Friday, January 29, 2016

ZIKA VIRUS HITS AMERICA HARD

You may have heard about the spreading Zika virus, a mosquito borne pathogen that can severely affect pregnant women and their children. The head of the World Health Organization has called an emergency meeting for Monday to discuss what she is ca...

How worried should we be about the Zika virus?

You may have heard about the spreading Zika virus, a mosquito borne pathogen that can severely affect pregnant women and their children.
The head of the World Health Organization has called an emergency meeting for Monday to discuss what she is calling a "pandemic" with the virus "spreading explosively" throughout the Americas.
CNN:
"The level of concern is high, as is the level of uncertainty," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's director-general, told her organization's executive board members. "We need to get some answers quickly."
The lack of any immunity to Zika and the fact that mosquitoes spreading the virus can be found most "everywhere in the Americas" -- from Argentina to the southern United States -- explains the speed of its transmission, said Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri, an official with the WHO and Pan American Health Organization.
Aldighieri gave the estimate for Zika infections (including people who do not report clinical symptoms) based on data regarding the spread of a different mosquito-borne virus -- dengue. He acknowledged the virus is circulating with "very high intensity."
Some 80% of those infected with the Zika virus don't even feel sick, and most who do have relatively mild symptoms such as a fever, rash, joint pain or pink eye.But there are major worries about the dangers pregnant women and their babies face.
Chan said that, where the virus has arrived, there's been a corresponding "steep increase in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads and in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome." Having small heads can cause severe developmental issues and sometimes death. Guillain-Barre is a rare autoimmune disorder that can lead to life-threatening paralysis.
The WHO's Dr. Bruce Aylward cautioned there was no definitive link between Zika and these disorders but sees a legitimate reason for concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Dr. Anne Schuchat said there is a "strong" suggestion they are connected.
There is also a potential problem with the virus entering the blood supply.
Canadian Blood Services, which manages most of Canada's supply of blood and blood products, is asking all potential donors who have traveled anywhere other than Canada, the United States or Europe to delay donating blood until one month after their return.
The agency said it is working with Health Canada and Héma-Québec to establish the length of time for delaying donations, but for now the recommendation is one month.
"The risk of Zika virus transmission from a Canadian donor to a blood recipient is very low. This deferral period is being introduced as a precaution, since to date, there has been no evidence of Zika virus transmission by transfusion causing illness in a recipient," the agency said in a statement.
The American Red Cross, the largest blood collection organization in the United States, said it is closely monitoring the virus but isn't taking a similar precaution, at least not yet.
"We are evaluating, as part of the AABB Transfusion Transmissible Disease committee, whether to ask donors to self-defer for 28 days following their return to the U.S. if they traveled to areas with ongoing Zika outbreaks," said Dr. Susan Stramer, vice president of scientific affairs at the American Red Cross.
That's likely to change if the spread of the virus becomes as bad as the WHO believes.
There is no cure for the virus and no vaccine, although there may be an experimental vaccine by the end of the year. For most of us, the threat of becoming gravely ill is mild. But we can still be carriers who can spread the disease if a mosquito bites an infected human. 
Controlling the mosquito population will be key. But the particular bug that carries the virus isn't going to make it easy:
Studies show local control is only marginally effective, since it's so hard to get to all possible breeding areas. And since Aedes aegypti has evolved to live near humans and "can replicate in flower vases and other tiny sources of water," said microbiologist Brian Foy, the mosquitoes are particularly difficult to find and eradicate.
Another prevention effort is OX513A, a genetically modified male Aedes aegypti, dubbed by critics as the "mutant mosquito" or "Robo-Frankenstein mosquito." The creation of British company Oxitec, OX513A is designed to stop the spread of Zika by passing along a gene that makes his offspring die. Since females only mate once, in theory this slows the growth of the population. Each OX513A carries a fluorescent marker, so he can be tracked by scientists.
Brazil appears to be the epicenter of the outbreak, which is very bad news. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world will descend on Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics later this summer. Health officials believe that this will give the virus a chance to spread worldwide by the end of the year, threatening the health of newborns and wreaking havoc with the blood supply.
