#Birth Defects Surveillance and Zika Virus Infection

[sa7abnews]

'Zika-like' mosquito-borne virus has spread into Europe, health officials warn

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/16/zika-like-mosquito-borne-virus-has-spread-into-europe-health-officials-warn/

'Zika-like' mosquito-borne virus has spread into Europe, health officials warn

Cases of the Oropouche virus (OROV) emerging in Europe have health officials on high alert.As of the end of July, 19 cases had been reported with 12 in Spain, five in Italy and two in Germany, per the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.The disease is typically spread through bites from mosquitoes and midges (small flies, particularly the Culicoides paraensis species), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).WEST NILE DEATH REPORTED IN TEXAS AS HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN RESIDENTS TO SAFEGUARD AGAINST MOSQUITOESSince first emerging in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, the Oropouche virus has had “limited circulation” in regions of South America, particularly in forested areas.Three-toed sloths and birds have been identified as “natural reservoirs” for Oropouche, which means they act as hosts of the disease.”The virus doesn’t spread from person to person,” Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, confirmed to Fox News Digital.TIGER MOSQUITOES BLAMED FOR SPREAD OF DENGUE FEVER: ‘MOST INVASIVE SPECIES’On Aug. 1, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an epidemiological alert urging countries to “strengthen surveillance and implement laboratory diagnosis for the identification and characterization of cases … potentially associated with OROV infection.”By the end of July, there were 8,078 confirmed cases of Oropouche virus in five countries, including Bolivia (356), Brazil (7,284, with two deaths), Colombia (74), Cuba (74) and Peru (290), as reported by the PAHO.”Experts fear that if the current outbreak of Oropouche fever expands further, it could overwhelm South America’s already stretched health care system,” according to an article published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Aug. 8.The PAHO’s alert also warned of cases of the virus in Brazil that were transmitted from pregnant women to their fetuses in Brazil.IN A POTENTIAL OUTBREAK, IS BIRD FLU TESTING AVAILABLE FOR HUMANS? WHAT TO KNOW”These cases are under investigation,” the CDC stated on its website, noting that the agency is working with PAHO and “other international partners” to assess potential risks the virus presents during pregnancy.Siegel said, “There is some risk to the fetus in terms of birth defects.”OROV, which is classified as an arbovirus, is often mistaken for other similar viruses, like Zika, dengue, chikungunya and malaria, according to the CDC.Symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle aches, stiff joints and chills.Some may develop a rash that begins on the torso and spreads to other body parts.Symptoms usually begin within four to eight days of being bitten, and last for three to six days.”Symptoms can abate and reoccur,” Siegel noted.In severe cases, patients may develop meningitis, encephalitis or other “neuroinvasive” diseases, the CDC stated.For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/healthFor those patients, symptoms can include intense headaches, dizziness, confusion, nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, lethargy, stiff neck and involuntary eye movements. “Around 4% of patients develop [neurologic symptoms] after the first febrile illness,” Siegel said.Most people who contract Oropouche will recover on their own without any long-term effects, the CDC stated.”There are no vaccines for prevention and no treatments,” Siegel said.The best means of prevention is to avoid bites from midges and mosquitoes, according to experts.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER”People are advised to take preventive measures, including the use of repellents, clothing that covers legs and arms, and fine mesh mosquito nets, and to take extra precautions during outbreaks, particularly for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women,” the PAHO advised in its alert.Supportive care can include rest, fluids and medications to reduce fever and alleviate pain.”Patients who develop more severe symptoms should be hospitalized for close observation and supportive treatment,” the agency stated.There have been “very few” deaths reported from Oropouche, the CDC noted.Those who are experiencing symptoms and have risk factors can contact their local health department for testing.”Clinicians in these areas where importation has occurred may not be familiar with this infection and need to be alert to its possibility,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, M.D., an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, told Fox News Digital.Fox News Digital reached out to the CDC for comment.

[reportwire]

Population-Based Surveillance for Birth Defects Potentially Related to Zika Virus Infection — 22 States and Territories, January 2016–June 2017

Population-Based Surveillance for Birth Defects Potentially Related to Zika Virus Infection — 22 States and Territories, January 2016–June 2017

Ashley N. Smoots, MPH1; Samantha M. Olson, MPH1; Janet Cragan, MD1; Augustina Delaney, PhD1; Nicole M. Roth, MPH1; Shana Godfred-Cato, DO1; Abbey M. Jones, MPH1; John F. Nahabedian III, MS1; Jane Fornoff, DPhil2; Theresa Sandidge, MA2; Mahsa M. Yazdy, PhD3; Cathleen Higgins3; Richard S. Olney, MD4; Valorie Eckert, MPH4; Allison Forkner, MPH5; Deborah J. Fox, MPH6; Amanda Stolz, MSPH6; Katherine…

[globalnewsafrica]

There in no deadly Zika virus in Kenya - Health CS Kariuki

In Summary • Health ministry says active surveillance mechanisms and action plan towards disease outbreak are underway. • Zika infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects, characterised by incomplete brain development and an unusually small head. The Health ministry has dismissed claims that scientists have found the deadly Zika virus in West Pokot. Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki on Friday said there was "no single case of the virus has been confirmed or identified in Kenya". Zika virus is a mosquito-borne virus that was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in monkeys. It was later identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania. It is contract through infected Aedes mosquito bites. The virus causes fever, rash, red eyes, muscle and joint pains, and tiredness, with symptoms that last between two to seven days. The CS said the study in question was carried out between February 2016 and August 2017 on health populations in West Pokot and Turkana counties to determine the level of past exposure to a select group of reemerging mosquito borne virus of public health concern such as yellow fever, dengue and Zika virus. “This study was a proactive approach in public health surveillance and enhanced preparedness in response to threats posed by these viruses,” Kariuki said. The study locations were selected because they share borders with areas that had recorded previous outbreaks. The areas border Uganda, South Sudan and/or Ethiopia, where recent outbreaks of yellow fever and dengue have been reported, with the possibility of spillover into Kenya. “The scientists were not able to determine the active ongoing circulation of Zika virus in the population, but 34 were found to have had a past exposure to Zika virus,” she said. The CS reiterated that the ministry has put in place active surveillance mechanisms and actions towards disease outbreak plans are underway. The deadly Zika virus, almost marred the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. Zika infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects. The virus is suspected to cause Microcephaly, a birth defect characterised by incomplete brain development and an unusually small head. Microcephaly is a life-long condition with no cure or standard of treatment and is linked with conditions such as seizures, developmental delays and intellectual problems. Preventing mosquito bites protects one from Zika virus, and from other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes such as dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. One could use insect repellent, wearing adequately covering clothes that cover as much of the body as possible. There is also evidence that it can be spread through blood transfusion and sexual contact. There has also been a report of a man passing it to his young child through his tears and/or sweat. There is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika. Read the full article

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What Is Microcephaly And What Is Its Relationship To Zika Virus?

