In the past couple of years there have been a few West Nile deaths in Texas.
Zika Virus
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In the past couple of years there have been a few West Nile deaths in Texas.
sunchaser
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I'm sure you would. Yes, I know that Zika has in one form or another been around and identified for close to a century. I also know that thousands of workers died from mosquito born disease during the construction of the Panama Canal. The best and brightest doctors of the time claimed malaria was not common in Latin America.
Capt, unless you have creds in infectious disease from the Amazon Basin or West Africa, I'll get my very limited knowledge from those that do. No disrepect intended, I'm just a guy with a history from being in these places.
My interest though is not in hearing no problem from the CDC, it is the boots on the ground Brazilian Institute of Health data that found in the one Northern area microcephalic cases rose 20 fold from about 150 in 2014 to over 3000 in 2015.
Just two days ago I was chatting with a fellow from Southern Brazil who said that the situation is deteriorating quickly with the government having identified bodily fluids spread as a co culprit to the mosquito. Given our government's current penchant for letting the world's downtrodden freely enter the US, the situation IF as dire as some verifiable EXPERTS claim is worthy of more than perusing medical studies from the last century or the Brazilian tourist industry literature.
CaptTPT
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Sorry Sunchaser. Didn't mean to discount your personal sources. I'm just a physician who regularly deals with infectious disease, who also has a graduate degree in microbial genetics and used viruses regularly in my graduate research and have my finger in 5 seconds on the entire world literature in medicine. But hey, what do I know?
I'm sure very little and that's not a criticism. Medical science is still probably in it's infancy. For everything we know about the human body, there are a hundred things we don't know. For every disease we have a cure for (which is very few) there are a hundred we don't. For everything we know the cause of there are a hundred conditions we don't. Today's world literature in medicine will be revised tomorrow. As to all the thousands of viruses, what we know could be kept in a thimble.
I'm not in any way putting down your profession or research. It's necessary and we learn something new every day. We figure out treatments every day, but then something else pops up. When it comes to viruses like this one I would call the expertise in the subject mostly just educated opinions, but not absolute scientific proof. I do caution anytime scientists think they've solved secrets, that science was long convinced the earth was flat.
Then that's what makes medical research exciting to some, to know there are an infinite number of things to study and learn.
Not that many years ago we didn't treat viruses. Now we've learned the dangers but we also now have antiviral drugs for some of them. We know so much, but compared to what we don't know, we know so little. I think I'm being generous in saying we've learned about 10% of what there is to learn. I'm very thankful for that, but I also accept that even some of the things we think we know, we'll turn out wrong on. Now, I do look toward those in the field and toward research and medical literature for my answers as you suggest and don't take the word on the street. Even then though I put them in context and say, "The current medical consensus is...."
CaptTPT
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I think your 10% idea is probably very generous. We know a huge amount. What we don't know is far greater. No doubt about that. What we are learning is expanding exponentially every year. I'm guessing that everything the Brazil Department of Infectious Disease knows, if they even have sush a department, came from what we (I mean the US Centers For Disease Control) has studied abroad in the Americas south of here. Zika has been studied very little because it has not previously been much of a problem. Always important to be open to learning new things and question what we have learned in the past.
sunchaser
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With your medical background working and living in Brazil and West Africa you obviously know a lot that the stay at home medical professionals in the PNW know little about. Did your travels per chance allow you to study up on Jonas Salk doubters from the 50s or Rubella parents and victims from the 60s? Or Aids contracted from those pesky monkeys? But I am sure you are right and all will be well in Oregon whose residents may possibly suffer from the simple things like Rocky Mtn Spotted fever or Lyme disease.
It is interesting to note that no more than 2 weeks ago the Zika headline news from CDC said use mosquito repellent. Now they say if around anyone with recent travels to "offshore" use condoms and abstain from sex if you are a female and are or will be pregnant. Good luck with that.
Or as my friend the doctor heading up Obama Care PR work in Seattle says, the government can do much better at containing medical costs than private practice physicians.
No wonder there are a few of us skeptics out there Doctor.
