animals carrying it had to leave their usual areas where they had found food. I don't know if that holds true for all we've seen, but it makes sense.

Re: ZIKA

JustJazzmom — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:43:03 GMT

@Dell1 wrote:
Does it matter how far a woman is along for this to be an issue? I have just started seeing news stories on this but don't know many details.

That is my question too as to when this disease crosses the placenta and at what stage in the pregnancy. Is it able to be detected in the first trimester? I think the questions are still being asked and info is coming about this soon.

A vaccine is going to be in the works by the NIH but again this is going to take time.

Some excellent articles are in the NYTs either from yesterday or today that address this issue in 2 articles that I read this AM there.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/health/what-is-zika-virus.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/nyregion/new-york-city-officials-address-rise-in-cases-of-zika-virus.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

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Noel7 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:41:48 GMT

@Dell1

Hi Dell, I haven't seen a report on that.

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Noel7 — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 23:46:20 GMT

Here is the one from the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/health/zika-virus-spreading-explosively-in-americas-who-says.html?_r=0

Another from the BBC:

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35427493

And one from Marketwatch with informative maps:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-exactly-is-the-zika-virus-and-why-should-you-care-2016-01-25

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ChynnaBlue — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 00:19:18 GMT

Morning Edition did a fantastic story about this the other day. (link here). The audio portion mentions that Zika is expected to move through ALL of the Americas, with the exception of Canada.

The real tragedy is that the countries seeing the worst cases are areas where family planning is very difficult. They don't have easy access to contraception and many of these states do not allow abortion at all, not even in cases where a fetus has an extreme birth defect like microcephaly. Every woman should be in charge of her own reproductive choices and this is just one reason why it's so important. Women need access to contraception and options when a pregnancy goes wrong.

How do you tell women not to get pregnant when you don't allow them contraceptive choices? And why are they only warning women about this? We don't get pregnant all by ourselves.

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Noel7 — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 00:20:28 GMT

@ChynnaBlue

Thanks for the article!

Do you know why not Canada? At first I thought it must be the cold weather, but I scanned and apparently Canada is known for terrible mosquitoes.

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JustJazzmom — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 00:25:02 GMT

@Noel7 wrote:
@ChynnaBlue

Thanks for the article!

Do you know why not Canada? At first I thought it must be the cold weather, but I scanned and apparently Canada is known for terrible mosquitoes.

I'm wondering if they do make it that far, they do not survive the cold frozen winters of Canada to reproduce again in the spring, might be the factor. The Chilean mountains was the other region mentioned and I imagine it might be on a similar latitude in the Southern Hemisphere as Canada is in the Northern Hemisphere??

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Noel7 — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 00:29:29 GMT

It's a puzzle about Canada. At least Zika is not spread from person to person.

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Kachina624 — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 00:37:51 GMT

I wonder how it affects people other than pregnant women?

People ask why they should care what happens in underdeveloped African countries. Well, this and West Nile and Ebola are good examples. The climate and squalid living conditions are the perfect incubator for disease.

Re: ZIKA

Noel7 — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 01:21:36 GMT

@Kachina624

From the CDC on Zinka:

Symptoms

About 1 in 5 people infected with Zika virus become ill (i.e., develop Zika).
The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week.
The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.
Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for a few days but it can be found longer in some people.
Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.
Deaths are rare.

Diagnosis

The symptoms of Zika are similar to those of dengue and chikungunya, diseases spread through the same mosquitoes that transmit Zika.
See your healthcare provider if you develop the symptoms described above and have visited an area where Zika is found.
If you have recently traveled, tell your healthcare provider when and where you traveled.
Your healthcare provider may order blood tests to look for Zika or other similar viruses like dengue or chikungunya.

Treatment

No vaccine or medications are available to prevent or treat Zika infections.
Treat the symptoms:
- Get plenty of rest
- Drink fluids to prevent dehydration
- Take medicines, such as acetaminophen or paracetamol, to relieve fever and pain
- Do not take aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen and naproxen. Aspirin and NSAIDs should be avoided until dengue can be ruled out to reduce the risk of hemorrhage (bleeding). If you are taking medicine for another medical condition, talk to your healthcare provider before taking additional medication.
If you have Zika, avoid mosquito bites for the first week of your illness.
- During the first week of infection, Zika virus can be found in the blood and passed from an infected person to another mosquito through mosquito bites.
- An infected mosquito can then spread the virus to other people.

More detailed information can be found on CDC’s Zika virus web page for healthcare providers

Re: ZIKA

Noel7 — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 02:27:02 GMT

@Kachina624

Our local newscasters said Zika could be more difficult for those of us with auto-immune, but I don't have any real information on that.

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september — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 01:57:02 GMT

This is such a worry to everyone...we all know someone who is of child bearing age...even if we are not.

my DIL is pregnant now, as are many of the other younger members of our family. And all are frequent travelers. Should they all just stay at home now?

So so many unanswered questions. In the USA, we do have screens on our windows to keep mosquitos out of our homes, but I know screens aren't used in most of the rest of the world. People get bitten by mosquitoes, most often, while they're asleep in their homes.

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Puzzle Piece — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 02:01:53 GMT

From a retired teacher I know, the Zika virus has been around for years. If the moms can get into the USA, then the taxpayer will foot the bill to support the child for the many years it lives. I would think the UN would have demanded the countries with this on going disease to do something before it got out of hand. But then, that would make sense.