Zika Virus

di11on

Hi folks,

Could someone please explain something to me.

Apparently, the Zika virus has been around and known about for a long time. Why is it only now that they are hypothesising some statistical connection with microcephaly?

Also, there do not appear to be many cases of microcephaly in Colombia where it is reported that there are over 2000 pregnant women infected with the disease. Perhaps the impact will be delayed in Colombia?

Since it has been around for many years and we are only now seeing this link with microcephaly, what has changed? The only logical explanation I can think of is that there has been a huge increase in infections. Is this the case? If so, is it known what has caused this?

sullivlo

di11on wrote: »

Hi folks,

Could someone please explain something to me.

Apparently, the Zika virus has been around and known about for a long time. Why is it only now that they are hypothesising some statistical connection with microcephaly?

Also, there do not appear to be many cases of microcephaly in Colombia where it is reported that there are over 2000 pregnant women infected with the disease. Perhaps the impact will be delayed in Colombia?

Since it has been around for many years and we are only now seeing this link with microcephaly, what has changed? The only logical explanation I can think of is that there has been a huge increase in infections. Is this the case? If so, is it known what has caused this?

From what I have read, there has been a huge increase of infection in recent times. Something to do with an increase in the population of the affecting mosquitos as there has been more rain and swamps formed, where they thrive. The link with micro encephalopathy hasn't been proved, if what I've read is true. It's just a hypothesis at this stage. Whether it's just a coincidence, nobody knows. What I do know is that Zika will be researched now!!! Our own lab are even starting to develop an interest in it.

Also it's just hitting the media more now as the Olympics are on in Rio this year so it impacts potential travellers to the games.

gctest50

Dr. Tatjana Avšič - Županc

Getting there bit by bit with the research

This case shows severe fetal brain injury associated with ZIKV infection with vertical transmission

The only external anomaly that was noted was microcephaly.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1600651#t=article

.

echo beach

Thanks. That article goes a long way towards showing the link between infection with the virus and microcephaly. It also suggests that there has been a slight change in the virus (all viruses adapt quickly to new environments) which may be why it is now causing this problem when there aren't reports of it before in other areas.

RobFowl

This is quite useful though it needs registration and you need to be a medic

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/859008

Here is a clip of what it says (is an editorial not a peer reviewed article btw)

The behavior of the Zika virus in Colombia will have global relevance, the country's health minister said on Wednesday, as governments and world experts scramble to clarify the mosquito-borne disease's connection to microcephaly.Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria told Reuters in an interview the Andean country may revise downward its projection of Zika-linked microcephaly cases because the deformity should have manifested in fetuses by now.
Much remains unknown about Zika, including whether the virus actually causes microcephaly. Brazil is investigating the potential link between Zika infections and more than 4,400 suspected cases of the birth defect, a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can result in developmental problems.In contrast to Brazil, Colombia has yet to register any cases of the birth defect connected to Zika, though thousands of pregnant women have the virus, Gaviria said.

"What's happening in Colombia has global relevance because the virus is here, but also because we have a good epidemiological tracking system," Gaviria said.

Colombia registered 31,555 cases of the virus in its latest epidemiological bulletin, 5,013 of whom are pregnant women.

The government originally predicted between 500 and 600 cases of Zika-linked microcephaly this year, five times more than normally registered annually, but is now reconsidering.

"We're doubting that figure, we're analyzing what's happening in Brazil but between when we released the estimate and now we haven't found a single case of microcephaly," Gaviria said.

"The time to see some cases has passed," he said. "The extrapolation of Brazil's figures to Colombia, which is how we got the projection, now doesn't seem reasonable."

Brazil's cases of microcephaly could be explained by previous underreporting or another factor not present in Colombia, Gaviria said, especially because the country has historically registered more cases than Brazil, though its population is one-fourth the size.

The Zika virus has also been linked to neurological disease Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis. The ministry expects around 60 cases of the syndrome monthly, an increase of 50 percent, Gaviria said.

Three deaths from Guillain-Barre have been linked to Zika in Colombia. One patient tested positive for the virus, while the other two were diagnosed by doctors but did not have their cases confirmed by a lab, he said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent a delegation to Colombia's Caribbean coast, one of the virus' hotspots.

Colombia expects up to 600,000 cases of Zika this year.