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And now from Colombia, the government reports more than 3100 pregnant women there have the virus. 25,000 people in total there have the virus and they estimate it will reach 600,000. Oh and although cause and effect haven't been established, they have a 66% increase in cases of Guillian Barre.
I understand why the site team moved this to off topic, but I think it's a real boating issue and perhaps should be moved back. While the topic today is Zika, it's also health issues and warnings that do arise anywhere we might go.
CaptTPT
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Unfortunately there is limited knowledge about Zika and its effects on humans. It has not been on the heavy hitters list until now. Many of the comments here contribute to the kind of hysteria that often accompanies an unknown illness. It comes from fear. I get that. Best way to combat that is to study and develop the knowledge required to control. Best I can tell so far with what limited literature (I mean beyond the arm chair quarterbacking and hysteria) I have read, it does not appear to be a complicated virus and I would guess the development of a vaccine will be straight forward.
sunchaser
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Back in the fifties I received many immunizations that are not common or necessary today. One of them, for polio, was developed in South Africa by warp speed standards not possible today due to 21st century "constraints." How long would development of a Zika vaccine take, starting from today, to get to the market?
I have heard from good sources, years, if done by existing US Protocols and Standards. Hopefully it is much quicker than the still awaited malaria vaccine.
I haven't seen any hysteria. I've seen awareness and concern. How would you feel right now if you were pregnant and had the virus, based on the available information?
I see it as just one more of the many viruses transmitted by mosquitoes and one more that will have very bad consequences for some people. Still won't kill as many people in the US as the flu does or as drunk drivers do.
My original post was regarding how alert are you as a boater to conditions where you're headed and how, if any, do they influence your plans.
CaptTPT
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Of course the standards for safety in the US are far different than in many countries. That puts severe constraints on the testing of new therapies that results in years of study. The World Hearlth Organization can pull the trigger on this sort of thing around the world rapidly if they so choose. The standards for proof of safety in many of the Americas are pretty minimal. No ambulance chasing attorneys hanging out on every street corner. It's not something I have much knowledge about. I don't follow any part of this sort of thing in my practice.
eyschulman
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If you are young safe sex(no pregnancy),If you are beyond reproduction forgetaboutit.
CaptTPT
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Here is the most up to date public information on Zika and GBS from the CDC.
Does Zika virus infection cause Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)?
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare disorder where a person’s own immune system damages the nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes, paralysis. These symptoms can last a few weeks or several months. While most people fully recover from GBS, some people have permanent damage and in rare cases, people have died.
We do not know if Zika virus infection causes GBS. It is difficult to determine if any particular germ “causes” GBS. The Brazil Ministry of Health (MOH) is reporting an increased number of people affected with GBS. CDC is collaborating with the Brazil MOH to determine if having Zika makes it more likely you will get GBS.
Does Zika virus infection cause Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)?
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare disorder where a person’s own immune system damages the nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes, paralysis. These symptoms can last a few weeks or several months. While most people fully recover from GBS, some people have permanent damage and in rare cases, people have died.
We do not know if Zika virus infection causes GBS. It is difficult to determine if any particular germ “causes” GBS. The Brazil Ministry of Health (MOH) is reporting an increased number of people affected with GBS. CDC is collaborating with the Brazil MOH to determine if having Zika makes it more likely you will get GBS.
CaptTPT
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Here is the sum total of the worlds literature on the subject of Zika Virus and GBS through Pub Med, which publishes the entire world literature in medicine.
J. Gen. Virol., 2015
Zika virus: a previously slow pandemic spreads rapidly through the Americas
Gatherer, D; Kohl, A
Zika virus (Flaviviridae) is an emerging arbovirus. Spread by Aedes mosquitoes, it was first discovered in Uganda in 1947, and later in humans elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, arriving in south-east Asia at latest by mid-20th-century. In the 21st century, it spread across the Pacific Islands reaching South America around 2014. Since then it has spread rapidly northwards reaching Mexico in November 2015. Its clinical profile is that of a dengue-like febrile illness, but recently associations with Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly have appeared. The final geographical range and ultimate clinical impact of Zika virus are still a matter for speculation.
