Thread: W.H.O. Declares Zika Virus an International Health Emergency

W.H.O. Declares Zika Virus an International Health Emergency

By SABRINA TAVERNISE FEB. 1, 2016



Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the World Health Organization, declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency on Monday. CreditPierre Albouy/Reuters

The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency on Monday, a rare move prompted by growing concern that it could cause birth defects.

The outbreak of Zika, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, began in Brazil last May and has since moved into more than 20 countries in Latin America. The main worry is over the virus’s possible link to microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with brain damage and unusually small heads. Reported cases of microcephaly are rising sharply in Brazil, ground zero for the disease, though researchers have yet to establish a direct link.

At a news conference in Geneva, Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the W.H.O, said that clusters of microcephaly in regions with Zika cases “constitute an extraordinary event and a public health threat to other parts of the world.”

She added that “international response is needed to minimize the threat in infected countries and reduce risk of international spread.” Dr. Chan said case control studies on the connection between Zika and microcephaly will start in the next two weeks.

Short Answers to Hard Questions About Zika Virus

Why scientists are worried about the growing epidemic and its effects on pregnant women, and advice on how to avoid the infection.



The official “emergency” designation can trigger action and funding from governments and non-profits around the world. It elevates the W.H.O. to the position of global coordinator, and gives its decisions the force of international law. The agency is trying to cast itself as a global leader to revive its reputation after a faltering response during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

“Can you imagine if we do not do all this work now and wait until all these scientific evidence to come out, people will say why didn’t you take action?” Dr. Chan said.

The current outbreak of Zika has taken the world by surprise. It was first identified in 1947 in Uganda, and for years lived mostly in monkeys. But last May in Brazil, cases began increasing drastically. The W.H.O. has estimated that four million people could be infected by the end of the year. It is spreading fast in the Americas because people there have not developed immunity.

The W.H.O. has declared a public health emergency three times since 2007, when it first established the procedure — for the influenza panademic in 2009; in 2014 when polio seemed resurgent; and in August 2014 for Ebola.

Some experts applauded the decision to add Zika to the list.

“This should be a global wake up call,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. But he added: “The main question on my mind is whether they will back up their words with decisive action.”

Zika’s rapid rise and the specter of associated birth defects have major implications in a warm region with struggling economies and vast flows of tourists. Brazil is preparing to host the Olympics this summer, and Zika is complicating those plans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised pregnant Americans to avoid travel to the region.

Still, American officials have taken pains to underscore that the virus does not pose a major threat to the United States, where mosquito control efforts are robust and effective.

But now that an emergency has been declared, the W.H.O. can issue global travel advisories, and crucially, coordinate global efforts to combat the mosquitoes that spread Zika, a role that is badly needed as mosquito populations are fluid and know no boundaries. The agency will also help coordinate surveillance efforts, including tracking and tallying cases of Zika and microcephaly.

The last time the W.H.O. declared a public health emergency was when Ebola was tearing through West Africa. But the agency was strongly criticized for weighing in very late, and many global health experts said it was unlikely that the agency’s director, Dr. Chan, would let that happen again.

“The W.H.O. took a very serious hit to their reputation,” said Dr. Ron Waldman, a professor of global health at the Milken School of Public Health at George Washington University. “They do have to be mindful of the politics, but they have to get the science right, too. They don’t have much room for slip-ups.”

Zika and Ebola are very different. Ebola was incredibly deadly, and it spread through contact with bodily fluids.

Zika is not known to be fatal, and it has mild symptoms for most people. So far, the evidence is inconclusive that the virus is the cause of the birth defects, so some health officials had been cautious about drawing too dire a picture.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/he...tion.html?_r=0

2/2/16

Texas reports first case in the USA of sexually transmitted Zika virus

Something to think about...is this an excuse for a money maker vaccine?

Busted: 25,000 cases of microcephaly in the US per year

by Jon Rappoport
January 31, 2016

Microcephaly: babies born with smaller heads and brain impairment. Heard of it? Of course you have. Towering experts are saying it’s caused by the Zika virus in Brazil.

