Earlier this week, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finally unequivocally confirmed that the Zika virus causes microcephaly in infants – confirming what most scientists had long known. However, the story doesn’t end there because – in a new development – the Zika virus is also now known to cause autoimmune diseases in adults too. There is also alarming evidence that the virus can cause the deadly brain ailments meningitis and encephalitis in people of all ages.
What was a South American issue six months ago is soon to become a North American issue with an outbreak in the US this summer almost inevitable according to health officials. The virus is already infecting people in Puerto Rico and Mexico and – when one looks at the Zika virus map below – it’s easy to see why America is next. The map shows the likelihood of an outbreak.
The CDC is also on record for stating that the number of disease-carrying mosquitoes (named Aedes aegypt) is much higher than previous estimates. But, health officials have confirmed that the virus doesn’t need the nasty little insect to spread; it’s also a sexually-transmitted disease with the first confirmed case of male-to-male sexual transmittal announced Friday in Texas; a man recently returned from a trip became sick with classic Zika virus symptoms and infected his partner of 10 years who soon came down with the same symptoms. Blood tests confirmed that both men had the Zika virus.
Read the complete report here.
