Posts

Pro-Lifers Respond to Planned Parenthood’s Florida Zika Push

/0 Comments/in , /by

For several weeks, public policy experts have sounded a warning as Zika has spread in the state of Florida. Last week, NPR highlighted how Planned Parenthood has answered the call, joining other groups to knock on thousands of doors and warn people of the dangers associated with the virus, all while promoting its anti-life agenda.

Like many other groups that back abortion, Planned Parenthood says a large part of reducing Zika’s harm is the use of contraceptives to stop women from getting pregnant and passing various disorders onto their children, with abortion as a backup plan. “This is a natural extension of the work we do with reproductive health care and sexually-transmitted infections,” Chief Medical Officer for Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida Dr. Christopher Estes told NPR. “It just made sense. And this is a time of a public health crisis. When you have something like this going on, it’s, ‘All hands on deck.’”

Pro-life groups, however, told The Stream that Planned Parenthood’s approach to Zika prevention is causing more harm than good.

“The biggest problem is that an accurate estimate of” how Zika will affect unborn children “not available,” said Dr. Donna Harrison, Executive Director of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “No one can tell a pregnant mom infected with Zika how likely it is that her child will have any of these things.”

“These things” are a number of disorders associated with a pregnant mother’s Zika virus infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of microcephaly and other serious brain anomalies; however, the clinical spectrum of the effects of Zika virus infection during pregnancy is not yet known. A wide range of neurologic abnormalities, in addition to microcephaly, has been observed among infants with presumed or confirmed congenital Zika virus infection.”

Microcephaly, which can cause small heads and varying levels of brain disorders, has received the most amount of attention. Harrison, though, says “The absolute risk of problems to fetuses whose mother is infected during pregnancy is still being evaluated by the CDC.” She pointed out that maternal infections in the first trimester are by far most likely to affect a child, but that “the best studies show that of all woman infected during the first trimester, 98-99 percent of those infants will not have microcephaly.

“We have a lot of fear,” concluded Harrison, “and very little information at the moment. And fear breeds abortion.”

Jor-El Godsey, president of the pro-life pregnancy care center umbrella group Heartbeat International, said that “What we need to focus on in times like these are cures, treatments and preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Abortion promises none of these societal goods, but instead, promises to end the life of a person who is already alive. That is simply the opposite of health care.”

“The vast majority of women who abort their children do so not because they think it’s the best choice, but because they feel it’s their only choice,” continued Godsey in an e-mail to The Stream. “Women deserve to know the whole truth. A pregnant mother needs to know that Zika and microcephaly are not death sentences for themselves or their precious children.”

“Every life has value and is worth living, regardless of circumstance or the challenges we are called to overcome,” he explained.

According to NPR, Planned Parenthood is not relying solely on birth control and abortion, though it describes that “Family planning is a key part of the Planned Parenthood message.”

“The organization is also distributing Zika prevention kits, including condoms and mosquito repellent, to pregnant women at its health centers,” reports NPR.

Despite the message of the abortion industry, one Florida mother is speaking up to describe the joy she has because of her two children with microcephaly. “[I]t’s not the end of the world because you have these kids,” Haneefa De Clercq, told ABC25. “They will teach [mothers] so much. They’ll teach them how to love, they will teach them patience.”

De Clercq’s disabled children are Andrea, 37, and Robbie, 33, with the respective maturation of a three-year-old and a seven-year-old. “I never expected that I could give them an instruction and that they would follow that instruction and do it properly,” she said. “I see the love between them and it gives me tears of joy.” (For more from the author of “Pro-Lifers Respond to Planned Parenthood’s Florida Zika Push” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Obama Administration Zika Shifts Proves Money Was There

/0 Comments/in , /by

The shifting of $81 million to combat Zika is overdue and demonstrates the Obama administration has had untapped resources to fight the mosquito-borne illness, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said.

“For over six months we have been calling on the administration to use every existing resource at their disposal to address this crisis,” Rogers said in a statement.

While the Republican House passed a Zika funding measure, Republican lawmakers have insisted that the administration has unused cash on hand to tackle the problem. However, administration officials contend this is robbing from important research in other areas, such as cancer research.

