For decades, the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus was mainly seen in equatorial regions of Africa and Asia, where it caused a mild, flu-like illness and rash in some people. About 10 years ago, the picture began to expand with the appearance of Zika outbreaks in the Pacific islands. Then, last spring, Zika popped up in South America, where it has so far infected more than 1 million Brazilians and been tentatively linked to a steep increase in the number of babies born with microcephaly, a very serious condition characterized by a small head and brain [1]. And Zika’s disturbing march may not stop there.
Category Archives: pandemic
CDC unveils Zika guidance for infants, expands travel advisory
Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP NewsJan 26, 2016The guidance covers testing of newborns, and the Virgin Islands and DR are now on the travel advisory.<a href=”http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2016/01/cdc-unveils-zika-guidance-infants-expands-travel-advisory
Source: CDC unveils Zika guidance for infants, expands travel advisory
WHO expects Zika virus to spread through Americas, except Canada and Chile | News | DW.COM | 25.01.2016
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that the mosquito-borne Zika virus is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas – with the exception of Canada and Chile.Speaking in Geneva, Director General of the WHO Margaret Chan said she was “very concerned” by the outbreak and by the possibility that it could lead to “neurological syndromes” – although she gave no further details.
Zika virus reaches New York | News | DW.COM | 23.01.2016
“…This is a time of year when people travel to warmer climates and countries where Zika virus is found, we are urging residents, especially pregnant women, to check all health advisories before traveling and take preventive measures when traveling to affected countries,” said state health commissioner Howard Zucker.Under normal circumstances, Zika is not a particularly common virus, but health authorities have had cause to worry over an extended outbreak in Brazil that began last year. Since October, some 3,500 babies in the South American nation have been diagnosed with microcephaly, a debilitating condition which causes their heads to be smaller than normal and can lead to disruptions of motor skills, speech ability, and mobility.
Source: Zika virus reaches New York | News | DW.COM | 23.01.2016
CDC expands Zika travel advisory as experts detail risks | CIDRAP
Not just mosquito-borne
The latest CDC assessment of the most recent developments in the Americas came from experts with its division of vector-borne diseases at its National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases. They wrote that the two Aedes mosquitoes that can spread Zika virus are found throughout much of the Americas, including parts of the United States.Their assessment appeared today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).Aside from disease passed from mosquitoes to people, the virus has also been known to result from intrauterine, intrapartum, sexual, blood transfusion, and lab exposure. There’s a theoretical risk from organ and tissue transplantation, and so far breast milk transmission hasn’t been documented, though Zika virus RNA has been detected in breast milk, they wrote.They urged clinicians to consider Zika virus infection in people who have visited an outbreak country within the previous 2 weeks and to consider dengue or chikungunya infection, which
Source: CDC expands Zika travel advisory as experts detail risks | CIDRAP
WHO reports more local Zika confirmations, GBS spike | CIDRAP
Local transmission on St. Martin, GuadeloupeMeanwhile, the WHO today confirmed the first two locally acquired Zika infection cases in the French part of St. Martin and in Guadeloupe. It said French health officials notified the WHO of both cases on Jan 18.The two territories already appear on PAHO’s list of affected locations in the Americas, which stands at 20. Like most other parts of the Caribbean, both areas have been affected by the chikungunya virus outbreak over the past year.WHO urges no travel restrictionsThe WHO said in both statements today it does not recommend any trade or travel restrictions to the affected areas.So far the WHO has held off on recommending that pregnant women, or those planning to become pregnant, avoid the affected countries due to the microcephaly threat. In its most recent update on the
The two territories already appear on PAHO’s list of affected locations in the Americas, which stands at 20. Like most other parts of the Caribbean, both areas have been affected by the chikungunya virus outbreak over the past year.WHO urges no travel restrictionsThe WHO said in both statements today it does not recommend any trade or travel restrictions to the affected areas.So far the WHO has held off on recommending that pregnant women, or those planning to become pregnant, avoid the affected countries due to the microcephaly threat. In its most recent update on the
WHO urges no travel restrictionsThe WHO said in both statements today it does not recommend any trade or travel restrictions to the affected areas.So far the WHO has held off on recommending that pregnant women, or those planning to become pregnant, avoid the affected countries due to the microcephaly threat. In its most recent update on the
The WHO said in both statements today it does not recommend any trade or travel restrictions to the affected areas. {Deja vu – same thing they said too long about ebola outbreak last year – giving in to local government’s fears of losing trade dollars and further increased the impact of the epidemic}
So far the WHO has held off on recommending that pregnant women, or those planning to become pregnant, avoid the affected countries due to the microcephaly threat. In its most recent update on the disease it urges pregnant women to take steps to protect against mosquitoes and to consult with their local health officials before traveling.
