Zika: Two billion at risk in Africa and Asia, study says
More than two billion people could be at risk from Zika virus outbreaks in parts of Africa and Asia, according to scientists writing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The research team, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Oxford University and the University of Toronto, Canada, said “vast numbers” of people were living in environments where it would be hard to prevent, detect and respond to the virus. Populations in India, Indonesia and Nigeria are some of the most vulnerable to transmission, the researchers said. They used data on air traveller numbers to help model their predictions.
Millions of bees dead after South Carolina sprays for Zika mosquitoes
‘Like it’s been nuked’: Millions of bees dead after South Carolina sprays for Zika mosquitoes, reports the Washington Post. On Sunday morning, the South Carolina honey bees began to die in massive numbers. Death came suddenly to Dorchester County, S.C. Stressed insects tried to flee their nests, only to surrender in little clumps at hive entrances. The dead worker bees littering the farms suggested that colony collapse disorder was not the culprit — in that odd phenomenon, workers vanish as though raptured, leaving a living queen and young bees behind. Instead, the dead heaps signaled the killer was less mysterious, but no less devastating. The pattern matched acute pesticide poisoning. By one estimate, at a single apiary — Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply, in Summerville — 46 hives died on ...
An Emerging Threat – Mosquito-borne diseases in Europe
An Emerging Threat. Mosquito-borne diseases in Europe. There has been growing interest in Europe in recent years in the establishment and spread of invasive mosquitoes, notably the incursion of Aedes albopictus through the international trade in used tires and lucky bamboo, with onward spread within Europe through ground transport. More recently, five other non-European aedine mosquito species have been found in Europe, and in some cases populations have established locally and are spreading. Concerns have been raised about the involvement of these mosquito species in transmission cycles of pathogens of public health importance, and these concerns were borne out following the outbreak of chikungunya fever in Italy in 2007, and subsequent autochthonous cases of dengue fever in France and Cr...
Another New Zika Case Found in Florida
Florida reported a new homegrown case of Zika virus Wednesday, this one in Palm Beach County. The state’s now running 10 different investigations into 43 local cases of Zika infection, including two outbreaks: one in Miami and one in Miami Beach. On Tuesday, a case was reported on Florida’s Gulf coast. It’s not a surprise that Florida has cases of Zika. The Aedes mosquitoes that spread the virus thrive in the warm, humid state almost year-round, and Florida has many travellers back and forth from the badly affected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. But the appearance of so many cases in such a short time is worrying for a state that relies heavily on tourists, and the governor’s office has been in heavy damage-control mode, stressing mosquito control eff...
Brain Scans of Brazilian Babies Show Array of Zika Effects
“The brain that should be there is not there”. A study of brain scans and ultrasound pictures of 45 Brazilian babies whose mothers were infected with Zika in pregnancy shows that the virus can inflict serious damage to many different parts of the foetal brain beyond microcephaly, the condition of unusually small heads that has become the sinister signature of Zika. The images, published Tuesday in the journal Radiology, also suggest a grim possibility: Because some of the damage was seen in brain areas that continue to develop after birth, it may be that babies born without obvious impairment will experience problems as they grow. “It really brings to the forefront the importance of truly understanding the impact of Zika virus and the fact that we need to follow children who not only are e...
“Charlotte knows she nearly died,” her mother says.
TV presenter Charlie Webster brought out of Rio malaria coma A television sports presenter who was diagnosed with malaria following a 3,000-mile charity cycle ride to Rio has been brought out of her medically induced coma, her manager has said.. Charlie Webster, 33, who has worked for Sky and ITV, became unwell after watching the Olympic opening ceremony. She remains in intensive care but doctors have said they are “very happy with Charlie’s neurological results”. Her mother said: “The fact Charlotte is now conscious is amazing.” Ms Webster is being kept on dialysis as her kidneys are not responding to treatment and is being supported by a respirator. Her mother said in a statement that she had been able to speak to her family. ‘Worst imaginable timeR...
TV presenter Charlie Webster in coma with malaria in Rio
BBC reports that a television sports presenter is in a coma with malaria in a Rio hospital following a 3,000-mile charity cycle ride. Charlie Webster, 33, who has worked for Sky and ITV, became unwell after watching the Olympic opening ceremony. Sky said Ms Webster’s agent had confirmed that she was on life support with a rare strain of the disease. Ms Webster, from Sheffield, had appeared to be in good health when she arrived in Brazil on 4 August.
Zika virus infections have been linked to infected mosquitoes in the continental U.S.
Three New Locally Transmitted Zika Virus Cases Reported in Florida Three additional people have been reported to have contracted the Zika virus in ongoing outbreak centred in northern Miami, bringing the total number of those infected to 25, the Florida Health Department said today. This outbreak is the first in which Zika virus infections have been linked to infected mosquitoes in the continental U.S. The news of the additional cases came hours after Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced that mosquito control activities have reduced the size of the area where Zika transmission is ongoing in Florida. Four square blocks in the Wynwood neighborhood in Miami have been cleared and therefore the size of the area where Zika transmission is believed to be ongoing has been reduced, officials from the ...
Zika infection during pregnancy may cause limb joint deformities in the baby
Zika infection during pregnancy may cause limb joint deformities in the baby, experts now fear. Brazilian researchers from Recife, the city at the centre of the Zika epidemic, describe seven suspect cases in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The virus, which has been spreading across much of the Americas and has deterred some people from visiting the Olympic host country, is already known to cause a serious baby brain defect. Experts now agree that Zika is capable of causing lasting brain damage to babies in the womb. The virus can cross the placenta from the mother to her unborn child. And there is growing evidence that it can trigger a rare, weakening condition of the nerves, called Guillian-Barre syndrome, in adults. Dr Vanessa van der Linden and her team in Brazil say they are now see...
Three pregnant women are now among 46 confirmed cases of Zika virus in Illinois
CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) – Three pregnant women are now among 46 confirmed cases of Zika virus across the state, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. “We have 8 women in the Zika Virus Pregnancy Registry because at the time of testing they were positive for a flavivirus – CDC was not able to confirm in 5 of those cases whether it was Zika virus or Dengue fever,” according to Divya Mohan Little, Public Information Officer at the Illinois Department of Health. Zika primarily spreads through bites from tropical mosquitoes. In most people, the virus causes only mild illness, but infection during pregnancy can lead to severe brain-related birth defects for the fetus. Earlier this week, the Illinois Department of Public Health issued a travel alert for South Flor...
67 countries now report evidence of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission
WHO reports As of 27 July 2016, 67 countries and territories have reported evidence of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission since 2007 (64 of these countries and territories have reported evidence of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission since 2015. One country and one territory have reported mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission for the first time in the week to 27 July 2016, Antigua and Barbuda; and Turks and Caicos (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).
Zika Cases in Puerto Rico Are Skyrocketing
The New York Times reports from San Juan, Puerto Rico — The Zika epidemic that has spread from Brazil to the rest of Latin America is now raging in Puerto Rico — and the island’s response is in chaos. “What worries me is not 100 kids with microcephaly,” said Dr. De la Vega, chief of ultrasound diagnosis at the university. “What worries me is a lot of kids affected in some way we cannot determine yet.” “We may be facing a generation with learning and behavioural disabilities,” he said. The war against the Aedes aegypti mosquito carrying the virus is sputtering out in failure. Infections are skyrocketing: Many residents fail to protect themselves against bites because they believe the threat is exaggerated. Federal and local health officials are feuding, and the governor’s special adviser o...