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What Is Microcephaly And What Is Its Relationship To Zika Virus?

This week the World Health Organisation declared Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern.

Despite high rates of infection, the outbreak would not have been particularly alarming since the infection is usually asymptomatic (80% of cases) or mild and self-limiting had it not been for the sudden and (apparently associated) increase in numbers of infants born with microcephaly.

What Is Microcephaly?

Microcephaly is a condition in which the infants head is smaller than normal for the infants age and gender, because of delayed or arrested brain growth. There is no universally agreed definition. Most authorities suggest it should be defined by a head circumference of two but some say three standard deviations or more below the average.

It is often first diagnosed by ultrasound examination during pregnancy. The incidence of microcephaly in the absence of Zika virus infection is difficult to determine.

Apart from the lack of an agreed definition or definitive diagnostic test, there is probably significant under-reporting of the condition. State-based surveillance in the United States where Zika virus is not endemic suggests it occurs in between two and 12 infants per 10,000 live births. Rates vary from 0.5 to 19 in 10,000 live births in different states.

If the incidence were similar in Brazil, where about three million infants are born each year, this would represent 600-3,600 cases a year. This is more than estimates based on recent review of birth certificates approximately 0.5 per 10,000 live births.

Some of the approximately 4,000 cases reported in Brazil during 2015 may have been due to increased awareness and reporting although there appears to have been a real increase also.

Microcephaly is often associated with other developmental abnormalities and with varying degrees of intellectual and developmental delay, seizures, and visual and hearing loss. In severe cases it can be life-threatening.

Causes

There are many recognised causes of microcephaly including a number of other infections in pregnant women. These include rubella, cytomegalovirus (a common virus that causes asymptomatic infection or a mild glandular fever-like illness in otherwise healthy people and severe disease in people with severe immune suppression such as AIDS), herpes simplex virus infections, syphilis and toxoplasmosis (a parasitic disease).

Chikungunya, a virus spread by the same mosquito responsible for spreading Zika (the Aedes aegypti, or yellow fever mosquito), has also been shown to cause brain damage in infants of women infected during pregnancy in a nave population (one without previous exposure to the virus).

Noninfective causes of microcephaly include a variety of genetic disorders, maternal exposure to drugs, alcohol, chemical toxins and radiation and severe malnutrition.

Is Zika To Blame?

Although Zika virus has not yet been definitively proven to be the cause of the increased numbers of infants with microcephaly in Brazil, there is strong circumstantial and epidemiological evidence that it is, at least partly, responsible.

Many of the mothers of affected babies in Brazil reported an illness consistent with Zika virus infection in early pregnancy. However, this was often mistaken for dengue and not confirmed by laboratory tests.

The peak incidence of microcephaly occurred in the same geographic region (northeastern Brazil) about a year after an outbreak of dengue-like illness, with fever and rash, started. Six months later Zika virus was identified as the cause.

There have been several reports of detection of Zika virus genetic material (nucleic acid) in amniotic fluid, placentas, tissues of infants who have died with microcephaly and in live-born infants, with or without microcephaly, of mothers who have had Zika virus infection during pregnancy. It is highly likely that maternal Zika virus infection can damage the developing foetal brain. But the level of risk is unknown.

The other major uncertainly about Zika virus infection and microcephaly is the level of risk at different stages of pregnancy. Because the infection is so frequently asymptomatic or easily mistaken for other viral infections, the number of pregnant women infected and the stage of pregnancy at which infections occur are unknown.

For most intrauterine (within the uterus) infections that cause foetal damage (such as rubella or cytomegalovirus, for which these risks are well-known), the risk of the foetus being infected from the mother is relatively low in early pregnancy and increases with increasing gestation.

However, if foetal infection does, in fact, occur early in pregnancy, the foetus is more likely to be severely affected than if it occurs in the later stages of pregnancy. This is yet to be determined for Zika virus infection.

Hopefully, studies and enhanced surveillance of Zika virus infection and birth defects will provide answers to these questions. These are underway in Brazil.

In the meantime, while overall rates of Zika virus remain high, pregnant women are being advised to defer travel to Zika-affected countries if possible. Those who live there are advised to defer pregnancy or take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Lyn Gilbert, Clinical Professor in Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney

Read more: http://www.iflscience.com

[dragnews]

Tick, mosquito-borne infections surge in United States: CDC

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The number of Americans sickened each year by bites from infected mosquitoes, ticks or fleas tripled from 2004 through 2016, with infection rates spiking sharply in 2016 as a result of a Zika outbreak, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.

FILE PHOTO – A sign is displayed as San Diego County officials hand spray a two block area to help prevent the mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus in San Diego, California, U.S. August 19, 2016. REUTERS/Earnie Grafton

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that some 96,075 diseases caused by bites by mosquitoes, ticks and fleas were reported in 2016, up from 27,388 in 2004, in an analysis of data from the CDC’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

Infections in 2016 went up 73 percent from 2015, reflecting the emergence of Zika, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and can cause severe birth defects. Zika was the most common disease borne by ticks, mosquitoes and fleas reported in 2016, with 41,680 cases reported, followed by Lyme disease, with 36,429 cases, almost double the number in 2004.

The increases may be a result of climate change, with increased temperatures and shorter winters boosting populations of ticks, mosquitoes and other disease-carrying creatures known as “vectors.”

“It enables these ticks to expand to new areas. Where there are ticks, there comes diseases,” said Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases.

Warmer summer temperatures also tend to bring outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses, Petersen said.

While Zika stood out as the latest emerging threat in the report, it also showed a long-term increase in cases of tick-borne Lyme disease, which can attack the heart and nervous system if left untreated.

Researchers warned that their numbers likely do not include every case as many infections are not reported.

These increases are due to many factors, including growing populations of the insects that transmit them and increased exposure outside of the United States by travelers who unknowingly transport diseases back home.

The CDC said more than 80 percent of vector-control organizations across the United States lack the capacity to prevent and control these fast-spreading, demanding illnesses. Petersen said that federal programs are increasing funding for those organizations.

Reporting by Gina Cherelus; editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool

The post Tick, mosquito-borne infections surge in United States: CDC appeared first on World The News.

