Zika virus

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Illness That Caused 'Global Panic' Never Really Went Away

There's still no vaccine for mosquito-born Zika that struck in 2015; experts worry of future outbreak

(Newser) - In 2016, the United Nations declared that the Zika virus—a mosquito-borne illness that can cause serious neurological effects in newborns with infected moms— was no longer a worldwide emergency . But the virus didn't actually disappear: In fact, Medriva deems it a "silent threat still lurking." The...

Researchers Follow Zika Babies Looking for COVID Answers

Study follows kids whose moms were infected with mosquito-borne disease

(Newser) - Whatever happened with Zika? The outbreak in 2015 and 2016 was largely over by 2017, but its effects on babies whose moms were infected with the virus are still being felt. Some babies were born with microcephaly —a condition marked by an unusually small head and problems with brain...

Less Sinister Theory Emerges in Mystery Cuba Illnesses

Ailments coincided with increased fumigation for zika

(Newser) - A new study into the mysterious ailments that plagued US and Canadian diplomats in Cuba has come up with a theory far less sinister than a sonic attack. Researchers say fumigation for mosquitoes might be to blame, reports the Toronto Star . The study, commissioned by the Canadian government, found that...

Mosquito-Transmitted Zika Case Reported in Texas

It's likely the 1st such case in the US this year

(Newser) - Officials announced Wednesday what they believe is the first case of locally contracted, mosquito-transmitted Zika in the continental US this year, the New York Times reports. The case was reported in Hidalgo County, Texas, and the state health department says it probably was contracted "sometime in the last few...

Pregnant Women Told They Didn't Have Zika Get Bad News

DC lab messed up test affecting hundreds, with 2 women now told they tested positive

(Newser) - Almost 300 DC-area women who were pregnant last year likely breathed a sigh of relief when their tests for the Zika virus came back clean. Those sighs turned to gasps on Thursday when city officials announced the district's health lab had botched hundreds of tests and that two local...

A 'Likely' First in Texas: Zika Spread by Local Mosquito

Lone Star State would join Florida in having local transmission cases

(Newser) - Texas health officials knew it was "only a matter of time," and that time has arrived, they now say: The state has logged its first case of Zika likely spread by a local mosquito, the Guardian reports. This news puts Texas alongside Florida as the only other state...

13 Babies Had Heads of Normal Size. Then 11 Didn't
13 Babies Had Heads of
Normal Size. Then 11 Didn't
new study
Nov 24, 2016 8:56 AM CST

13 Babies Had Heads of Normal Size. Then 11 Didn't

Researchers find Zika can cause microcephaly well after birth

(Newser) - Even babies whose heads appear to be of normal size at birth can go on to develop microcephaly, according to new research out of Brazil. Writing in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report , scientists say that of the 13 babies they tracked who were born without any outward...

UN: Zika Isn't a Global Emergency Anymore

But UN is still preparing for a long fight against the virus

(Newser) - Acknowledging Zika is "here to stay," the UN health agency on Friday lifted a 9-month-old emergency declaration and prepared for a longer-term response to the mosquito-borne virus that can result in severe neurological defects in newborns whose mothers were infected, the AP reports. WHO officials were quick to...

Zika Virus Ravages Testicles of Male Mice
Zika Virus Ravages
Testicles of Male Mice
NEW STUDY
Nov 1, 2016 7:05 AM CDT

Zika Virus Ravages Testicles of Male Mice

Just 2 weeks post-infection, their testes shrank visibly

(Newser) - The Zika virus has been linked to microcephaly, or shrunken heads, in the infants of pregnant women who contract the virus, but it also decimates the testicles of males—at least in mice, report researchers in the journal Nature . Little is currently known about the impact of an infection on...

Mosquitoes Transmitting Zika in Another Fla. Neighborhood

5 people infected in 1-square-mile area north of Little Haiti

(Newser) - Florida health officials have identified another Miami neighborhood where mosquitoes have spread the Zika virus to people, the AP reports. Gov. Rick Scott's office announced Thursday that five people have been infected with Zika in a 1-square-mile area of the city just north of the Little Haiti neighborhood. According...