They don’t know how. They don’t know why. But they’re saying it over and over like trained parrots.

They’re saying that, somehow, this virus, which for at least 60 years was causing only mild illness, is now at the heart of all these new cases of microcephaly.

Really? Then why are there 25,000 cases of microcephaly in the US every year?

For science bloggers who live in mommy’s basement and love the statements of the experts, try this. I’ll give you the full citation. Ready?

“Practice Parameter: Evaluation of the child with microcephaly (an evidence-based review)”; Neurology 2009 Sep 15; 73(11) 887-897; Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society.
Here’s the money quote:
“Microcephaly may result from any insult that disturbs early brain growth…Annually, approximately 25,000 infants in the United States will be diagnosed with microcephaly…”

Bang.
Let me take apart that quote. Microcephaly can result from any early insult to the brain. Any.

That could mean a highly toxic pesticide, for example. It could mean severe and prolonged malnutrition of the mother. It could mean a toxic substance injected into the mother—a street drug or a vaccine. It could mean a physical blow. It could mean a mother’s chronic high fever. And so on.
Moving on: 25,000 cases, not just once, but every year in the US, means what? Christopher Columbus actually brought the Zika virus to America in 1492, and it lay dormant for a very long time and then, in the modern age, exploded on the scene in the US?
No. 25,000 cases a year in the US means we’re being treated to an unsupported major bullshit story right now.

That’s what it means.
In a previous article on Zika,(see below) I laid out my top six causes for microcephaly in Brazil. None of them was the virus. I cited a study that revealed a link between the pesticide atrazine and microcephaly. Then there is Roundup. In another previous piece, I cited a study linking that herbicide to microcephaly. Etc., etc.

If you carefully read stories in the mainstream press these days, you’ll notice that even there the Zika hypothesis is shaky, to say the least. Here’s a sprinkle:
Start with a paragraph buried in a Reuters story headlined, “Race for Zika vaccine gathers momentum as virus spreads”:
“Zika had been viewed as a relatively mild illness until Brazilian health officials identified it as a matter of concern for pregnant women. While a direct causal relationship has not been established, scientists strongly suspect a link between Zika and thousands of children born in Brazil with abnormally small heads, brain defects and impaired vision.”

No causal relationship established. Scientists strongly suspect. Well, that does it. That seals the deal. I strongly suspect ants eating brown pears will enable them to pilot spaceships to the rim of the Milky Way.

Here is a piece from Quartz (qz.com) titled, “That ‘baby-brain-shrinking virus’ has made it to the US”:
“The real worry, as Brazil’s health ministry has been warning its citizens, is the suspicion—as yet unproven—that women who catch Zika may give birth to children with microcephaly, a neurological disorder that gives them abnormally small brains.”
Suspicion. As yet unproven.

The article continues:
“A 2007 [Zika] outbreak on Yap Islands in Micronesia is estimated to have affected nearly 75% of the population of some 12,000 people, and a 2013 outbreak in French Polynesia affected nearly 28,000 of 270,000 residents. Neither epidemic caused a spike in microcephaly [small baby heads, brain damage].”

Who cares? Just assert Zika is the cause of microcephaly. Just say it is. That’s enough, isn’t it? Oranges cause cancer. Gluten-free bread causes polio.

The BBC, January 28, “Zika virus: Up to four million Zika cases predicted”:
“…there has been a steep rise in levels of microcephaly – babies born with abnormally small heads – and the rare nervous system disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome. The link between the virus and these disorders has not been confirmed, but Dr. Chan [Director General of the World Health Organization] said it was ‘strongly suspected’ and was ‘deeply alarming’.”

I may strongly suspect something and then be deeply alarmed by it, but I’m not going to call it science. Dr. Chan follows a different path. Well, she’s a General. That confers certain privileges, doesn’t it? Troops, maps, GPS satellites, UN dollars.

