Zika Virus: Three Cases in UK

[Briannagodess]

The first three cases of Zika virus affecting Brits have been recorded. Just this January 2016, British travellers from Colombia, Suriname and Guyana were found to have been positive on the said virus. For now, officials are not disclosing anymore information about the issue. But they are warning Brits especially pregnant women to avoid travelling to certain countries:

1. Brazil
2. Colombia
3. El Salvador
4. French Guiana
5. Guatemala
6. Haiti
7. Honduras
8. Martinique
9. Mexico
10. Panama
11. Paraguay
12. Suriname
13. Venezuela
14. Puerto Rico 15. Barbados
16. Bolivia
17. Ecuador
18. Guadeloupe
19. Saint Martin
20. Guyana
21. Cape Verde
22. Samoa.

[ASurvivor]

I have been watching this develop and it is very concerning. As father with small children, it is gut-wrenching to think of a kid getting infected with said.

The BBC has additional details concerning the development here: Zika virus triggers pregnancy delay calls

[Briannagodess]

It's really scary for us parents knowing that our children are more susceptible to illnesses. And babies born with the mom having Zika virus can lead to the baby having microcephaly and even death. So I do understand the request for delaying pregnancies in these countries. Though it's still a tough call because most pregnancies are unplanned, just like mine. Though if you are a couple wanting to get pregnant in those countries, it's a good idea to think twice before doing so because your child might be at risk for the virus.

[Tumbleweed]

The latest places to announce finding the Zika virus is in the Denmark and Switzerland region. The people who have the illness here were also people who had been traveling into Latin America, and usually, the country was Brazil.
Fortunately, everyone who is known to have contracted the virus is recovering fine, and no serious complications are expected.

It is something that always makes me wonder , when something like this just seems to pop up out of nowhere. Most of us have never even heard of the Zika virus until a short time ago, and already they are announcing that they have a vaccine almost prepared for stopping the virus.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/world/D.../shdaily.shtml

[Briannagodess]

Thank goodness that those affected are okay now. I am in the same boat as you, I never really knew much about Zika Virus. I just read more and more reports about it which made me curious as to what it is. Apparently, it's not that new of a virus since it was first found in Uganda during 1947. The host of the virus is usually a monkey and now, it has obviously infected humans as well. Which is really the weird thing, why just now? What has made it become an epidemic?

And it's alarming because babies are affected most. I do wonder why though, why it affects babies now? When years and years ago, this isn't the effect of the disease. There really is so many questions regarding the Zika virus and right now, answers aren't easy to come by.

[xTinx]

Actually Zika affects everyone since the mosquito carrier is the same type responsible for malaria and dengue and Zika even manifests the same signs and symptoms as the aforementioned diseases. However, dengue doesn't exactly affect fetuses like Zika does. Yes, the mother may be afflicted but her child may not necessarily have a fatal ailment.

With Zika, however, pregnant women have to be careful or the fetus they're carrying will contract microcephaly and they may give birth to mentally impaired babies if not babies with already damaged brains.

[Briannagodess]

xTinx Yup, dengue affects everyone here but I think babies are more susceptible and children as well. But if it does affect a pregnant woman, it doesn't pose any threat as long as the mother is treated from it. But I've read one article claiming that Zika virus from 40 years ago didn't affect foetuses this way. Apparently, the mutant mosquitoes released are being blamed by some people for the microcephaly being suffered by these babies.

[pwarbi]

While I'm not a conspiracy theorist at all, and never have been, I'm intrigued as to just how, why and when this disease first got noticed.

This wouldn't be the first time that the government and media have given something like this pretty much blanket coverage, and made it the ONLY thing people talk about, simply so it means the government can do other things without people noticing.

[Help212]

This statement caught my attention
" According to researcher, Africans may have developed immunity to the Zika virus as a result of their exposure to the many related viral infections".

This was written on The East African. And then

"WHO is also working to curb the spread of the virus by bolstering surveillance of reported cases, setting up labs to run tests for the disease, issuing health recommendations, supporting research and helping countries eliminate mosquitoes" .

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/Scie...0/-/index.html

Since it was discovered in 1947 it seems that the world never new it will one time affect people who live outside Africa. Why start to research now and it was discovered more than 60 years ago.

[Briannagodess]

While I'm not a conspiracy theorist at all, and never have been, I'm intrigued as to just how, why and when this disease first got noticed.

This wouldn't be the first time that the government and media have given something like this pretty much blanket coverage, and made it the ONLY thing people talk about, simply so it means the government can do other things without people noticing.

Yup, that's true, the government and the media...two things that we don't think would work together, but they do. Anyway, I wish we know the answers but unfortunately, we don't. Until now, Zika virus is something that's terribly confusing. I have read lots of articles about it and still don't understand how it can cause microcephaly now when 40 years ago, it didn't. I just hope they figure out this whole problem because more and more babies are being affected by it.

[pwarbi]

Yup, that's true, the government and the media...two things that we don't think would work together, but they do. Anyway, I wish we know the answers but unfortunately, we don't. Until now, Zika virus is something that's terribly confusing. I have read lots of articles about it and still don't understand how it can cause microcephaly now when 40 years ago, it didn't. I just hope they figure out this whole problem because more and more babies are being affected by it.

Or maybe you should say that we are being told and shown that they're being affected by it?

Seriously though, it just makes me think that in the past few years alone there have been a few cases of various outbreaks that have covered the news, only for a month later we've never heard of again.

Let's just see how long this one stays in the headlines for, and also try and see what else might be occurring in the world while our heads are turned.

[zipedia]

This reminds me of Children of Men, where quite literally the exact same thing happens on a global scale. Coupled with a refugee crisis of Arabians, the movie now seems like an all-too-true prediction of a post-society world. I really hope a cure is found soon before it becomes an epidemic, and I hope that they also take care of those damned mosquitos during the fact.

[Briannagodess]

Yes, you put it quite right, we're being told and shown that they're being affected by Zika Virus. The sad thing is, even if they resolve the problem in the future, lots of children have already been affected. Microcephaly reduces the life expectancy of these babies. They also have developmental delays as well as vision, hearing and speech problems. Then, those babies might also experience seizures as well.

So I hope that they do understand the consequences of whatever they're doing. I see your point though, lots of epidemics are gone just after a month, never heard from again. Unless we're in their place, we can't really know the truth.

[UnslaadKrosis]

The reason that this particular disease was not considered that dangerous is probably because until recently it was restricted to a very small area of the developing world, and unlike other similar diseases (like trypanosomiasis for example, in which even the treatment itself can kill you), its effect on human health was very minor. (it causes a self-resolving mild flu in anyone who has born). That's why there's actually no vaccine for the disease.

[pwarbi]

A lot of these diseases though are quite common in the third world countries, but us in the west, the more fortunate ones shall we say, are content to leave them to it, battling it out.

It's only when something like this starts to affect one of our own that the panic stations set in. We start pouring millions of dollars into finding a vaccine, and then hopefully a cure to eradicate it.