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[party-hard-or-die]

Tick, mosquito-borne infections surge in United States: CDC

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The number of Americans sickened each year by bites from infected mosquitoes, ticks or fleas tripled from 2004 through 2016, with infection rates spiking sharply in 2016 as a result of a Zika outbreak, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.

FILE PHOTO – A sign is displayed as San Diego County officials hand spray a two block area to help prevent the mosquito-borne transmission of the Zika virus in San Diego, California, U.S. August 19, 2016. REUTERS/Earnie Grafton

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that some 96,075 diseases caused by bites by mosquitoes, ticks and fleas were reported in 2016, up from 27,388 in 2004, in an analysis of data from the CDC’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

Infections in 2016 went up 73 percent from 2015, reflecting the emergence of Zika, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and can cause severe birth defects. Zika was the most common disease borne by ticks, mosquitoes and fleas reported in 2016, with 41,680 cases reported, followed by Lyme disease, with 36,429 cases, almost double the number in 2004.

The increases may be a result of climate change, with increased temperatures and shorter winters boosting populations of ticks, mosquitoes and other disease-carrying creatures known as “vectors.”

“It enables these ticks to expand to new areas. Where there are ticks, there comes diseases,” said Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases.

Warmer summer temperatures also tend to bring outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses, Petersen said.

While Zika stood out as the latest emerging threat in the report, it also showed a long-term increase in cases of tick-borne Lyme disease, which can attack the heart and nervous system if left untreated.

Researchers warned that their numbers likely do not include every case as many infections are not reported.

These increases are due to many factors, including growing populations of the insects that transmit them and increased exposure outside of the United States by travelers who unknowingly transport diseases back home.

The CDC said more than 80 percent of vector-control organizations across the United States lack the capacity to prevent and control these fast-spreading, demanding illnesses. Petersen said that federal programs are increasing funding for those organizations.

Reporting by Gina Cherelus; editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool

The post Tick, mosquito-borne infections surge in United States: CDC appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2HLxRaP via Breaking News

[inhandnetworks-blog]

Zika Definitely Causes Birth Defects, According to CDC

www.inhandnetworks.com

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Wednesday that there is sufficient evidence to prove the Zika virus can cause microcephaly and other birth defects. Using established scientific criteria, the authors reviewed existing data and studies and concludes the link between the mosquito-borne illness and infant brain defects should no longer be considered speculation.

The findings of its analysis, which included more than 40 relevant studies, were published April 13 in The New England Journal of Medicine. The authors say common threads in existing studies and isolated cases, along with the absence of an alternative explanation, confirms the link.

“This study marks a turning point in the Zika outbreak,” Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, said in a press statement. “It is now clear that the virus causes microcephaly. We are also launching further studies to determine whether children who have microcephaly born to mothers infected by the Zika virus is the tip of the iceberg of what we could see in damaging effects on the brain and other developmental problems.”

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He added that these findings affirm the CDC’s existing guidance for women who are pregnant or wish to conceive to avoid travel to countries affected by the outbreak.  “ We are working to do everything possible to protect the American public,” Frieden said.  

Since the current outbreak began a little more than a year ago, at least 4,000 infants in Brazil have been born with microcephaly, a birth defect in which a baby has an abnormally small skull and incomplete brain development. Researchers also reported a smaller cluster of Zika-linked microcephaly with eight confirmed cases during an outbreak in French Polynesia that occurred between 2013 and 2014.

In early February, the World Health Organization declared Zika-related microcephaly a “public health emergency of international concern” and urged a global coordinated response to improve surveillance of Zika infections and congenital defects that occur in countries with outbreaks.

Researchers have been unable to confirm the link in a single study; nearly all have limitations even recognized by their researchers, which include small sample sizes and lack of control groups.

In the analysis, the authors recognize a consistent set of features in congenital Zika infections including severe microcephaly; brain calcifications and other abnormalities; certain eye defects that could threaten vision; redundant skin on the scalp; arthrogryposis (curvature of the joints); and clubfoot. Zika infections in pregnant women also have been linked to miscarriages and stillbirth.

A new paper in BMJ, also published April 13, describes these congenital abnormalities in greater detail. A group of researchers conducted exams on 23 infants born with microcephaly infections in Pernambuco, Brazil between July and December 2015. Of the cohort, 15 underwent CT scans, seven underwent both MRI and CT scans and one of the infants only underwent an MRI. After analyzing the medical imaging, the researchers described the majority of the brain damage in the infants as “extremely severe.”

All but one of the mothers reported rash during pregnancy, and tested positive for the Zika virus. Six of the infants tested positive for Zika antibodies, while the remaining 17 met the clinical protocol for microcephaly. Through blood tests, the researchers ruled out other possible causes for birth defects, including toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, rubella, syphilis and HIV.

In CT scans of infants, they identified calcifications in brain tissue. Scientists have suspected for some time that the Zika virus kills brain cells, which causes lesions, or scars, to the brain that leave calcium deposits. The infants were also found to have underdeveloped cerebellums—responsible for motor control—and brainstems, which connects the brain to the spine.

Some of the infants also had malformations to the outer (cortical) area of the brain, as well as decreased brain volume and enlarged brain cavities. The scans also suggested delayed myelination in the infants. Myelin sheaths form around nerves and they’re essential to facilitating communication between the brain’s two hemispheres. While this was an observational study, it is in line with findings from other case studies on congenital Zika infections. The authors come to a similar conclusion as the CDC: Microcephaly is just but one feature in what many are now clinically describing as Zika virus congenital syndrome.

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[sa7abnews]

'Zika-like' mosquito-borne virus has spread into Europe, health officials warn

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/13/zika-like-mosquito-borne-virus-has-spread-into-europe-health-officials-warn/

