Race to find vaccine, as mosquito-born Zika virus grips Americas

[rooster59]

Race to find vaccine, as mosquito-born Zika virus grips Americas



The race is on to find a vaccine, as the mosquito-born Zika virus takes hold in the Americas.

It is being linked to severe birth defects. Around four thousand suspected cases of microcephaly have been reported here in Brazil.

Zika is now present in 23 countries and territories in the Americas, with Brazil hardest hit.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is thought to be the sole species transmitting the virus.

But scientists are also investigating whether another more common type, the Culex, might be spreading it too.

“We’re losing the battle against the mosquito. As long as the mosquito keeps reproducing, each and every one of us is losing the battle against the mosquito. So we have to mobilise so we do not lose this battle,” said Dilma Rousseff, Brazilian President.

The World Health Organization predicts as many as four million people could become infected in the Americas.

There is no treatment for Zika infection and a vaccine suitable for widespread use is months, if not years away, developers are warning.

Most of those who get Zika show no symptoms, making it tough for pregnant women to know if it’s in their system.

The WHO – criticised over its response to West Africa’s Ebola epidemic – is holding an emergency meeting on Monday, to decide on what action to take.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-01-30

[surangw]

kind of a shame they were not working on this long ago

[JohnDodd]

Another W.H.O. phoney pandemic scare...seems like all these "Globalist" Institutions are racheting up the fear factor....no need to worry Big Pharma will fix it.

[Mudcrab]

Another W.H.O. phoney pandemic scare...seems like all these "Globalist" Institutions are racheting up the fear factor....no need to worry Big Pharma will fix it.

Phony? Really?

[arjunadawn]

Recently, genetically modified anopheles mosquitoes were created to enter a mosquito population, mate, and produce offspring that could not survive. I wonder if that effort can be related to this.

UPDATE: Before posting I went to look for a link about the genetically modified bugs I had read about only to see they are being accused of causing this problem. Wow! I am not surprised as others warned when this bug was created releasing it into the wild may have grave unintended consequences in disrupting the ecosystem. Not surprised. Sadly, with a highly mobile population in the Americas its likely hosts (migrants) will be bringing this disease to the US as carriers. Mosquitoes in the US will then bite them, and new vector/host cycle begun. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/zika-outbreak-caused-release-genetically-7281671

[Scott]

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