If she really wants to do something valuable, here’s my suggestion. I know she won’t, but… send down a hundred truly independent scientists and techs, and have them test all those Brazilian mothers who’ve given birth to babies with small heads and brain damage. And test the babies, too. Forget the useless antibody and PCR procedures. Take blood and tissue samples and put them under an electron microscope. See if you notice lots and lots of Zika viruses—that is, if you even know what Zika looks like. If you don’t find lots of Zika—and I’m betting you won’t—pack it up, come home, and start thinking about why the virus is being used as a cover story for what is really causing microcephaly. Then you might actually get somewhere.

But getting somewhere isn’t the job of the World Health Organization. Lying is.
Jon Rappoport
https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2...e-us-per-year/
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Zika Hoax: five things that will happen next

by Jon Rappoport
February 2, 2016


Microcephaly = babies born with small heads and brain impairment.

In previous articles, I established that the Zika virus uproar is a hoax. There was no reason to assume the number of Brazilian cases of microcephaly was extraordinary. There is no reason to assume the Zika virus has anything to do with microcephaly.

My previous quote:
“Now we have a January 27 Associated Press story out of Rio, published in SFGate: ‘270 of 4,180 suspected microcephaly cases confirmed.’ That’s called a clue, in case you’re wondering. Of the previously touted 4,180 cases of microcephaly in Brazil, the actual number of confirmed cases so far is, well, only 270. Bang. But wait, there’s more. AP: ‘Brazilian officials said the babies with the defect [microcephaly] and their mothers are being tested to see if they had been infected. Six of the 270 confirmed microcephaly cases were found to have the [Zika] virus.’ Bang, bang, bang. Out of all the microcephaly cases re-examined in Brazil, only six have the Zika virus. That constitutes zero proof that Zika has anything to do with microcephaly.”

But of course, The Machine is rolling and it will move forward. Also, a number of independent investigators are behind the curve. They are still assuming there is proof of a Zika-microcephaly “epidemic.” If there is proof, it is nowhere to be found yet.

Here are five things that will happen next.

One: Health agencies and reporters will mention cases of microcephaly in other countries, and they will automatically connect them to the Zika virus, or they will suggest there could be a connection. This baseless claim is part of the operation to build up the story and spread fear. Microcephaly can be caused by any insult to the brain during fetal development.

Two: There will be more stories about the rush to develop a vaccine against Zika, the virus that hasn’t been proved to cause anything serious.

Three: Some independent researchers will continue to insist that Zika is actually a weaponized biowar virus. They will ignore the fact that, as yet, Zika hasn’t been shown to cause microcephaly. Or they will point to genetically engineered mosquitoes and the Tdap vaccine as the cause of the Zika epidemic—when there is no proof the epidemic exists. Yes, the vaccine and the mosquitoes are quite dangerous to health, but there is no reason to tout a Zika/microcephaly epidemic when proof isn’t there.

Four: The truth here is: absence of evidence. On the one hand, the CDC and the World Health Organization will grudgingly admit it would be useful to assemble more hard evidence connecting Zika to microcephaly. On the other hand, they will press forward with emergency warnings to pregnant mothers; travel advisories; and they will emphasize the need to come up with a vaccine. Then, they’ll forget all about the need for more evidence.

Five: Investigators and researchers will ignore the fact that there is a very real health crisis in Brazil, and it has existed for a long time. The rampant use of toxic pesticides, grinding poverty, contaminated water, lack of basic sanitation, overcrowding, the takeover of farm land by major corporations, prior toxic vaccine campaigns—these are all factors that cause massive illness, suffering, and death in Brazil.

Again, I emphasize: The release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in Brazil, based on no health studies, is a crime, to say the least. But there is no need to claim these insects are causing an epidemic of microcephaly—since there is no evidence of an epidemic. There is every reason to oppose this GE mosquito campaign.

For the past 30 years, I’ve been analyzing and taking apart phony epidemics. There are two things you must do, among others. Demand proof that the touted cause is really the cause. And discover whether the number of ill people is being accurately reported.

So far, re microcephaly, there is no proof the touted cause is the cause. And the recent revision of evidence indicates there are far, far fewer cases of microcephaly in Brazil than initially trumpeted.