'Zika-like' mosquito-borne virus has spread into Europe, health officials warn

Cases of the Oropouche virus (OROV) emerging in Europe have health officials on high alert.As of the end of July, 19 cases had been reported with 12 in Spain, five in Italy and two in Germany, per the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.The disease is typically spread through bites from mosquitoes and midges (small flies, particularly the Culicoides paraensis species), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).WEST NILE DEATH REPORTED IN TEXAS AS HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN RESIDENTS TO SAFEGUARD AGAINST MOSQUITOESSince first emerging in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, the Oropouche virus has had “limited circulation” in regions of South America, particularly in forested areas.Three-toed sloths and birds have been identified as “natural reservoirs” for Oropouche, which means they act as hosts of the disease.”The virus doesn’t spread from person to person,” Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, confirmed to Fox News Digital.TIGER MOSQUITOES BLAMED FOR SPREAD OF DENGUE FEVER: ‘MOST INVASIVE SPECIES’On Aug. 1, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an epidemiological alert urging countries to “strengthen surveillance and implement laboratory diagnosis for the identification and characterization of cases … potentially associated with OROV infection.”By the end of July, there were 8,078 confirmed cases of Oropouche virus in five countries, including Bolivia (356), Brazil (7,284, with two deaths), Colombia (74), Cuba (74) and Peru (290), as reported by the PAHO.”Experts fear that if the current outbreak of Oropouche fever expands further, it could overwhelm South America’s already stretched health care system,” according to an article published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Aug. 8.The PAHO’s alert also warned of cases of the virus in Brazil that were transmitted from pregnant women to their fetuses in Brazil.IN A POTENTIAL OUTBREAK, IS BIRD FLU TESTING AVAILABLE FOR HUMANS? WHAT TO KNOW”These cases are under investigation,” the CDC stated on its website, noting that the agency is working with PAHO and “other international partners” to assess potential risks the virus presents during pregnancy.Siegel said, “There is some risk to the fetus in terms of birth defects.”OROV, which is classified as an arbovirus, is often mistaken for other similar viruses, like Zika, dengue, chikungunya and malaria, according to the CDC.Symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle aches, stiff joints and chills.Some may develop a rash that begins on the torso and spreads to other body parts.Symptoms usually begin within four to eight days of being bitten, and last for three to six days.”Symptoms can abate and reoccur,” Siegel noted.In severe cases, patients may develop meningitis, encephalitis or other “neuroinvasive” diseases, the CDC stated.For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/healthFor those patients, symptoms can include intense headaches, dizziness, confusion, nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, lethargy, stiff neck and involuntary eye movements. “Around 4% of patients develop [neurologic symptoms] after the first febrile illness,” Siegel said.Most people who contract Oropouche will recover on their own without any long-term effects, the CDC stated.”There are no vaccines for prevention and no treatments,” Siegel said.The best means of prevention is to avoid bites from midges and mosquitoes, according to experts.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER”People are advised to take preventive measures, including the use of repellents, clothing that covers legs and arms, and fine mesh mosquito nets, and to take extra precautions during outbreaks, particularly for vulnerable groups such as pregnant women,” the PAHO advised in its alert.Supportive care can include rest, fluids and medications to reduce fever and alleviate pain.”Patients who develop more severe symptoms should be hospitalized for close observation and supportive treatment,” the agency stated.There have been “very few” deaths reported from Oropouche, the CDC noted.Those who are experiencing symptoms and have risk factors can contact their local health department for testing.”Clinicians in these areas where importation has occurred may not be familiar with this infection and need to be alert to its possibility,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, M.D., an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, told Fox News Digital.Fox News Digital reached out to the CDC for comment.

[yes-dal456]

A Clinic Mix-Up Leaves Pregnant Woman In Dark About Zika Risk

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Hospital officials in Washington state have apologized after failing for months to inform a pregnant woman she was likely infected with the Zika virus that can cause devastating birth defects.

Andrea Pardo, 33, of Issaquah, Wash., was tested for the virus in October, after becoming pregnant while living in Mexico. The results were ready by December, but Pardo wasn’t notified until April — 37 weeks into her pregnancy, just before she delivered her daughter, Noemi.

So far, the baby appears healthy. But the delay, blamed on a mistake at the University of Washington clinic where Pardo received care, deprived her of the chance to make an informed choice about her pregnancy, she said.

“Nothing would have changed for me,” she said. “But if I had found out around 20 weeks, I guess I could have made some decisions there.”

Dr. Timothy Dellit, a UW Medicine infectious-disease expert, told Kaiser Health News he called Pardo to explain the error.

“I apologized for the fact that test results were not given to her back in December,” he said. “It was just an unfortunate way those tests were handled.”

The incident adds to questions about careful tracking of Zika tests and the potential consequences of delayed or inaccurate results, even as recommendations for surveillance have expanded.

In the wake of the Zika outbreak that began in early 2015 in Brazil, there have been reports of botched or delayed tests in the U.S., health officials said.

In February, nearly 300 Zika tests for pregnant women conducted by the Washington, D.C., public health laboratory had to be repeated after the discovery that technicians skipped a necessary step, causing all results to be negative. One pregnant woman later tested positive for the virus, and another 25 pregnant women had inconclusive results, said LaShon Beamon, a spokeswoman for the district’s Department of Forensic Sciences.

Although it’s “not the norm,” said Dr. Kelly Wroblewski, director of infectious diseases for the Association of Public Health Laboratories, she has heard of several recent instances of patients not receiving Zika test results promptly.

“The reports aren’t getting to the right clinicians,” she said. “Where and how that breakdown is happening, I can’t say from where I sit.”

Health officials in the U.S. and beyond have conducted hundreds of thousands of tests as Zika spreads. The CDC alone has sent out 400,000 tests in U.S. states and territories and more than 700,000 worldwide, spokesman Tom Skinner said.

In May, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded recommendations for Zika testing to include not only pregnant women who might have been exposed to the virus but women with risk factors who are thinking of becoming pregnant.

The Zika virus, which can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus, can cause potentially severe birth defects, including microcephaly, characterized by a small head, vision and hearing problems and developmental delays. After news that the virus was spreading in Latin America, requests for abortions spiked, researchers found.

The mix-up over Pardo’s Zika virus test raises concerns about the backlog of testing for pregnant women with Zika infections. (Dan DeLong for KHN)

Pardo said she probably wouldn’t have terminated her pregnancy had she known earlier that she was infected with Zika — but she would have wanted accurate information.

Dellit said clinic staff knew that Pardo had been exposed to Zika and cared for her appropriately. Officials have revamped the test protocols, double-checking that results from outside labs make it into medical files and are communicated to patients, he added.

Pardo traveled to Las Guacamayas, Mexico, last June to be with her husband, Hector Pardo, 28. He originally came to the U.S. as a teenager without documentation and had to leave the country while his immigration status was resolved. He returned to Washington state in December and now works for a furniture company.

Andrea Pardo is on maternity leave from her job as an academic counselor in the University of Washington’s microbiology department. The couple also have a 3-year-old daughter.

Andrea became pregnant last August. At the same time, she developed what she thought was a heat rash and other symptoms of illness, but a doctor there downplayed any risk of Zika infection, she said.

