The Obama administration has no immediate need for funding to combat the Zika virus because money remains unspent from fighting the two-year-long Ebola outbreak, a member of the Republican Senate leadership said on Tuesday.
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Researchers from Brazil found that some infants exposed to the virus had ocular defects including atrophied retinas, abnormal iris pigmentation and lens that moved out of place. The first of which is-its cold outside-and the preferred method for the virus to spread is through mosquitos-of which there are none now wandering the Hoosier state in the below freezing weather.
The World Health Organization declared an global health emergency on February 1 over the virus, citing concern over a possible link with a rise in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by an abnormally small head that can result in developmental problems.
Eye abnormalities that can threaten vision were detected in 10 of the 29 infants, according to the study published online February 9 in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
Brazil is investigating more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly and has identified evidence of Zika infection in 17 of these cases.
In this new study, the eyes of 29 infants with microcephaly were evaluated.
Second, even if it was summer the mosquito most commonly associated with Zika-the Yellow Fever Mosquito-doesn’t exist here. The optic nerve was also found to be abnormal in some of the infants.
He said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the National Institutes of Health have received additional funding.
“This idea of a virus contracted during pregnancy causing damage to the central nervous system is not a shocking finding”, Creech said. Zika virus disease has historically occurred in Africa, Southeast Asia and islands in the Pacific Ocean. Venezuela is reporting a jump in cases of a rare, sometimes paralyzing syndrome that may be linked to the Zika virus. Neither they nor the feds are suggesting any travel restrictions, with the exception of pregnant women since they remain the most vulnerable for further complications for themselves and their unborn child.
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“Prevention of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission is the same as prevention of any other mosquito-borne diseases”, DiOrio said. “Microcephaly may just be the tip of the iceberg”.