Type: Journal article
J. Gen. Virol., 2015
Zika virus: a previously slow pandemic spreads rapidly through the Americas
Gatherer, D; Kohl, A
Zika virus (Flaviviridae) is an emerging arbovirus. Spread by Aedes mosquitoes, it was first discovered in Uganda in 1947, and later in humans elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, arriving in south-east Asia at latest by mid-20th-century. In the 21st century, it spread across the Pacific Islands reaching South America around 2014. Since then it has spread rapidly northwards reaching Mexico in November 2015. Its clinical profile is that of a dengue-like febrile illness, but recently associations with Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly have appeared. The final geographical range and ultimate clinical impact of Zika virus are still a matter for speculation.
Type: Journal article
CaptTPT
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And this. Sorry, should have added to the above. Two articles.
Euro Surveill., 2014 vol. 19(9)
Zika virus infection complicated by Guillain-Barre syndrome--case report, French Polynesia, December 2013
Oehler, E; Watrin, L; Larre, P; Leparc-Goffart, I; Lastere, S; Valour, F; Baudouin, L; Mallet, H; Musso, D; Ghawche, F
Zika fever, considered as an emerging disease of arboviral origin, because of its expanding geographic area, is known as a benign infection usually presenting as an influenza-like illness with cutaneous rash. So far, Zika virus infection has never led to hospitalisation. We describe the first case of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) occurring immediately after a Zika virus infection, during the current Zika and type 1 and 3 dengue fever co-epidemics in French Polynesia.
Type: Journal article
PMID: 24626205 | Free Full Text
Euro Surveill., 2014 vol. 19(9)
Zika virus infection complicated by Guillain-Barre syndrome--case report, French Polynesia, December 2013
Oehler, E; Watrin, L; Larre, P; Leparc-Goffart, I; Lastere, S; Valour, F; Baudouin, L; Mallet, H; Musso, D; Ghawche, F
Zika fever, considered as an emerging disease of arboviral origin, because of its expanding geographic area, is known as a benign infection usually presenting as an influenza-like illness with cutaneous rash. So far, Zika virus infection has never led to hospitalisation. We describe the first case of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) occurring immediately after a Zika virus infection, during the current Zika and type 1 and 3 dengue fever co-epidemics in French Polynesia.
Type: Journal article
PMID: 24626205 | Free Full Text
I would suggest he update himself for his practice in case he has someone return from the area with they symptoms.
what_barnacles
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Whoooeee!
Now that was a knee slapper.
Now that was a knee slapper.
sunchaser
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Well, in the past 3 months Zika has not died down as a concern. Just the reverse if one is to believe the IOC medical alerts and the writings in Time magazine. The Amazon Basin and West Africa seem the hot spots. The Olympics will be an interesting test bed.
Zika is just one of many issues. Yes, the concern about it continues to rise. In addition, however, the waters are so polluted with human feces that the swimmers are putting themselves at significant risks of illness. Many competitors training there have already fallen ill. One of the reasons to host Olympics is to boost long term tourism. That may well backfire this time. The bombing in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics sure marked those Olympics.
As to Zika, Brazil has seen a significant increase in fetal brain defects. One other fact that has been confirmed is that Zika can be sexually transmitted. So, not only should any female going to the Olympics delay pregnancy, so should any male delay getting a female pregnant. There have been cases in the US of males returning from Zika areas and transmitting it to females.
As far as boating, I certainly would not put Rio on my itinerary right now. I do look at health risks, piracy risks, violence risks before planning any trip.
CaptTPT
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Seems to be around 275 active infections in pregnant women in the US now. Number will surely increase dramatically soon with the summer Mosquito season upon us in the south. If you have pregnant daughters, may want to seriously rethink their upcoming trip to Alabama.
The one big thing missed initially as it was unknown was the transmission sexually. A large portion of the 275 were not bitten by mosquito's. The virus stays in semen longer than it stays in blood. Plus it can be passed both before and after symptoms start and end.
The CDC warnings are strong and pretty extreme. Here's one:
If the male partner has been diagnosed with Zika or has (or had) symptoms, the couple should consider using condoms or not having sex for at least 6 months after symptoms begin.
