Zika Virus is ‘Spreading Explosively’- Here’s what we know from the mainstream

[CONSPIRACYBUZZ.INFO]

A mosquito-borne illness called Zika virus is quickly making waves around the world after thousands of infected women gave birth to babies with severe brain and head underdevelopment in Brazil. As the disease spreads at a rapid pace, here’s what you should know.

The World Health Organization Is Very Concerned

Officials from the World Health Organization said on Thursday that the Zika virus was “spreading explosively” in the Americas and announced that they would convene an emergency meeting on Monday to decide whether to declare a public health emergency. “The level of alarm is extremely high,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the W.H.O., in a speech in Geneva. [New York Times]

Highly Affected Countries Have Begun To Warn Women To Delay Pregnancy For Years

In a stunning development in El Salvador, health officials have advised all women of reproductive age to delay pregnancy until 2018 due to concerns about possible birth defects linked to the virus. Earlier this month, the El Salvador Health Department disclosed they had found 492 Zika cases. [ABC News]

Zika Can Cause Severe Brain Damage And Paralysis If Transmitted To A Fetus

Fear began after Zika was connected to brain development in babies:

Those infected with Zika during pregnancy appear to be able to transmit the virus to their fetuses. In some cases, this may lead to microcephaly, a terrible congenital condition that’s associated with a small head and incomplete brain development. Babies born with microcephaly have a limited life expectancy and poor brain function. [Vox]

Last week it was announced that Zika may also cause the paralytic condition Guillain-Barré Syndrome:

With GBS, a person typically will lose strength in the legs at first; for some, the problem progresses in an “ascending” manner, meaning that the arms and the muscles of breathing may be next affected. Thankfully, for most patients, this severe form does not develop. If a patient—even one with paralyzed breathing muscles — can be stabilized, including support with a ventilator if needed, most will survive. [The Daily Beast]

New Evidence Suggests That It Could Also Be Sexually Transmitted

Zika virus has already been linked to brain damage in babies and paralysis in adults. Now scientists are facing another ominous possibility: that on rare occasions, the virus might be transmitted through sex. The evidence is very slim; only a couple of cases have been described in medical literature. But a few experts feel the prospect is disturbing enough that federal health officials should inform all travelers, not just pregnant women, of the potential danger. [The New York Times]

Concern Began After Thousands Of Cases Were Reported In Brazil

Brazil has reported 3,893 suspected cases of microcephaly, the WHO said last Friday, over 30 times more than in any year since 2010 and equivalent to 1-2 percent of all newborns in the state of Pernambuco, one of the worst-hit areas. [Reuters]

Now, Cases Are Being Tracked In The US

Already, one pregnant woman who likely contracted the virus in Brazil in May 2015 later gave birth to a baby in Hawaii suffering from microcephaly. On January 25 the World Health Organization said that Zika would spread throughout the Americas because the mosquitoes that transmit it are everywhere except in Chile and Canada.  [Scientific American]

And The CDC Has Warned Pregnant Travelers To Avoid Highly Affected Countries

Pregnant women should not travel to Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Guyana, Cape Verde and Samoa because of Zika virus, the CDC said Friday … This comes on the heels of last week’s travel alert from the CDC recommending pregnant women postpone travel to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. [CNN]

Read more and watch videos on: CONSPIRACYBUZZ.INFO