“Our calls have been met with little action, while the White House continues to cast aspersions and blame at others for lack of funding,” Rogers continued. “It is clear yet again, with the announcement today, that federal agencies do indeed have existing funds available within their budgets that can be redirected to fight Zika. This has been the case all along, and it is disappointing that it has taken this long for this action to occur.”

Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell announced Thursday that she is transferring $34 million from the National Institutes of Health to fund the Zika vaccine, and another $47 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to continue contracting with private companies to assist in research for the vaccine.

President Barack Obama and administration officials have asked for immediate funding increases for Zika. However, Republicans in Congress have approved about $800 million less than Obama asked for, and has called on the administration to use existing resources.

Rogers actually saluted the move as needed while Senate Democrats hold up the $1.1 billion funding bill approved by the House.

“I commend the administration for finally moving forward with additional existing funding to fight this epidemic,” Rogers continued. “And, if more resources are needed, I urge the Senate Democrats and the White House to approve the legislation already passed by the House, so that these funds to prevent and stop the spread of the Zika virus can be used quickly, effectively, and responsibly.”

Obama has criticized congressional Republicans for not approving his $1.9 billion request for Zika from February. The House passed a $1.1 billion package, but Senate Democrats are holding up the legislation, complaining the bill doesn’t offer enough money and does away with environmental protections in seeking to reduce the mosquito population.

In her letter to members of Congress, Burwell complained that National Institutes of Health money is being taken away from other worthy causes in order to fund the fight against Zika.

“As you know, there has been bipartisan support for providing additional support to NIH as it is on the front lines of finding effective treatments and cures for many of our nation’s most devastating illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and others,” Burwell said. “Reallocating NIH resources is not consistent with a strategy to provided maximum support to the important work that our nation’s leading scientists are performing, but the lack of a clean, bipartisan Zika funding bill has left me no choice but to move forward with the action at this time.”

There are 7,300 cases of Zika in the United States, 972 of those are pregnant women and 15 babies have been born with Zika-related illnesses or defects, according to HHS. Zika is spread by mosquitoes, but it can also be sexually transmitted and passed from pregnant mother to child. The virus is particularly dangerous for pregnant women because it can trigger microcephaly, which is a birth defect that causes a baby’s head to be smaller than expected and its brain to be underdeveloped.

Burwell said in the letter to Congress that the NIH will still need another $196 million for fiscal year 2017 to continue the Phase II trial of the Zika vaccine. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will need another $342 million to continue working with private contractors.

“For NIH, this could involve delaying or possibly halting research work on vaccines,” Burwell said in the letter. “And for BARDA, this could result in companies that have partnered with the U.S. government to develop a Zika vaccine not having access to additional funding need to continue their work.”

This is the second shift of money. The Obama administration announced in April it was tapping $589 million in unspent Zika funds to help fight the virus. However, members of Congress raised questions after reports that only $180 million had been obligated as of July. After that, the HHS began highlighting expenditures, such as $5.1 million on Zika testing, and $16 million on a Zika birth defect registry.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., blamed Republicans for blocking the funding.

“As Secretary Burwell’s letter details, Republicans’ incomprehensible inaction on Zika is forcing HHS to raid critical health initiatives just to stave off a needless and dangerous delay of Zika vaccine development,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Not only are these resources coming out of commitments to the fight against other devastating illnesses, they are nowhere near sufficient to address the Zika crisis with the seriousness it requires.”

Congress will be considering a spending bill in September that includes Zika, said Paul Winfree, director of economic policy studies at The Heritage Foundation.

“It’s clear that the administration has not been forthcoming with their ability to prioritize unobligated resources,” Winfree told The Daily Signal in an email.

Winfree said the September bill will likely require an emergency designation for the Zika funding.

“Emergency designations are not intended to avoid having to pay for spending,” Winfree added. “They are intended to provide supplemental funds outside the normal appropriations process.” (For more from the author of “Obama Administration Zika Shifts Proves Money Was There” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

National Pro-Life Groups Back Marco Rubio on Zika Abortion

/0 Comments/in , /by

Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fl. (C, 77%) infuriated the Left when he said that pregnant mothers who have contracted the Zika virus should not be permitted to abort their children. But prominent pro-life organizations are siding with Rubio in defense of the innocent, disabled children.