Man May Have Gotten Zika From Wiping Dad's Tears
Man May Have Gotten Zika
From Wiping Dad's Tears
STUDY SAYS
Sep 29, 2016 7:51 AM CDT

Man May Have Gotten Zika From Wiping Dad's Tears

Or from his sweat, which would make it first reported case of this kind of transmission

(Newser) - Mystery solved? An elderly Utah man who harbored exceedingly high levels of the Zika virus before he died in June, making his the first death in the continental US linked to the disease, may have passed it onto his son through his sweat and tears. That means the illness...

Congress Does Its Job, Dodges Shutdown in Last-Minute Deal

There's money for Zika, Flint

(Newser) - Acutely partisan and all but dysfunctional, Congress has completed its most elementary task after an intense weekslong struggle, finalizing a deal to fund the government just days ahead of a shutdown deadline, the AP reports. The legislation extends existing spending levels a mere 10 weeks, past Election Day, while finally...

84 Pregnant Women in Florida Have Tested Positive for Zika

At least 1 baby has been born with microcephaly

(Newser) - Not only are locally acquired Zika cases on the rise in Florida, but 84 pregnant women have tested positive for the virus in the state, including at least 15 who've already given birth, say health officials. It isn't clear how many of those pregnancies had complications, but doctors...

After All That, Zika Was a No-Show at the Olympics

WHO says no confirmed cases among athletes or spectators

(Newser) - "We told you so," the World Health Organization essentially announced Friday, stating that there were no confirmed cases of Zika contracted during the Rio Olympics, Good Morning America reports. According to the BBC , that goes for both athletes and spectators. WHO was criticized by a number of experts...

Paralysis Cases Rose in 7 Sites With Zika Outbreaks

But researchers still won't say Zika leads directly to Guillain-Barre syndrome

(Newser) - Earlier this month, Puerto Rico announced its first death from Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition causing temporary paralysis that, in this case, was linked to the Zika virus. Now incidences of Guillain-Barre are said to have risen in seven countries in tandem with outbreaks of Zika, per a study in the...

Theranos Can't Stop Getting in Trouble With FDA

This time for its Zika test

(Newser) - And the hits keep on coming for medical technology company Theranos . In an attempt to move on following a federal criminal investigation into its laboratories, Theranos announced it was submitting a Zika blood test for emergency-use authorization at the start of August, the Washington Post reports. Theranos claimed it successfully...

CDC: Our Zika Money Is Basically Gone

'The cupboard is bare,' says Tom Frieden

(Newser) - "The cupboard is bare." Not the most reassuring sentence when the speaker is CDC head Tom Frieden and what was formerly in the cupboard was the agency's Zika-fighting money. Congress has thus far failed to direct emergency funds to fighting the Zika virus, so the CDC rerouted...

3 Existing Drugs Might Kill Zika
3 Existing Drugs
Might Kill Zika
Aug 30, 2016 3:45 PM CDT

3 Existing Drugs Might Kill Zika

But scientists still need to do animal, human trials

(Newser) - The good news: Three drugs that already exist appear to be successful at fighting the Zika virus. The bad news: Scientists aren't yet sure if the drugs will actually work on humans who have the Zika virus, the Washington Post reports. The drugs—PHA-690509, a drug currently being tried...

Another Strange Zika First Reported
Another Strange
Zika First
Reported
Aug 26, 2016 4:02 PM CDT

Another Strange Zika First Reported

Virus transmitted sexually by man with no symptoms

(Newser) - US health officials on Friday reported the first case of Zika spread through sex by a man with no symptoms of the disease, the AP reports. In the other 21 US cases of sexual transmission, the virus was spread by someone who at some point had symptoms. The report details...

FDA Wants All US Blood Donations Screened for Zika

One unit of donated blood in Florida has tested positive

(Newser) - The FDA is getting even more serious about stopping the spread of Zika, recommending Friday that all blood donations in the US be screened for the virus, USA Today reports. Previously, it had recommended screening donations only in areas where Zika was spreading—mostly Florida and Puerto Rico. According to...

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