You may have heard about the spreading Zika virus, a mosquito borne pathogen that can severely affect pregnant women and their children.
The head of the World Health Organization has called an emergency meeting for Monday to discuss what she is calling a "pandemic" with the virus "spreading explosively" throughout the Americas.
CNN:
"The level of concern is high, as is the level of uncertainty," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's director-general, told her organization's executive board members. "We need to get some answers quickly."
The lack of any immunity to Zika and the fact that mosquitoes spreading the virus can be found most "everywhere in the Americas" -- from Argentina to the southern United States -- explains the speed of its transmission, said Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri, an official with the WHO and Pan American Health Organization.
Aldighieri gave the estimate for Zika infections (including people who do not report clinical symptoms) based on data regarding the spread of a different mosquito-borne virus -- dengue. He acknowledged the virus is circulating with "very high intensity."
Some 80% of those infected with the Zika virus don't even feel sick, and most who do have relatively mild symptoms such as a fever, rash, joint pain or pink eye.But there are major worries about the dangers pregnant women and their babies face.
Chan said that, where the virus has arrived, there's been a corresponding "steep increase in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads and in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome." Having small heads can cause severe developmental issues and sometimes death. Guillain-Barre is a rare autoimmune disorder that can lead to life-threatening paralysis.
The WHO's Dr. Bruce Aylward cautioned there was no definitive link between Zika and these disorders but sees a legitimate reason for concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Dr. Anne Schuchat said there is a "strong" suggestion they are connected.
There is also a potential problem with the virus entering the blood supply.
Canadian Blood Services, which manages most of Canada's supply of blood and blood products, is asking all potential donors who have traveled anywhere other than Canada, the United States or Europe to delay donating blood until one month after their return.
The agency said it is working with Health Canada and Héma-Québec to establish the length of time for delaying donations, but for now the recommendation is one month.
"The risk of Zika virus transmission from a Canadian donor to a blood recipient is very low. This deferral period is being introduced as a precaution, since to date, there has been no evidence of Zika virus transmission by transfusion causing illness in a recipient," the agency said in a statement.
The American Red Cross, the largest blood collection organization in the United States, said it is closely monitoring the virus but isn't taking a similar precaution, at least not yet.
"We are evaluating, as part of the AABB Transfusion Transmissible Disease committee, whether to ask donors to self-defer for 28 days following their return to the U.S. if they traveled to areas with ongoing Zika outbreaks," said Dr. Susan Stramer, vice president of scientific affairs at the American Red Cross.
That's likely to change if the spread of the virus becomes as bad as the WHO believes.
There is no cure for the virus and no vaccine, although there may be an experimental vaccine by the end of the year. For most of us, the threat of becoming gravely ill is mild. But we can still be carriers who can spread the disease if a mosquito bites an infected human. 
Controlling the mosquito population will be key. But the particular bug that carries the virus isn't going to make it easy:
Studies show local control is only marginally effective, since it's so hard to get to all possible breeding areas. And since Aedes aegypti has evolved to live near humans and "can replicate in flower vases and other tiny sources of water," said microbiologist Brian Foy, the mosquitoes are particularly difficult to find and eradicate.
Another prevention effort is OX513A, a genetically modified male Aedes aegypti, dubbed by critics as the "mutant mosquito" or "Robo-Frankenstein mosquito." The creation of British company Oxitec, OX513A is designed to stop the spread of Zika by passing along a gene that makes his offspring die. Since females only mate once, in theory this slows the growth of the population. Each OX513A carries a fluorescent marker, so he can be tracked by scientists.
Brazil appears to be the epicenter of the outbreak, which is very bad news. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world will descend on Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics later this summer. Health officials believe that this will give the virus a chance to spread worldwide by the end of the year, threatening the health of newborns and wreaking havoc with the blood supply.


Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/01/how_worried_should_we_be_about_the_zika_virus.html#ixzz3yfBvaIJU
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ZIKA VIRUS IN AMERICA'S OPEN and UNDEFENDED BORDERS

World Health Organization: Zika virus “spreading explosively” in Americas

World Health Organization: Zika virus “spreading explosively” in Americas

By Kate Randall
29 January 2016
Declaring that the Zika virus is “spreading explosively,” the World Health Organization announced it will hold an emergency meeting of independent experts in Geneva on February 1 to decide if the outbreak should be declared an international health emergency.
At a meeting Thursday in Geneva, WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said the Zika virus was becoming more of a threat. One WHO scientist estimates there could be up to 4 million cases of the virus in the Americas in the next year. Since Brazil reported its first case in May, the virus has now been detected in more than 23 countries and territories in the Americas.
Zika has been linked to birth defects in babies born to infected pregnant women. Chan said that although there was no definitive proof that the virus was responsible for a spike in the number of babies being born with abnormally small heads in Brazil, “The level of alarm is extremely high.” She also noted a possible association between Zika infection and Guillain-Barre syndrome, sometimes resulting in paralysis.
“The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions,” Chan said. “The increased incidence of microcephaly is particularly alarming, as it places a heart-breaking burden on families and communities.”
Zika is spread by Aedes mosquitos, which also spread dengue and yellow fever. It could also be spread by the Asian Tiger mosquito in the US. There is some evidence that Zika can be transmitted through saliva and semen, although scientists do not believe this to be common. Chan said that this year’s el Niño weather patterns are expected to spread mosquito populations, increasing the Zika threat.
In addition to Zika’s possible link to birth malformations and neurological syndromes, WHO points to other main reasons for concern: potential for further international spread due to the wide geographical distribution of the mosquito vector, lack of population immunity, and the absence of vaccines, specific treatments and rapid diagnostic tests.
WHO was criticized for its slow response to the Ebola outbreak in 2013; nearly 1,000 people died before the agency declared it to be an international emergency. Ashish K. Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said, “The most egregious failure was by WHO in the delay in sounding the alarm. People at WHO were aware that there was an Ebola outbreak that was getting out of control by spring ... and yet, it took until August to declare a public health emergency. The cost of the delay was enormous.”
In Brazil, there have been an estimated 500,000 to 1.5 million people infected by Zika as of early January, and nearly 4,000 children have been born with congenital microcephaly, compared to only 150 cases in 2014. Microcephaly is a rare condition that can cause babies to have small heads and severe neurological impairment.
El Salvador has taken the unusual step of advising women to hold off on getting pregnant until 2018, while officials in Colombia and Ecuador have urged women to delay becoming pregnant until the dangers of the virus are better understood.
The US Centers for Disease Control has reported 31 cases of Zika cases in the Continental US among women who have recently traveled to affected regions in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America and other regions outside the US. WHO reports 19 “locally acquired” cases of Zika in Puerto Rico.
The CDC is now advising pregnant women: “Consider postponing travel to any area where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. If you must travel to one of these areas, talk to your doctor first and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites during your trip.”
Testing for Zika is difficult and there are no commercially produced tests for the virus. In the US, there are only a handful of labs that can diagnose the infection, including one at the CDC, as well as facilities in California, Florida, New York, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.
In Brazil, which is set to host the 2016 Summer Olympics August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, the Zika outbreak and spike in microcephaly cases have been concentrated in the country’s poor northeast region. But the southeast, which includes Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, is the second hardest-hit region.
Speaking to the BBC, Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert from Georgetown University, warned, “With the Rio Olympics on our doorstep I can certainly see this having a pandemic potential.”
Gostin commented before Chan’s announcement, “I’m disappointed that the WHO has not been acting proactively. They have not issued any advice about travel, about surveillance, about mosquito control.”
In addition to the possibility of a pandemic and widespread birth defects, the Zika virus’s spread also carries the potential of widespread economic impacts for the countries affected.
Nuno Antunes, an analyst at Decision Resources Group, told BioPharma Dive: “This will require heavy economic and social efforts; there will be direct expenditures associated with their care, but also a significant economic and social impact as they will require a full-time care taker, most likely a parent who will have to stop working to do so given that these countries are not prepared to offer support to so many children.”
As there is no vaccine, the only present protection against Zika is to avoid the mosquito that carries the virus, a prospect that is much more difficult in poorer regions of the world. Guidelines for avoiding the virus include not travelling to Zika-endemic areas or, if in one of these places, wearing mosquito repellant and long-sleeved shirts, and sleeping in screened-in, air conditioned rooms.
Until recently, there has been little interest on the part of pharmaceutical companies to develop a vaccine for Zika. GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi are now likely to become involved in international vaccine efforts, seeing the profit-making potential.
Sanofi recently introduced Dengvaxia, the world’s first vaccine against the dengue virus, which killed 22,000 people last year. Dengvaxia was approved for use in Mexico, the Philippines and Brazil last year. According to Bloomberg, Dengvaxia is expected to generate $1.4 billion in revenues for Sanofi by 2020.
Anvisa, the Brazilian regulatory body, has guaranteed priority review to any product contributing to the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of Zika. And Instituto Butantan, the largest biopharmaceutical company in Latin America, announced that it is looking for pharmaceutical partners to collaborate on a vaccine.
However, the development and approval of such a vaccine is a long way off. Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch, who have visited Brazil to collect samples and carry out research, are currently analyzing them in laboratories in Galveston in pursuit of a Zika vaccine. They warn that although a vaccine could be ready for testing in two years, it might take another decade for it to be approved by regulators.
Professor Scott Weaver, speaking from inside the Galveston facility, told the BBC that people were right to be frightened by Zika: “It’s certainly a very significant risk, and if infection of the fetus does occur and microcephaly develops we have no ability to alter the outcome of that very bad disease which is sometimes fatal or leaves children mentally incapacitated for the remainder of their life.”