The Zika virus has been linked to cases of microcephaly, a birth defect which leads to an underdeveloped brain. Microcephaly can lead to a host of developmental problems for children, including seizures, intellectual disability, problems with movement and balance, hearing or vision loss, difficulty swallowing, and speech impediments.

To slow the spread of Zika, many have called for what Conservative Review’s Nate Madden referred to as “Machiavellian, eugenic tactics”—namely, the abortion of infected children.

Sen. Rubio, who is running for re-election in his home state of Florida, told Politico, “a lot of people disagree with my view—but I believe that all human life is worthy of protection of our laws.”

“And when you present it in the context of Zika or any prenatal condition, it’s a difficult question and a hard one,” he said. “But if I’m going to err, I’m going to err on the side of life.”

In response to Rubio’s statement, you have headlines like “Anti-Choice Marco Rubio Thumbs Nose at Pregnant Women Amid Zika Scare,” and tweets like, well…

Rubio’s comments are completely in lock-step with the nation’s largest pro-life organizations though, as The Daily Beast reports.

“Senator Rubio is absolutely right,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, in a statement. “Zika should not be used as a springboard for a search-and-destroy mission against disabled babies.”

“Exactly right” were the words that Clarke Forsythe, acting president of Americans United for Life (AUL), used to describe Rubio’s position, adding: “We should value all human lives, refusing to devalue people based on prejudices against their mental or physical disabilities.”

American Life League (ALL) President Judie Brown told The Daily Beast, “We agree with Senator Rubio because regardless of the alleged condition confronting a preborn child, there is never a reason to kill that child.”

“Instead of killing human beings, born or unborn, because they have a disability, I would hope that this nation would extend mercy and compassion to them,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC). “Kill the virus; kill the mosquito. Don’t kill the baby.”

The message from the pro-life movement to Sen. Rubio is clear: Stand strong and continue to defend the lives of the innocent. (For more from the author of “National Pro-Life Groups Back Marco Rubio on Zika Abortion” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Cruz, Cornyn Press Obama for Answers on Unspent Zika Money

/0 Comments/in , /by

The entire Texas Republican delegation in Congress signed a letter to President Barack Obama Friday, asking for answers on hundreds of millions in unspent money to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

The administration pledged in April to spend $589 million from unused Ebola funds for Zika. However, only about $180 million of that was obligated, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The letter was signed by Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, both Republicans of Texas, as well as Republican House members from the state.

Obama has criticized Republicans in Congress for not approving his $1.9 billion request for Zika. The House passed a $1.1 billion package, but Senate Democrats are holding up the legislation.

Zika is spread by mosquitoes, but it can also be sexually transmitted and passed from pregnant mother to child. The virus is particularly dangerous for pregnant women because it can trigger microcephaly, which is a birth defect that causes a baby’s head to be smaller than expected and its brain to be underdeveloped.

The letter asks for a specific line item accounting for the $589 million has been spent, or hasn’t.

“Many news outlets are now reporting that nearly $400 million of this funding remains unspent,” the Texas delegation letter says. “In other words, your administration has not used all available tools to protect our constituents and the American people from the threat of the Zika virus.”

The letter continues, “In addition to our request that your administration take increased measures to combat the Zika virus using existing available funds, we hope that you will join us in calling on members of Congress to stop the filibuster of additional funding for Zika prevention and response measures.”

A White House official told The Daily Signal Friday that just this week, the HHS awarded $5.1 million for faster Zika testing and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $16 million for a birth defect registry to monitor complications that could have resulted from Zika. Further, the National Institutes of Health launched phase 1 trial for Zika vaccines.

“So, I’ll let Republicans in Congress answer for why they squandered the last 5 months before we saw direct transmission of Zika in the U.S., but the president, HHS, CDC and NIH as well as public health officials across the country are focused on responding to this public health emergency with every resource that we have available,” the White House official told The Daily Signal.

Of the $589 million taken from Ebola funds, $452 million went to the Department of Health and Human services and $137 million went to the U.S. Agency for International Development, said HHS spokesman Bill Hall.

