Archive for April, 2016
4 well-documented fatal cases of Zika virus infection in Tolima, Colombia.
Saturday, April 9th, 2016
Group from Argentina developes a plastic ovitrap, a small cup made from low-density polyethylene that has been infused with pyriproxyfen to knock off Aedes mosquitoes
Saturday, April 9th, 2016
** Amnesty International: Migrants held on the Greek islands Lesbos and Chios live in “appalling” conditions with little access to legal aid or information
Friday, April 8th, 2016** Frontex, the EU’s border police, has said that terrorists may have entered Europe by hiding among asylum seekers.
Thursday, April 7th, 2016
WHO: Excessive weight, obesity, aging and population growth drove a nearly 4-fold increase in worldwide cases of diabetes over the last quarter-century, affecting 422 million people in 2014.
Thursday, April 7th, 2016Brazil: Zika isn’t the only emergency. 2 other mosquito-borne viruses are spiking: Dengue and CHIKV. Meanwhile, the country is going through a massive economic and political crisis as well, facing one of the worst recessions in its history.
Thursday, April 7th, 2016Recife: “….New cases of microcephaly are dramatically down. Last November, Recife registered 125 cases. But since the beginning of this year, the numbers have hovered around 25 a month……[T]he decline was expected: Women giving birth this spring would have become pregnant during the cooler winter period when there were fewer mosquitoes around to transmit Zika……”
Zika Cases in Brazil: Signs & Symptoms
Thursday, April 7th, 2016
EID: Volume 22, Number 7—July 2016
Letter
Clinical Manifestations of Zika Virus Infection, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2015
Main Article(http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/22/7/16-0375_article)
Table
Characteristics of Zika virus disease patients seeking care in an acute care clinic, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 28–June 8, 2015
| Characteristic | Value* |
|---|---|
| Cohort, no. patients | 57 |
| Age, y | 34 (25–40) |
| Female sex
|
36 (63)
|
| Symptoms | |
| Exanthema | 56 (98) |
| Fever† | 38 (67) |
| Days from symptom onset to exanthema | 1 (0–2) |
| Arthralgia | 33 (58) |
| Itching | 32 (56) |
| Headache | 38 (67) |
| Myalgia | 28 (49) |
| Retro-orbital pain | 23 (40) |
| Conjunctivitis | 22 (39) |
| Joint swelling | 13 (23) |
*Median (interquartile range) or no. (%) case-patients.
†Measured in medical office (n = 30) or self-reported (n = 8).
Zika Virus: ‘… “What we’re seeing are the consequences of this virus turning from the African strain to a pandemic strain,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine…’
Wednesday, April 6th, 2016
“…..Top Zika investigators now believe that the birth defect microcephaly and the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome may be just the most obvious maladies caused by the mosquito-borne virus……Guillain-Barre is an autoimmune disorder, in which the body attacks itself in the aftermath of an infection. But the newly discovered brain and spinal cord infections are known to be caused by a different mechanism – a direct attack on nerve cells……