Here is a sixth thing that may happen now. Those Brazilian researchers who went back in and looked at their own evidence for a second time and found no proof of a microcephaly epidemic and no causal connection to the Zika virus? The World Health Organization and the CDC could move in and apply some heavy pressure and arming-twisting:

“Look, boys, you messed up big-time. We’ve got a raging epidemic here because we say so. And Zika is the cause because we say so. Now, you look again and come up with the answer we want. We’re the pros. We run the show. You’re nothing. If you want future careers, you’ll do the smart thing. Get it?”

And then at another level, the US State Department will exert pressure based on aid programs to Brazil. You want the money to keep flowing? —You want to reap the rewards you’re getting from Monsanto’s presence in Brazil? You want our continuing help with security for the Olympics? Get on the right side of this story. Get out in front of trouble. Play ball.

And then, if the Brazilians fold up and submit and obey, you’ll hear something like this from their now-apologetic researchers:
“Well, when we looked at those 3000-plus other possible cases of microcephaly for a second time, guess what? Wow. We found most of them are, in fact, microcephaly. And the Zika virus was present in all those cases. This is really is an epidemic, and it is caused by Zika. This is a global pandemic. We fully support the World Health Organization. We must have a Zika vaccine as soon as possible. Don’t get pregnant. Do what you’re told.”
Go along, or tell the truth. Go along, or tell the truth.
Jon Rappoport
https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2...next/?AID=7236

Florida Gov. Declares State of Emergency in Counties With Zika Virus

• By GILLIAN MOHNEY

Feb 3, 2016, 4:08 PM ET

Play

Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters

WATCH Zika Virus: The BasicsFlorida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency today in the four counties where people have been diagnosed with the Zika virus.

There have been nine people in total who have been diagnosed with the Zika virus in Florida, though health officials believe that all of them contracted the disease while outside of the U.S.
Scott said he wanted the state to be prepared for the chance that the virus could start to be spread from mosquito to person within the state. The Aedes aegypti mosquito that is the primary vector of Zika virus infections is present in the southeast portion of the country, including Florida, though in winter the mosquito populations are low.

"Although Florida’s current nine Zika cases were travel-related, we have to ensure Florida is prepared and stays ahead of the spread of the Zika virus in our state," Scott said in a statement today. "Our Department of Health will continue to be in constant communication with all county health offices, hospitals and the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We know that we must be prepared for the worst even as we hope for the best.”

There have been no reports of the virus is being transmitted from mosquitoes to people in the U.S., though officials are concerned that small outbreaks could happen as the weather warms. A rare case of sexually transmitted Zika virus was reported in Dallas on Tuesday by the local health department.

Scott's executive order requires the state health officer to "take any action necessary to protect public health" and allows the commissioner of agriculture to issue a "mosquito declaration" in the affected counties to reduce populations of the insects that can spread the disease.

The Zika virus usually results in mild symptoms including fever, rash and fatigue that last up to a week. However, the virus has also been associated with the rise of a dangerous birth defect in Brazil called microcephaly, characterized by an abnormally small head and brain.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/florida...ry?id=36696887

Zika virus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the virus. For the disease, see Zika fever.

Zika virus
Electron micrograph of Zika virus. Virus particles are 40 nmin diameter, with an outer envelope and a dense inner core (source: CDC).
Virus classification
Group:	Group IV ((+)ssRNA)
Family:	Flaviviridae
Genus:	Flavivirus
Species:	Zika virus

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the virusfamily Flaviviridae and the genus Flavivirus,transmitted by daytime-active Aedesmosquitoes, such as A. aegypti. Its name comes from the Zika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947.

In humans, the virus causes a usually mild illness known as Zika fever, which since the 1950s has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia.