Out of the $452 million for HHS, $374 million is to be used for domestic purposes and another $78 million to help other countries. Of the $374 million, about half, $180 million, has been obligated. Hall said that in August, the other half of the $374 million for domestic spending will be obligated.

“We are bound by federal procurement regulations and are obliged to follow the standard process for awarding that money, and much of it will move in July and August for remaining contract awards,” Hall said. (For more from the author of “Cruz, Cornyn Press Obama for Answers on Unspent Zika Money” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Governor Issues Announcement – Zika Virus Spreading in This U.S. State

/0 Comments/in , /by

Governor Rick Scott, (R, Fla.), has announced that the number of people with the Zika virus in the state of Florida has risen from 4 to 14.

The Florida Department of Health maintains that the outbreak is confined to a small area of Miami-Dade county, a place known as the Wynwood arts district.

The district has a number of areas where water can collect and serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

When a woman is infected with Zika during pregnancy, the virus can cause numerous, serious birth defects.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “there is no vaccine or medicine for Zika.”

The CDC states that there are four common symptoms of the virus including fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes).

The center also notes that the infection can be spread through mosquito bites, from a pregnant woman to her child, from sex, and likely from blood transfusions.

There has also been level 2 alert issued for travel to Brazil, where there has been an outbreak of the virus.

Gov. Scott announced, “Following today’s announcement, I have requested that the CDC activate their emergency response team to assist DOH in their investigation, research, and sample collection efforts. Their team will consist of public health experts whose role is to augment our response efforts to confirmed local transmissions of the Zika virus.”

More than 200 individuals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties have been tested for the virus. Authorities report these individuals live or work near those who likely picked up the disease from mosquitoes.

Two women and twelve men have been identified to likely have the virus. (For more from the author of “Governor Issues Announcement – Zika Virus Spreading in This U.S. State” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

The Facts on Zika and the Abortion Industry’s False Panic Over Microcephaly

/0 Comments/in , /by

Last week, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a study that claimed the number of women wanting abortions in Zika-infected nations rose after governments warned women about the virus. Conversely, according to the study, no increase was seen when governments didn’t warn women about the potential harms of Zika.

Zika is associated with a number of serious disabilities. Microcephaly, a disorder that can cause minor to major disabilities in children, such as seizures, small head sizes and developmental disabilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), is among the most common and most concerning to public health officials.

In order to estimate the demand for abortion in the subject countries, the partially U.S. taxpayer-funded study examined orders for abortion pills from Women on Web, an organization that provides illegal abortions in nations where the procedure is mostly or entirely banned. The lead authors of the study were from the University of Texas, and two of the other authors were from Women on Web.

Many media outlets reported on the study. What was far less frequently reported is that several other studies have discovered that Zika is a real risk to mothers and their unborn children — but the odds of an unborn child being born with a disability caused by Zika are very small.

Should Women Be Concerned About Zika?

Simply put, yes. Zika is suspected to have led to at least 1,500 babies born with the disorder microcephaly in Brazil alone, thanks to maternal Zika infections. (A major caveat to this was published on Monday; see below.) Hundreds of women have been infected in the U.S. and its territories, and in the U.S. at least six children of infected women have been suspected to have had defects.

However, a study published by NEJM in April examining Zika’s effects on children in Brazil and the French Polynesia, as well as a similar study published in May, indicate that the odds of Zika infections turning into disabilities for unborn children are small — even if the mother is infected in the first trimester, when the child is most vulnerable.

Furthermore, the preliminary results of a June 15 study examining results in Colombia found women who were infected in the third trimester of pregnancy did not pass disabilities onto their children.

Should Women Panic?

No. The two earlier studies mentioned above show that the odds of a microcephaly diagnosis in an unborn child born to a woman infected with Zika in the first trimester are between 1 and 13 percent — a finding supported by a new study of Zika-infected women in Colombia.

The Colombian study’s preliminary results found that, as one CDC official told The Stream last week, among the women studied most closely “a majority (over 90%) of those infected in the third trimester delivered no infants with apparent birth defects, including microcephaly.”

For those in the first trimester, continued the spokesperson: “We still don’t know the level of risk from a Zika infection during pregnancy, meaning if a woman is infected, how often her fetus will have problems. However, preliminary data suggest the risk to be about 1-13%” if a woman is infected in the first trimester.

