Brazilian women urged to avoid pregnancy due to virus Katherine Martinko

[Proserpina]

http://www.treehugger.com/health/brazilian-women-urged-avoid-pregnancy-due-virus.html

... An outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus has been linked to a surge in newborn “microcephaly,” particularly in the tropical northeast region. More than 2,400 cases have been reported throughout the country, with the vast majority in the northeast.

Microcephaly results in babies being born with unusually small heads, measuring less than 32 centimetres (12.6 inches) around. The brain develops abnormally during pregnancy and also fails to grow properly after birth. Microcephaly can result in serious developmental delays and, sometimes, early death.

The Zika virus originated in Africa; it was first found in Uganda in the 1940s. Its recent arrival in South America has alarmed many people, and is suspected to have been brought to Brazil by South Pacific or Asian tourists during the World Cup games in 2014. The virus is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which thrives in tropical climates and even lives in certain pockets of the United States...It’s difficult for doctors to detect if pregnant women are infected, since the symptoms are very subtle – skin rash, headache, achy joints – and are often misdiagnosed as other things, such as food allergies. There is no vaccine to prevent microcephaly, nor is there a treatment for it, although early intervention with supportive therapies can improve a child’s development and quality of life (Mayo clinic).

Brazilian health officials are urging all citizens to combat the root cause of the epidemic by eliminating any standing water that could breed mosquitoes. Pregnant women are urged to slather on insect repellent and stay indoors as much as possible; and any women who are considering pregnancy are urged to hold off until the epidemic is better understood and controlled.

[Green Forest]

1. How did tourists bring mosquitoes?

"suspected to have been brought to Brazil by South Pacific or Asian tourists during the World Cup games in 2014. The virus is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito"

The virus is from Africa. Why not African World Cup tourists? Is there any official scientific research on this yet? Recent immigrants to the affected region may well be responsible.

I feel for the parents... Hope the babies fare well and are loved.

[Sienna86]

2. Slathering on mosquito repellant doesn't sound healthy either.

Hope the health officials get this viral threat under control.

[hobbit709]

3. Eliminating standing water in the Amazon Basin?

[Proserpina]

4. With the economy on the rocks, Brazil is stuck

They need a real solution, fast.

[proverbialwisdom]

5. Brazil has already been using genetically modified mosquitoes in efforts to combat dengue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/31/world/americas/alarm-spreads-in-brazil-over-a-virus-and-a-surge-in-malformed-infants.html

Alarm Spreads in Brazil Over a Virus and a Surge in Malformed Infants
By SIMON ROMERO
DEC. 30, 2015

SÃO 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.

Many pregnant women across Brazil are in a panic. The government, under withering criticism for not acting sooner, is urging them to take every precaution to avoid mosquito bites. One official even suggested that women living in areas where mosquitoes are especially prevalent postpone having children.

“If she can wait, then she should,” said Claudio Maierovitch, director of the department of surveillance of communicable diseases at Brazil’s Health Ministry.

The alarm stems from a huge surge in babies with microcephaly (my-kroh-SEF-uh-lee), 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.

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http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/dengue-fighting-mosquitoes-are-suppressing-wild-populations-brazil

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Released In Brazil
July 7, 2015 | by Janet Fang

Genetically modified male mosquitoes who sire offspring that die early have finally been released in Brazil to suppress dengue. And according to results published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases last week, these “sterile” skeeters have reduced the dengue mosquito population in one Brazilian suburb by 95%.

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In the last few years, a self-limiting strain called OX513A reached the field evaluation stage after extensive lab tests. Releases of OX513A males in the Cayman Islands in 2010 led to 80% suppression of a target population, while isolated field demonstrations in Brazil have achieved similarly successful results after six months.

Then, beginning in 2011, a team led by Andrew McKemey of Oxitec conducted a sustained series of OX513A field releases in Itaberaba, a suburb of Juazeiro in the semi-arid northeast region of Brazil. Because piped water services are irregular in this dense suburb, the 1,810 residents depend on stored water – ideal habitats for Aedes aegypti. Throughout the study, local mosquito control was deployed as normal: Public health agents continued to destroy breeding sites and treat homes with larvicide.

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This past April, six million of these modified mosquitoes, known locally as “friendly Aedes aegypti,” were released in the Brazilian city of Piracicaba, which is facing one of the worst infestations. “The next step is to scale up to even larger studies and run mosquito control projects on an operational basis,” McKemey says in a statement. The company is waiting for permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to test in the Florida Keys. Although this area has been dengue-free since 2010, there are fears that it could return, which is why there is interest in testing out Oxitec's technology, Parry says.

MORE: http://www.gmwatch.org/search?searchword=mosquitoes&searchphrase=all