3 ms·

In Brazil there were public recommendations for women about avoiding getting pregnant, specially in the NE region of the country. In a terrible use of words, t

In Brazil there were public recommendations for women about avoiding getting pregnant, specially in the NE region of the country. In a terrible use of words, the minister of public health "wished" that every girl got the Zika virus before beginning her... hum... "mature period", so that she would be protect before having any possibility of getting pregnant.

sandworm101 11y ago
Those don't sound like terrible words to me. That sounds like a rather practical approach. And he brings up an interesting dynamic. Perhaps this wave of birth defects is partially linked to mosquito eradication. With fewer bugs around, or at least people being bitten less often, fewer girls get the disease early. A childhood disease may be returning as something far more dangerous in adults, like chickenpox. That would seem a possibility worth investigating.
- schoen 11y ago
  Brazilians generally believe that the disease was first introduced to the country last year, which contradicts the hypothesis that acquired immunity used to be common. (I was in Brazil three weeks ago and talked to several people about zika.) Here is an item from European health authorities that agrees that the disease is new to Brazil. http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/rapid-risk-assessment-Zika%20virus-south-america-Brazil-2015.pdf http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/rapid-ris... Edit: the linked BBC article also states that it was first reported in Brazil in May 2015 (at least in recent years).
- sjg007 11y ago
  Would screening program for antibodies should resolve that?
- ufo 11y ago
  There are as many mosquitos here as there have always been... Its very hard to get rid of them in a tropical country.
Fomite 11y ago
While not phrased in the best way, wanting a disease whose major consequence is in pregnancy to have a very early average age of infection isn't particularly flawed. The same thing is true for rubella in countries without a robust vaccination program.

sandworm101 11y ago

Those don't sound like terrible words to me. That sounds like a rather practical approach. And he brings up an interesting dynamic. Perhaps this wave of birth defects is partially linked to mosquito eradication. With fewer bugs around, or at least people being bitten less often, fewer girls get the disease early. A childhood disease may be returning as something far more dangerous in adults, like chickenpox. That would seem a possibility worth investigating.

schoen 11y ago
Brazilians generally believe that the disease was first introduced to the country last year, which contradicts the hypothesis that acquired immunity used to be common. (I was in Brazil three weeks ago and talked to several people about zika.) Here is an item from European health authorities that agrees that the disease is new to Brazil. http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/rapid-risk-assessment-Zika%20virus-south-america-Brazil-2015.pdf http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/rapid-ris... Edit: the linked BBC article also states that it was first reported in Brazil in May 2015 (at least in recent years).
sjg007 11y ago
Would screening program for antibodies should resolve that?
ufo 11y ago
There are as many mosquitos here as there have always been... Its very hard to get rid of them in a tropical country.

Fomite 11y ago

While not phrased in the best way, wanting a disease whose major consequence is in pregnancy to have a very early average age of infection isn't particularly flawed. The same thing is true for rubella in countries without a robust vaccination program.