It’s a stealthy virus; 4 out of 5 people never know they’re infected, while others might show mild symptoms, such as fever, rash, joint pain, muscle aches and red eyes. The effects in unborn fetuses, however, can be devastating, experts say.

A blood test in Mexico was negative for Zika. Pardo returned to the U.S., when she was 16 weeks pregnant, and tested positive for dengue, which, like Zika, is a flavivirus. Because the two viruses can cross-react in tests, doctors couldn’t tell for sure whether she had a Zika infection, too.

Pardo’s samples were sent for additional tests, which were processed promptly by the state health department and by a CDC-approved laboratory in Minnesota. But the results weren’t sent to Pardo.

She learned of the results only when she received a letter in late April from UW scientists recruiting patients with Zika for a research trial. It said she had tested positive for Zika.

“I thought I was negative,” she said. “I was really upset about it. How dare they give me a diagnosis that wasn’t true?”

Pardo pressed her doctor for answers — and learned then she was presumed infected.

She took her baby to Seattle Children’s Hospital, where Noemi was seen by experts in microcephaly.

Dr. Hannah Tully, a pediatric neurologist, confirmed that the baby appears healthy, with no sign of a Zika infection.

But Pardo said she’s haunted by the positive results of her test. She worries her daughter could still develop problems — one of the many unknowns of the Zika scourge.

“It was shocking just because I didn’t know how to advocate for my baby,” she said. “Thankfully, she was developing normally, but even without microcephaly, they don’t really know.”

Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide, is an editorially independent part of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from http://ift.tt/2s0HRsO from Blogger http://ift.tt/2tE8yAM

[ongames]

A Clinic Mix-Up Leaves Pregnant Woman In Dark About Zika Risk

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Hospital officials in Washington state have apologized after failing for months to inform a pregnant woman she was likely infected with the Zika virus that can cause devastating birth defects.

Andrea Pardo, 33, of Issaquah, Wash., was tested for the virus in October, after becoming pregnant while living in Mexico. The results were ready by December, but Pardo wasn’t notified until April — 37 weeks into her pregnancy, just before she delivered her daughter, Noemi.

So far, the baby appears healthy. But the delay, blamed on a mistake at the University of Washington clinic where Pardo received care, deprived her of the chance to make an informed choice about her pregnancy, she said.

“Nothing would have changed for me,” she said. “But if I had found out around 20 weeks, I guess I could have made some decisions there.”

Dr. Timothy Dellit, a UW Medicine infectious-disease expert, told Kaiser Health News he called Pardo to explain the error.

“I apologized for the fact that test results were not given to her back in December,” he said. “It was just an unfortunate way those tests were handled.”

The incident adds to questions about careful tracking of Zika tests and the potential consequences of delayed or inaccurate results, even as recommendations for surveillance have expanded.

In the wake of the Zika outbreak that began in early 2015 in Brazil, there have been reports of botched or delayed tests in the U.S., health officials said.

In February, nearly 300 Zika tests for pregnant women conducted by the Washington, D.C., public health laboratory had to be repeated after the discovery that technicians skipped a necessary step, causing all results to be negative. One pregnant woman later tested positive for the virus, and another 25 pregnant women had inconclusive results, said LaShon Beamon, a spokeswoman for the district’s Department of Forensic Sciences.

Although it’s “not the norm,” said Dr. Kelly Wroblewski, director of infectious diseases for the Association of Public Health Laboratories, she has heard of several recent instances of patients not receiving Zika test results promptly.

“The reports aren’t getting to the right clinicians,” she said. “Where and how that breakdown is happening, I can’t say from where I sit.”

Health officials in the U.S. and beyond have conducted hundreds of thousands of tests as Zika spreads. The CDC alone has sent out 400,000 tests in U.S. states and territories and more than 700,000 worldwide, spokesman Tom Skinner said.

In May, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded recommendations for Zika testing to include not only pregnant women who might have been exposed to the virus but women with risk factors who are thinking of becoming pregnant.

The Zika virus, which can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus, can cause potentially severe birth defects, including microcephaly, characterized by a small head, vision and hearing problems and developmental delays. After news that the virus was spreading in Latin America, requests for abortions spiked, researchers found.

The mix-up over Pardo’s Zika virus test raises concerns about the backlog of testing for pregnant women with Zika infections. (Dan DeLong for KHN)

Pardo said she probably wouldn’t have terminated her pregnancy had she known earlier that she was infected with Zika — but she would have wanted accurate information.

Dellit said clinic staff knew that Pardo had been exposed to Zika and cared for her appropriately. Officials have revamped the test protocols, double-checking that results from outside labs make it into medical files and are communicated to patients, he added.

Pardo traveled to Las Guacamayas, Mexico, last June to be with her husband, Hector Pardo, 28. He originally came to the U.S. as a teenager without documentation and had to leave the country while his immigration status was resolved. He returned to Washington state in December and now works for a furniture company.

Andrea Pardo is on maternity leave from her job as an academic counselor in the University of Washington’s microbiology department. The couple also have a 3-year-old daughter.

Andrea became pregnant last August. At the same time, she developed what she thought was a heat rash and other symptoms of illness, but a doctor there downplayed any risk of Zika infection, she said.

It’s a stealthy virus; 4 out of 5 people never know they’re infected, while others might show mild symptoms, such as fever, rash, joint pain, muscle aches and red eyes. The effects in unborn fetuses, however, can be devastating, experts say.

A blood test in Mexico was negative for Zika. Pardo returned to the U.S., when she was 16 weeks pregnant, and tested positive for dengue, which, like Zika, is a flavivirus. Because the two viruses can cross-react in tests, doctors couldn’t tell for sure whether she had a Zika infection, too.

Pardo’s samples were sent for additional tests, which were processed promptly by the state health department and by a CDC-approved laboratory in Minnesota. But the results weren’t sent to Pardo.

She learned of the results only when she received a letter in late April from UW scientists recruiting patients with Zika for a research trial. It said she had tested positive for Zika.

“I thought I was negative,” she said. “I was really upset about it. How dare they give me a diagnosis that wasn’t true?”

Pardo pressed her doctor for answers — and learned then she was presumed infected.

She took her baby to Seattle Children’s Hospital, where Noemi was seen by experts in microcephaly.

Dr. Hannah Tully, a pediatric neurologist, confirmed that the baby appears healthy, with no sign of a Zika infection.

But Pardo said she’s haunted by the positive results of her test. She worries her daughter could still develop problems — one of the many unknowns of the Zika scourge.

“It was shocking just because I didn’t know how to advocate for my baby,” she said. “Thankfully, she was developing normally, but even without microcephaly, they don’t really know.”

Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide, is an editorially independent part of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

A Clinic Mix-Up Leaves Pregnant Woman In Dark About Zika Risk published first on http://ift.tt/2lnpciY

[imreviewblog]

A Clinic Mix-Up Leaves Pregnant Woman In Dark About Zika Risk

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Hospital officials in Washington state have apologized after failing for months to inform a pregnant woman she was likely infected with the Zika virus that can cause devastating birth defects.

Andrea Pardo, 33, of Issaquah, Wash., was tested for the virus in October, after becoming pregnant while living in Mexico. The results were ready by December, but Pardo wasn’t notified until April — 37 weeks into her pregnancy, just before she delivered her daughter, Noemi.

So far, the baby appears healthy. But the delay, blamed on a mistake at the University of Washington clinic where Pardo received care, deprived her of the chance to make an informed choice about her pregnancy, she said.

“Nothing would have changed for me,” she said. “But if I had found out around 20 weeks, I guess I could have made some decisions there.”

Dr. Timothy Dellit, a UW Medicine infectious-disease expert, told Kaiser Health News he called Pardo to explain the error.

“I apologized for the fact that test results were not given to her back in December,” he said. “It was just an unfortunate way those tests were handled.”

The incident adds to questions about careful tracking of Zika tests and the potential consequences of delayed or inaccurate results, even as recommendations for surveillance have expanded.

In the wake of the Zika outbreak that began in early 2015 in Brazil, there have been reports of botched or delayed tests in the U.S., health officials said.

In February, nearly 300 Zika tests for pregnant women conducted by the Washington, D.C., public health laboratory had to be repeated after the discovery that technicians skipped a necessary step, causing all results to be negative. One pregnant woman later tested positive for the virus, and another 25 pregnant women had inconclusive results, said LaShon Beamon, a spokeswoman for the district’s Department of Forensic Sciences.

Although it’s “not the norm,” said Dr. Kelly Wroblewski, director of infectious diseases for the Association of Public Health Laboratories, she has heard of several recent instances of patients not receiving Zika test results promptly.

“The reports aren’t getting to the right clinicians,” she said. “Where and how that breakdown is happening, I can’t say from where I sit.”

Health officials in the U.S. and beyond have conducted hundreds of thousands of tests as Zika spreads. The CDC alone has sent out 400,000 tests in U.S. states and territories and more than 700,000 worldwide, spokesman Tom Skinner said.

In May, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded recommendations for Zika testing to include not only pregnant women who might have been exposed to the virus but women with risk factors who are thinking of becoming pregnant.

The Zika virus, which can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus, can cause potentially severe birth defects, including microcephaly, characterized by a small head, vision and hearing problems and developmental delays. After news that the virus was spreading in Latin America, requests for abortions spiked, researchers found.

The mix-up over Pardo’s Zika virus test raises concerns about the backlog of testing for pregnant women with Zika infections. (Dan DeLong for KHN)

Pardo said she probably wouldn’t have terminated her pregnancy had she known earlier that she was infected with Zika — but she would have wanted accurate information.

Dellit said clinic staff knew that Pardo had been exposed to Zika and cared for her appropriately. Officials have revamped the test protocols, double-checking that results from outside labs make it into medical files and are communicated to patients, he added.

Pardo traveled to Las Guacamayas, Mexico, last June to be with her husband, Hector Pardo, 28. He originally came to the U.S. as a teenager without documentation and had to leave the country while his immigration status was resolved. He returned to Washington state in December and now works for a furniture company.

Andrea Pardo is on maternity leave from her job as an academic counselor in the University of Washington’s microbiology department. The couple also have a 3-year-old daughter.

Andrea became pregnant last August. At the same time, she developed what she thought was a heat rash and other symptoms of illness, but a doctor there downplayed any risk of Zika infection, she said.

It’s a stealthy virus; 4 out of 5 people never know they’re infected, while others might show mild symptoms, such as fever, rash, joint pain, muscle aches and red eyes. The effects in unborn fetuses, however, can be devastating, experts say.

A blood test in Mexico was negative for Zika. Pardo returned to the U.S., when she was 16 weeks pregnant, and tested positive for dengue, which, like Zika, is a flavivirus. Because the two viruses can cross-react in tests, doctors couldn’t tell for sure whether she had a Zika infection, too.

Pardo’s samples were sent for additional tests, which were processed promptly by the state health department and by a CDC-approved laboratory in Minnesota. But the results weren’t sent to Pardo.

She learned of the results only when she received a letter in late April from UW scientists recruiting patients with Zika for a research trial. It said she had tested positive for Zika.

“I thought I was negative,” she said. “I was really upset about it. How dare they give me a diagnosis that wasn’t true?”

Pardo pressed her doctor for answers — and learned then she was presumed infected.

She took her baby to Seattle Children’s Hospital, where Noemi was seen by experts in microcephaly.

Dr. Hannah Tully, a pediatric neurologist, confirmed that the baby appears healthy, with no sign of a Zika infection.

But Pardo said she’s haunted by the positive results of her test. She worries her daughter could still develop problems — one of the many unknowns of the Zika scourge.

“It was shocking just because I didn’t know how to advocate for my baby,” she said. “Thankfully, she was developing normally, but even without microcephaly, they don’t really know.”

Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide, is an editorially independent part of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://bit.ly/2t0yMzj

[wavenetinfo]

India has reported its first three cases of the Zika virus, including two pregnant women who delivered healthy babies.

Health Ministry officials said Sunday that the three patients in western Gujarat state had recovered. “There is no need to panic,” Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, a top Health Ministry official, told reporters.

The World Health Organization said in a statement Friday that the three cases that India reported to the WHO on May 15 were detected through routine blood surveillance in a hospital in Ahmadabad, Gujarat’s capital. Two cases were detected in February and November last year, while a third case was detected in January this year.

Swaminathan, who heads the Indian Council of Medical Research, said the three patients had not traveled overseas and had acquired the infection locally.

Zika is transmitted by the daytime-active Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

The medical journal Lancet has said 2.6 billion people living in parts of Asia and Africa could be at risk of Zika infection, based on analysis of travel, climate and mosquito patterns in those regions.

The vast majority of people infected by the Zika virus never get sick, and symptoms are mild for those who do, so surveillance systems may have missed cases.

Although Zika was first identified in 1947, the virus wasn’t considered a major health threat until a major outbreak in Brazil in 2015 revealed that it can lead to severe birth defects when pregnant women are infected.