Source: WHO reports more local Zika confirmations, GBS spike | CIDRAP
Avian Flu Diary: CDC Zika Press Conference: Audio & Transcript
The CDC has posted the transcript of last night’s hastily called CDC press conference (at 7pm EST) on yesterday’s release of new, interim travel advice for pregnant women seeking to travel to countries where the Zika virus is transmitting.
Source: Avian Flu Diary: CDC Zika Press Conference: Audio & Transcript
WHO | Zika virus infection – France – Overseas Departments
On 21 December 2015, WHO received notification of the first 2 laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus infection in two overseas departments of France: Remire-Montjoly, French Guiana and Schœlcher, Martinique. Since then, 2 additional cases have been reported in Saint Laurent du Maroni, French Guiana and in Fort de France, Martinique.The cases were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (viral genome detection) at the Pasteur Institute in Cayenne, French Guiana and at the university hospital laboratory in Martinique.Samples from 4 additional suspected cases in Martinique (1 in Lamentin and 3 in Le Robert) were sent to the National Reference Centre for arboviruses in Marseille for further analysis.
Source: WHO | Zika virus infection – France – Overseas Departments
Last-Ditch Resistance: More Countries, More Dire Results – Phenomena: Germination
Laurent Poirel and colleagues in Switzerland have identified an E. coli strain, recovered from an 83-year-old Swiss man who was hospitalized last month, that possesses both colistin resistance and also VIM resistance to the carbapenems, the family of antibiotics that was considered the last and toughest before colistin. The colistin-resistance gene shared a plasmid with genes conferring resistance to chloramphenicol, flofenicol and co-trimoxazole. The authors warn, “Such accumulation of multidrug resistance traits may correspond to an ultimate step toward pandrug resistance.”Our data suggest that the advent of untreatable infections has already arrived.Marisa Haenni and collaborators in France and Switzerland queried the Resapath network in France, which conducts surveillance for antibiotic resistance in animals, found that 21 percent of bacterial samples collected from veal calves on French farms between 2005 and 2014 carried the signal of mobile colistin resistance, the gene mcr-1. There were 106 positive samples (out of 517) and they came from 94 different farm properties. On seven of those isolates, the mcr gene lived alongside ones for ESBL resistance—that’s to penicillins and to the first three generations of cephalosporin drugs—and also genes for resistance to sulfa drugs and tetracycline.
Source: Last-Ditch Resistance: More Countries, More Dire Results – Phenomena: Germination
Last-Ditch Resistance: More Countries, More Dire Results – Phenomena: Germination
Laurent Poirel and colleagues in Switzerland have identified an E. coli strain, recovered from an 83-year-old Swiss man who was hospitalized last month, that possesses both colistin resistance and also VIM resistance to the carbapenems, the family of antibiotics that was considered the last and toughest before colistin. The colistin-resistance gene shared a plasmid with genes conferring resistance to chloramphenicol, flofenicol and co-trimoxazole. The authors warn, “Such accumulation of multidrug resistance traits may correspond to an ultimate step toward pandrug resistance.”Our data suggest that the advent of untreatable infections has already arrived.Marisa Haenni and collaborators in France and Switzerland queried the Resapath network in France, which conducts surveillance for antibiotic resistance in animals, found that 21 percent of bacterial samples collected from veal calves on French farms between 2005 and 2014 carried the signal of mobile colistin resistance, the gene mcr-1. There were 106 positive samples (out of 517) and they came from 94 different farm properties. On seven of those isolates, the mcr gene lived alongside ones for ESBL resistance—that’s to penicillins and to the first three generations of cephalosporin drugs—and also genes for resistance to sulfa drugs and tetracycline.
Source: Last-Ditch Resistance: More Countries, More Dire Results – Phenomena: Germination



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