Again, the “1-13%” chance of disability is for women infected with Zika in the first trimester. This means women infected in the second and third trimesters have thus far been shown to be highly unlikely to pass Zika-caused disorders on to their children.

The latest studies have also raised doubts about the Brazilian figures that have been taken as evidence of Zika’s effect. According to an analysis published on Monday by the New England Complex Systems Institute, the disproportionately low number of cases of Zika-caused microcephaly in Colombia compared to Brazil’s outbreak raises the possibility that Brazil’s outbreak has other causes. The Institute also acknowledged, however, that it is possible that more children with Zika-caused microcephaly will soon to be born in Colombia.

All told, this means women should not consider a Zika infection to be a sentence of disability for their children. In fact, current evidence suggests that the majority of women with Zika — well over 90 percent — will raise children who are developmentally normal.

What About Abortion?

If this is the case, why have major news media and pro-choice spokepersons emphasized the danger? Dr. Donna Harrison, the executive director of the American Association of Pro-life OB-GYNs, pointed out in an e-mail to The Stream that many viruses (like cytomegalovirus and rubella) and infections (like syphilis and toxoplasmosis) cause problems in early pregnancy, but

for none of these infections, which have a comparable rate of problems, has there ever been a call to legalize abortion worldwide, despite the fact that these infections have been around for decades. The hysteria being generated over Zika is an unscientific excuse to push abortion legalization on sovereign nations [that] protect and cherish human life.

The University of Texas study closed with the wish that “Official information and advice about potential exposure to the Zika virus should be accompanied by efforts to ensure that all reproductive choices are safe, legal, and accessible.” These scholars aren’t the only ones stressing the danger to pregnant women and urging the legalization of abortion in Latin America in response.

Their efforts have been echoed by a high-ranking official at the United Nations and President Obama. Just last week, Obama threatened to veto Congress’ funding for Zika prevention in part because the GOP’s $1.1 billion in funding declined to fund Planned Parenthood, and earlier this week Democrats blocked Zika funding in part for the same reason.

It is to the detriment of the abortion industry’s attempt to scare women into abortions and Latin American countries into legalizing that scientific research exists. Even the attempts by high-ranking officials at the UN and at the White House to create an abortion panic cannot erase the fact that the best evidence thus far indicates the vast majority of Zika-infected women will not pass disabilities onto their children. (For more from the author of “The Facts on Zika and the Abortion Industry’s False Panic Over Microcephaly” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Why Democrats Are Really Blocking Funding to Fight Zika Virus

/0 Comments/in , /by

The hypocrisy of Democrats in Congress when it comes to combatting the Zika virus is not only outrageous, it’s dangerous.

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there are now over 2,600 cases of the Zika virus confirmed in the United States and its territories. Most cases are occurring in Puerto Rico, but there are at least 162 cases in Florida and 198 in New York. And scariest of all is that over 450 of the reported cases are pregnant women. It is their unborn children for which the disease poses the greatest harm.

Despite the fact there is plenty of money scattered across the federal government that could be used without Congress adding another dime to the debt, Democrats have made the decision to hold hostage the health of the American people until they get more money and until some of those dollars are given to Planned Parenthood.

Proof of that is the decision by Senate Democrats this week to block funding of $1.1 billion to fight the Zika virus. These are the same Senate Democrats, by the way, who voted for $1.1 billion of funding just last month.

Back in May, House Republicans balked at such a high number but changed their minds saying they had found “savings” from other government programs to offset the spending. They passed a bill last week at the $1.1 billion level.

But what the GOP calls “savings,” Democrats call “cuts” and will not support the measure unless it’s all additional spending.

I asked my Heritage Foundation colleague and senior policy analyst in fiscal affairs, Justin Bogie, to explain whether these were savings or cuts. Turns out, they aren’t really either:

The Republicans proposed offsets of $750 million on the $1.1 billion emergency bill. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the reality is that only about $127 million of that is real savings and the other $623 million would have never been spent anyway. So by ‘saving’ $750 million they actually are spending an additional $623 million over what would have been spent from those accounts.