The WHO says that although Zika causes only mild symptoms in most people, it sometimes causes complications including microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Babies born to Zika-infected mothers have been found to have microcephaly, or a birth defect where the head is abnormally small and brains might not have developed properly. Guillain-Barre syndrome is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system.

The WHO said the three were the first cases of Zika virus infections from India and provided evidence on the presence of the virus in the country.

“These findings suggest low level transmission of Zika virus and new cases may occur in the future,” it said.

The WHO said there was significant risk of the further spread of the virus and recommended that governments push ahead with efforts to control mosquitoes.

However, the agency did not recommend any curbs on travel to India.

Last year, the WHO declared the spread of Zika a global public health emergency.

28 May 2017 | 9:23 am

Source : ABC News

>>>Click Here To View Original Press Release>>>

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); May 28, 2017 at 03:53PM

[touristguidebuzz]

Brazil’s Zika Emergency Is Over in a Hopeful Prelude to a Tourism Rebound

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, responsible for transmitting Zika had caused an 18-month-long public health emergency that also led to a downturn in tourism (despite the country hosting the Summer Olympics). Felipe Dana / Associated Press

Skift Take: Now that the health emergency has ended, the country's tourism industry and destination marketers ought to consider a coordinated ad campaign as a way to restore formerly high visitor counts.

— Sean O'Neill

Brazil declared an end to its public health emergency over the Zika virus on Thursday, 18 months after a surge in cases drew headlines around the world.

The mosquito-borne virus wasn’t considered a major health threat until the 2015 outbreak revealed that Zika can lead to severe birth defects. One of those defects, microcephaly, causes babies to be born with skulls much smaller than expected.

Photos of babies with the defect spread panic around the Western Hemisphere and around the globe, as the virus was reported in dozens of countries. Many would-be travelers canceled their trips to Zika-infected places.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others recommended that women who were pregnant shouldn’t travel to affected areas. The concern spread even more widely when health officials said it could also be transmitted through sexual contact with an infected person.

The health scare came just as Brazil, the epicenter of the outbreak, was preparing to host the 2016 Olympics, fueling concerns the Games could help spread the virus.

One athlete, a Spanish wind surfer, said she got Zika while training in Brazil ahead of the Games.

In response to the outbreak, Brazil launched a mosquito-eradication campaign. The Health Ministry said those efforts have helped to dramatically reduce cases of Zika.

From January through mid-April, the Health Ministry recorded 95 percent fewer cases than during the same period last year. The incidence of microcephaly has fallen as well.

The World Health Organization (WHO) lifted its own international emergency in November, even while saying the virus remained a threat.

“The end of the emergency doesn’t mean the end of surveillance or assistance” to affected families, said Adeilson Cavalcante, the secretary for health surveillance at Brazil’s Health Ministry.

“The Health Ministry and other organizations involved in this area will maintain a policy of fighting Zika, dengue, and chikungunya.”

All three diseases are carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

But the WHO has warned that Zika is “here to stay,” even when cases of it fall off, and that fighting the disease will be an ongoing battle.

Adriana Melo, the Brazilian doctor who raised alarm bells in the early days of the outbreak about a link between Zika and birth defects, said the lifting of the emergency was expected following the decline in cases.

“The important thing now is that we don’t forget the victims,” said Melo.

This article was written by Sarah DiLorenzo from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

[christusleeft]

New Post has been published on In de hemel is wél bier !

New Post has been published on http://bit.ly/2lDweDM

Adaptable Model Recommends Response Strategies for Zika, Other Pandemics

The 2016 Zika virus outbreak, along with recent outbreaks of SARS, bird flu, H1N1 and Ebola, underscore the importance of being prepared for and responding quickly to infectious diseases. Zika, in particular, poses unique challenges, since its associated birth defects and lack of preventive treatment currently threaten more than 60 countries.

During pandemics, scientists must race to investigate infection mechanisms, facilitate early detection and apply effective mitigations. Resources and policies for scientific, clinical and technical advances must be coordinated to enable rapid understanding of all aspects of an outbreak in order to minimize damaging impacts.

Eva Lee, professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech and director of the Center for Operations Research in Medicine and Healthcare, has developed a biological-behavioral-operational computer model to help policy makers choose the best intervention strategies to rapidly contain an infectious disease outbreak. Her analysis covers the dynamics of disease transmission across different environments and social settings. The modeling system gives on-the-ground policymakers critical information about how to mitigate infection, monitor risk and trace disease during a pandemic.

Lee presented findings and policy implications from her research on Feb. 16, 2017, in a briefing at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, Mass. The research has been sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Lee’s presentation gave the results for Zika using her model, described by public health experts as “a digital disease surveillance and response” tool. The tool, ASSURE, can use many types of data, including biosurveillance, environmental, climate, viral, host, human behavior and social factors. If genetic information for the disease carriers are available, they also can be incorporated. Lee explained how the modeling system provides the ability to predict disease spread, assess risk and determine effective containment methods. In addition, it can help public health leaders optimize deployment of limited resources to help prevent and reduce the extent of future outbreaks.

“The containment of pandemics is fundamental to preventing a global epidemic,” said Lee. “ASSURE is a computational modeling tool designed for real-time support. By accepting real-time data, the model produces predictions that are customized to reflect a specific environment, policy and human behavior on the ground.” Read more

[yooperwolf]

Make Zika virus precautions a part of your winter travel plans

CONTACT: Erica Quealy, 517-241-2112

Make Zika virus precautions a part of your winter travel plans

MDHHS confirms 69 cases of Zika virus among Michigan travelers

LANSING, Mich. – For many Michigan residents, the winter months often include travel to warmer climates. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is urging travelers to protect themselves from Zika virus while travelling to places with active Zika transmission. Zika virus is spread to people primarily through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which have not been found in Michigan, but are common in tropical areas and some parts of the United States.

This year, the CDC is making it possible for you to get travel updates about the Zika virus on the go. By texting PLAN to 855-255-5606, you'll receive helpful tips on how to:

Pack and plan for your trip.

Stay protected on your trip.

Stay healthy when you return home.

“Before you travel, find out if Zika virus is a risk at your planned destination,” said Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive with the MDHHS. “Pregnant women and couples who are planning to conceive in the near future should avoid nonessential travel to areas with active Zika virus transmission because infection during pregnancy is linked to serious birth defects and miscarriage. Travelers can prevent Zika virus infection by taking precautions to avoid mosquito bites.”

People who travel to an area with Zika should:

Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.

Stay and sleep in places with air conditioning or that use window and door screens.

If your plans include travel to more remote areas, take along a permethrin-treated bed net to use while sleeping.