In 2014, the virus spread eastward across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia, then to Easter Island and in 2015 to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, where the Zika outbreak has reached pandemic levels.^[1]

Zika virus is related to dengue, yellow fever,Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses.^[2] The illness it causes is similar to a mild form of dengue fever,^[2] is treated by rest,^[3] and cannot yet be prevented by drugs or vaccines.^[3] There is a possible link between Zika fever and microcephaly in newborn babies by mother-to-child transmission,^[4][5][6] as well as a stronger one with neurologic conditions in infected adults, including cases of the Guillain–Barré syndrome.^[7]

In January 2016, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued travel guidance on affected countries, including the use of enhanced precautions, and guidelines for pregnant women including considering postponing travel.^[8][9] Other governments or health agencies soon issued similar travel warnings,^[10][11][12] while Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Jamaica advised women to postpone getting pregnant until more is known about the risks.^[11][13]

On February 2, 2016, Dallas County Health and Human Services confirmed the first case of transmission in the United States.^[14][15]

Contents

[hide]

• 1Virology
• 2Transmission
• 3Zika fever
• 4Vaccine development
• 5History
• 6See also
• 7References
• 8External links

Virology

A video explanation of Zika virus and Zika fever

Along with other viruses in this family, Zika virus is enveloped and icosahedral and has a nonsegmented, single-stranded, positive-senseRNA genome. It is most closely related to the Spondweni virus and is one of the two viruses in the Spondweni virus clade.^[16][17]

There are two lineages of Zika virus, the African lineage and the Asian lineage.^[18] Phylogenetic studies indicate that the virus spreading in the Americas is most closely related to the Asian strain, which circulated in French Polynesia during the 2013 outbreak.^[19][18]

Complete genome sequences of Zika viruses have been published.^[20] Recent preliminary findings from sequences in the public domain uncovered a possible change in nonstructural protein 1 codon usage that may increase the viral replication rate in humans.^[21]

Transmission

Global Aedes aegypti predicted distribution. The map depicts the probability of occurrence (blue=none, red=highest occurrence).

Zika virus is transmitted by daytime-active mosquitoes and has been isolated from a number of species in the genus Aedes, such as A. aegypti, and arboreal mosquitoes such as A. africanus, A. apicoargenteus, A. furcifer, A. hensilli, A. luteocephalus and A. vitattus. Studies show that the extrinsic incubation period in mosquitoes is about 10 days.^[22] Zika virus can migrate between humans through sexual contact^[23] and it can also cross the placenta, affecting an unborn fetus.

The vertebrate hosts of the virus are primarily monkeys and humans. Before the current pandemic, which began in 2007, Zika virus "rarely caused recognized 'spillover' infections in humans, even in highly enzootic areas".^[7]

The potential societal risk of Zika virus can be delimited by the distribution of the mosquito species that transmit it (its vectors). The global distribution of the most cited carrier of Zika virus, A. aegypti, is expanding due to global trade and travel.^[24] A. aegypti distribution is now the most extensive ever recorded – across all continents including North America and even the European periphery.^[25] A mosquito population capable of carrying the Zika virus has been found in a Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and genetic evidence suggests they survived at least the last four winters in the region. The study authors conclude that mosquitos are adapting for persistence in a northern climate.^[26]

Recent news reports have drawn attention to the spread of Zika in Latin America and the Caribbean.^[27] The countries and territories that have been identified by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) as having experienced "local Zika virus transmission" are Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname, and Venezuela.^[28][29]

In 2009, Brian Foy, a biologist from the Colorado State University, sexually transmitted Zika virus to his wife. He visited Senegal to study mosquitoes and was bitten on a number of occasions. A few days after returning to the United States, he fell ill with Zika, but not before having had unprotected intercourse with his wife. She subsequently showed symptoms of Zika infection with extreme sensitivity to light. Foy is the first person known to have passed on an insect-borne virus to another human by sexual contact.^[30][31]

In 2015, Zika virus RNA was detected in the amniotic fluid of two fetuses, indicating that it had crossed the placenta and could cause a mother-to-child infection.^[32]

Zika fever

Main article: Zika fever

Rash on an arm due to Zika virus

Common symptoms of infection with the virus include mild headaches, maculopapular rash, fever, malaise,conjunctivitis, and joint pains. The first well-documented case of Zika virus was described in 1964; it began with a mild headache, and progressed to a maculopapular rash, fever, and back pain. Within two days, the rash started fading, and within three days, the fever resolved and only the rash remained. Thus far, Zika fever has been a relatively mild disease of limited scope, with only one in five persons developing symptoms, with no fatalities, but its true potential as a viral agent of disease is unknown.^[22]

As of 2016, no vaccine or preventative drug is available.

