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Spring Pink and Blue 2016
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since january, the news of the
zika
virus
outbreak has changed rapidly. we?ve been told not to panic or really even be concerned unless we?re traveling abroad to countries where the
zika
virus
is prevalent. so unless we?re hopping down to rio de janeiro or planning a boat ride down the amazon, most of us have felt pretty safe. but in february, two cases of the
virus
have been confirmed in new orleans.
louisiana
is now on the
zika
map. also in february, the world health organization (who) declared the
zika
virus
a global public health emergency. in april, congress approved $600 million dollars for the obama administration to combat the
zika
virus
with research, development of vaccines, and targeting high-risk areas such as southern gulf coast states. and
louisiana
is one of these. so why are we so concerned when there have been only two confirmed cases?and most doctors say there are far more pressing concerns that we can control and should therefore focus on? in fact, only 20 percent of the people who contract
zika
complain of any symptoms at all, and when they do, the symptoms are like a mild case of the flu or conjunctivitis that only lasts about two to seven days. because the same
virus
passed on to newborns is devastating. ?e most common threat to a baby is microcephaly? a condition marked by skulls that are too small. ?e
virus
has now been detected in fetal tissue, amniotic fluid, full- term infants, and the placenta, according to the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists. ?e new england journal of medicine recently linked the
zika
virus
to pregnancy loss, placental insufficiency, fetal growth restrictions, central nervous system injury, microcephaly, and guillain-barre syndrome (gbs), a condition that causes the immune system to attack the body?s nerves, sometimes leading to paralysis or disrupted breathing. something to consider about those ?only two? cases that were reported in
louisiana
? ?ey were reported in the winter month of february. we haven?t even gotten to mosquito season yet. and because we had a ridiculously warm winter in south
louisiana
, experts predict a boon season for mosquitoes. ?e ?mosquito trucks? spraying insecticide have been given an early go-ahead to operate. and the summer olympics are in brazil, where the
zika
virus
has been prevalent. ?at means travelers will be coming and going from
zika
-infested regions. ?e mosquitoes that carry
zika
love this area. and just to put the icing on the cake, the cdc confirms cases where the
virus
has been transmitted sexually in addition to direct mosquito bites. wow. what has been a rather obscure threat has now become a looming one. so who should be concerned and what can we do? on the
zika
virus
by r.t. ripley t h e l o w d o w n 32 pink & blue | spring 2016
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