Use EPA-registered insect repellents with one of the following active ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus or paramenthane-diol, or 2-undecanone.

To date, Michigan has confirmed 69 cases of Zika virus disease in travelers, including three pregnant women. In the U.S., over 1,200 pregnant women have been identified with possible Zika infection, resulting in 41 Zika-affected infants to date. MDHHS is participating in the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry, an effort to learn more about the effects of Zika virus infection during pregnancy.

All of the Zika cases in Michigan are travel related. While the virus is primarily transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, it’s important that residents of reproductive age are aware of the risks associated with sexual transmission of Zika virus. Zika can be spread through sex without a condom. Most cases of sexual transmission have involved people who had symptoms of Zika virus infection. However, recent evidence suggests that asymptomatic males may be capable of transmitting Zika virus to their sex partners. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for Zika.

Zika virus illness is typically mild. The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes) lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Zika has also been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), an uncommon condition of the nervous system following infections.

Zika virus is an emerging disease and recommendations are changing as new information becomes available. The CDC currently recommends the following for travelers:

Pregnant women should not travel to areas with active Zika transmission. If they must travel, they should take precautions to prevent mosquito bites.

For non-pregnant women who travel to areas with active Zika transmission, it is recommended they prevent pregnancy for at least eight weeks from symptom onset (if ill) or last possible exposure (if illness does not develop).

For men who return from travel, it is recommended they use condoms and avoid conception for at least six months - regardless of whether they develop an illness consistent with Zika virus disease.

Men who have been in an area with active Zika virus transmission and have a pregnant partner should either use condoms the right way every time they have sex, or not have sex for the duration of the pregnancy.

MDHHS is working closely with the CDC to find additional Zika cases in returning travelers or their partners, and is coordinating with local health departments to enhance mosquito surveillance programs. Additionally, the MDHHS laboratory has added capacity to test for Zika infection to help improve public health response time. For the most current information about Zika, visit www.cdc.gov/zika.

Statewide case counts and Michigan-specific information can be found on the MDHHS Zika webpage www.michigan.gov/zika. MDHHS will provide updates on the total number of cases statewide, including the number of pregnant women. Additional information about the cases will not be made available due to health privacy concerns.

National statistics about pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes are available on the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/pregnancy-outcomes.html.

For information about Zika in a specific Michigan county, contact the local health department.

###

ZikaReminder.pdf

[cassandradodds]

LabCorp Zika Virus Tests Reveal High Rate of False Positives

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced recently there has been an unusually high rate of false positive Zika virus test results. The Zika tests in question called ZIKV Detect had been performed by Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp). The FDA warns clinicians to not “jump to conclusions about the results” and to avoid unnecessarily alarming their pregnant patients.

The ZIKV Detect is a presumptive test, and should always be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or by qualified laboratories, according to Medscape. A presumptive test is used to establish the presence of a specific material, whereas, confirmatory tests are then used to identify and type a specific material or tissue.

Confirmatory testing may take up to a month, but if the CDC is informed that the sample came from a pregnant woman, the process can be sped up. Clinicians should inform the laboratory conducting the presumptive ZIKV Detect test whether the patient is a pregnant woman or not, so it can prioritize confirmatory testing by either the CDC or a qualified laboratory, Medscape reports.

FDA Warnings and CDC Alerts

The FDA said in a MedWatch safety communication, that clinicians should not rely on ZIKV Detect results as the only basis of “significant patient management decisions.” Pregnant women should not make healthcare decisions based on partial information, as the catastrophic potential birth defects resulting from the Zika virus are well documented. These possible birth defects include microcephaly and potential loss of pregnancy.

Potential Birth Defects from Zika Virus Infection

Microcephaly is when a baby’s head is much smaller than expected. Microcephaly can occur because a baby’s brain has not developed properly during pregnancy or has stopped growing after birth, reports the CDC website.

Babies with microcephaly can have a range of problems, depending on the severity of the condition. Microcephaly has been associated with: seizures, developmental delay, (such as problems with speech), or other developmental milestones (including sitting, standing, and walking), intellectual disability (potentially decreased ability to learn and function in daily life), problems with movement and balance, feeding problems, (for example, difficulty swallowing), hearing loss, and vision problems.

Personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP are actively reviewing potential lawsuits on behalf of individuals who are seeking legal information and advice. Parker Waichman law firm offers free, no-obligation case evaluations.

The ZIKV Detect is manufactured by InBios International and was designed with the intent of preliminary diagnosis. The test is made to spot Zika virus IgM (immunoglobulin) antibodies in human blood collected from patients with either signs, symptoms or history of Zika infection, or a history of residence or travel in an active Zika transmission area. The ZIKV Detect is the first commercially available serologic IgM test for the Zika virus and was approved by the FDA in August 2016. Other commercial laboratories as well as LabCorp have switched to ZIKV Detect from a CDC test authorized at the beginning of 2016, according to Medscape.

An immunoglobulin test measures the level of certain immunoglobulins, or antibodies, in the blood. Antibodies are proteins made by the immune system to fight antigens, such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins.

Confirmatory testing is necessary for both the CDC test and ZIKV Detect, and until now, most presumptive positive results from both groups have proven to be accurate. This has not, however, been the case with results of ZIKV Detect testing conducted by LabCorp, said the FDA. The CDC reported that the confirmation rate of presumptive positive results given by LabCorp through ZIKV Detect is less than 50 percent, reports Medscape.

It has not been determined whether the large number of false positives is associated to ZIKV Detect itself or LabCorp, the FDA reports. The agency noted that tests for Zika IgM antibodies are still useful for ruling out Zika virus exposure, but always require confirmation.

LabCorp Zika Virus Tests Reveal High Rate of False Positives

According to the Pan American Health Organization, Brazil has reported 109,596 locally-acquired cases of Zika virus infection since Zika was first reported to have been circulating in that country. Since 2015, 2,228 fetuses and infants were confirmed to have been affected by congenital Zika virus syndrome, according to Contagion Live News.

Although Zika virus is no longer considered to be a public health emergency of international proportion, it is still a tremendous threat to pregnant women and their developing fetuses. As time passes, more is being learned about the complications Zika can cause during congenital infection. For these reasons, continued surveillance and diagnostic and prevention efforts are imperative.

Legal Help for Zika Virus Defective Testing

Parker Waichman LLP has years of experience representing clients in personal injury lawsuits. If you or someone you know, has been affected by Zika Virus defective testing, you may have valuable legal rights. We urge you to contact Parker Waichman personal injury lawyers at 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).

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