Symptoms can be treated with rest, fluids, and paracetamol (acetaminophen), while aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be used only when dengue has been ruled out to reduce the risk of bleeding.^[33]

Vaccine development

Effective vaccines exist for several flaviviruses. Vaccines for yellow fever virus,Japanese encephalitis, and tick-borne encephalitis were introduced in the 1930s, while the vaccine for dengue fever only became available for use in the mid-2010s.^[34][35][36]

Work has begun towards developing a vaccine for Zika virus, according to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.^[37] The researchers at the Vaccine Research Center have extensive experience from working with vaccines for other viruses such as West Nile virus, chikungunya virus, and dengue fever.^[37] Nikos Vasilakis of the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases predicted that it may take two years to develop a vaccine, but 10 to 12 years may be needed before an effective Zika virus vaccine is approved by regulators for public use.^[38]

Bharat Biotech, a Hyderabad based Indian drug company had claimed that they have developed a vaccine for Zika virus, but they are still under process for approval to be released officially. ^[39]

History

The virus was first isolated in April 1947 from a rhesus macaque monkey that had been placed in a cage in the Zika Forest of Uganda, near Lake Victoria, by the scientists of the Yellow Fever Research Institute. A second isolation from the mosquito A. africanus followed at the same site in January 1948.^[40][41]When the monkey developed a fever, researchers isolated from its serum a transmissible agent that was first described as Zika virus in 1952. In 1968, it was isolated for the first time from humans in Nigeria.^[22] From 1951 through 1981, evidence of human infection was reported from other African countries such as the Central African Republic, Egypt, Gabon, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda, as well as in parts of Asia including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.^[22]

In Nigeria in 1954, the virus was isolated from a human for the first time. Previously, however, a 1952 research study conducted in India had shown a "significant number" of Indians tested for Zika had exhibited an immune response to the virus, strongly suggesting it had long been widespread within human populations.^[42]

From its discovery until 2007, confirmed cases of Zika virus infection from Africa and Southeast Asia were rare.^[43]

In April 2007, the first outbreak outside of Africa and Asia occurred on the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia, characterized by rash, conjunctivitis, and arthralgia, which was initially thought to be dengue,chikungunya or Ross River disease.^[44] However, serum samples from patients in the acute phase of illness contained RNA of Zika virus. There were 49 confirmed cases, 59 unconfirmed cases, no hospitalizations, and no deaths.^[45]More recently, epidemics have occurred in Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands and New Caledonia.^[43]

Since April 2015, a large, ongoing outbreak of Zika virus that began in Brazil has spread to much of South and Central America, and the Caribbean. In January 2016, the U.S. CDC issued a level 2 travel alert for people traveling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing.^[46] The agency also suggested that women thinking about becoming pregnant should consult with their physicians before traveling.^[47]

Governments or health agencies of the United Kingdom,^[10] Ireland,^[11] New Zealand,^[48] Canada,^[12]and the European Union^[12] soon issued similar travel warnings. In Colombia,Minister of Health and Social Protection Alejandro Gaviria Uribe recommended to avoid pregnancy for eight months, while the countries of Ecuador, El Salvador, and Jamaica have issued similar warnings.^[11][13]

Plans were announced by the authorities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to try to prevent the spread of the Zika virus during the 2016 Summer Olympic Gamesin that city.^[12]

According to the CDC, Brazilian health authorities reported more than 3,500 microcephaly cases between October 2015 and January 2016. Some of the affected infants have had a severe type of microcephaly and some have died. The full spectrum of outcomes that might be associated with infection during pregnancy and the factors that might increase risk to the fetus are not yet fully understood. More studies are planned to learn more about the risks of Zika virus infection during pregnancy.^[49]

In the worst affected region of Brazil, approximately 1 percent of newborns are suspected of being microcephalic.<sup>[50]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zika_virus</sup>

Zika virus joins list of diseases brought by illegals