Dreaded Zika Virus Arrives in New York

New York City health officials say three New Yorkers have contracted the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which can cause severe birth defects. All three had recently returned from countries in Africa and South America that have experienced an outbreak.

Some 80% of those infected with the Zika virus don’t even feel sick, and most who do have relatively mild symptoms such as a fever, rash, joint pain or pink eye. But the virus can cause neurological ailments, especially in fetuses and newborns. Brazil alone has reported more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly — a neurological disorder resulting in the births of babies with small heads — in infants born to women infected with Zika while pregnant.

Officials said one of the sickened New Yorkers is pregnant.

The disease is not believed to spread via human contact and the mosquitoes believed to carry it are not found in New York, so there is little worry the disease will spread in the city.

7 Comments

    • Ezra

      Yibbum doesn’t involve “ah-virus” – it’s a mitzvah! (Although mitzvas chalitzah kodemes, for Ashkenazim at least.)

  • Warm December

    I had a mosquito in my apartment just last month before the cold weather finally arrived. An interesting fact about the zika virus is that not only can mosquitoes give it to people, but people who have the virus can transmit it to uninfected mosquitoes who bite them as well. Hashem yishm’reinu.

  • wmn

    someone said that this is coming from Genetically Engineered, Modified mosquitos which Monsanto Corp is doing. I think people should know more about this if thats true

  • Not just pregnant women

    From Fox news:

    2. The virus doesn’t pose a threat to just pregnant women
    In addition to presenting a danger to pregnant women, we now have a cluster of cases in which the virus may be attacking the adult neurological system and causing inflammation of nerve roots in the spine. The result is a condition called Guillain-Barre, a nerve disorder that causes muscle weakness beginning in the legs that then spreads to the arms and face. It can cause patients to feel numb, have trouble walking, and experience limb paralysis. In severe cases, patients may require life support. While it can take a few weeks to recover, patients typically suffer from nerve damage.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) said authorities in El Salvador reported 46 cases of Guillain-Barre in just five weeks, from Dec. 1 to Jan. 6. The exact cause of this autoimmune system is unknown, but several patients who presented these symptoms also had those similar to patients of Zika. That alone should be enough to serve as a warning to others that we all need to be vigilant in protecting ourselves from mosquitos, not just expectant mothers. We should consider the travel warnings seriously, and take proper steps with insect repellent and covering exposed areas of skin.

    See:

    http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/01/27/dr-manny-3-serious-dangers-zika-virus.html

    • We need more information first

      How many people have historically been diagnosed with Guillan-Barre in the same five-week period in previous years?

  • Talk about terrorists

    Interesting how the Ribono Shel Olam runs this world.
    First, the big alarm was Islamic terror. Now, you have trillions of tiny terrorists, wreaking havoc all over the planet!