So, if you’re a Republican, spending money you weren’t going to spend is now considered “savings.” If you’re a Democrat, spending money you weren’t going to spend is now considered a “cut.”

Only in Washington.

The truth is no new money is needed and Republicans were wrong to cave on that front. But compromise they did and it still wasn’t enough to get the Democrats to go along. And therein lies the hypocrisy.

Democrats have proven by their behavior this week that their true cause celebs are not fighting the Zika virus and protecting women’s health, but big spending and special interests like the abortion lobby. (For more from the author of “Why Democrats Are Really Blocking Funding to Fight Zika Virus” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

First Baby Born With Zika-Linked Microcephaly in New York Tri-State Area

/0 Comments/in , /by

Doctors at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey confirmed Tuesday the birth of a child suffering from Zika-linked microcephaly, a condition wherein the child’s brain and head are partially developed.

The mother, who is 31 but whose name was not disclosed, contracted the Zika virus while in Honduras and was admitted to the emergency room at Hackensack on Friday while vacationing in the United States. Tuesday, doctors delivered her baby girl, who was born also with intestinal and visual issues. Reports indicate she is the first child born with Zika-linked complications in the New York tri-state area.

The child’s mother, who developed a rash for two days in Honduras but had no other symptoms until arriving in the U.S., was under the care of a surgical team led by Dr. Abdulla Al-Khan and Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor at FoxNews.com and chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Hackensack. A neonatologist and pediatric infectious disease specialist, as well as nursing personnel, were on hand for the birth.

Doctors in Honduras suspected intracranial complications with the child in utero, but it was not until she was admitted to the high-risk unit at Hackensack University Medical Center that doctors confirmed the microcephaly diagnosis. The patient’s aunt told FoxNews.com the mother is not doing well emotionally after the birth of her child.

While this is the first birth of a child with Zika-linked complications at Hackensack, it is not the first such case in the U.S. In February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that a woman delivered a baby who suffered from severe microcephaly as a result of Zika infection. (Read more from “First Baby Born With Zika-Linked Microcephaly in New York Tri-State Area” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

New Discovery Means More U.S. States Will Face a Risk From Zika

/0 Comments/in , /by

24253989800_7d73da6586For the first time in the Western Hemisphere, researchers have detected the Zika virus in Aedes albopictus, the mosquito species known as the “Asian tiger,” a finding that increases the number of U.S. states potentially at risk for transmission of the disease.

During the summer months when U.S. mosquito populations are at their peak, albopictus are more ubiquitous than the Aedes aegypti that have been the primary vector of the spread of Zika elsewhere in the Americas. Unlike the aegypti mosquito, which is mostly present in southern United States and along the Gulf Coast, the albopictus has a range as far north as New England and the lower Great Lakes.

The discovery was reported recently by the Pan American Health Organization after researchers in Mexico confirmed the presence of Zika in Asian tiger mosquitoes captured in the state of San Luis Potosi and sent them to government labs for testing.

U.S. health officials say they had anticipated the finding and have already encouraged states within the range of the Asian tiger mosquitoes to prepare for Zika. Scientists had previously identified the Asian tiger as the primary vector for Zika during a 2007 outbreak in the West African country of Gabon. (Read more from ” New Discovery Means More U.S. States Will Face a Risk From Zika” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Brazilian Scientists Find New Zika-Linked Brain Disorder in Adults

/0 Comments/in , /by

Scientists in Brazil have uncovered a new brain disorder associated with Zika infections in adults: an autoimmune syndrome called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM, that attacks the brain and spinal cord.

Zika has already been linked with the autoimmune disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome, which attacks peripheral nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, causing temporary paralysis that can in some cases require patients to rely on respirators for breathing.

The new discovery now shows Zika may provoke an immune attack on the central nervous system as well . . .

According to the World Health Organization, there is a strong scientific consensus that, in addition to Guillain-Barre, Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly, though conclusive proof may take months or years. Microcephaly is defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems . . .

In addition to autoimmune disease, some researchers also have reported patients with Zika infections developing encephalitis and myelitis – nerve disorders typically caused by direct infections in nerve cells. (Read more from “Brazilian Scientists Find New Zika-Linked Brain Disorder in Adults” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.