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Paralysis syndrome rises along with Zika cases

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Albert View Drop Down
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    Posted: February 16 2016 at 6:30am
Quite honestly, the way the WHO is still denying a link between Zika and Microcephahly / GBS  is getting a little embarrassing for them in my opinion.   Of course the NEJM has done studies and see the link, and the CDC is basically stating the link, but the WHO?  No way will they admit it until after the Olympics.    The WHO continues to downplay.   A week after the Olympics, just watch.  The WHO will immediately confirm the link. 


Paralysis syndrome rises along with Zika cases

   
BERLIN -- A rare neurological disorder is on the rise in several Latin American countries that are also seeing an outbreak of the Zika virus, the World Health Organization said Saturday.

The U.N. health body in Geneva said in a weekly report that Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), which can cause temporary paralysis, has been reported in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Suriname and Venezuela.

The increase in Guillain-Barré cases is appearing in conjunction with the spread of the Zika virus to 34 countries and also with increasing cases of microcephaly, a rare condition in which infants are born with abnormally small heads.

However, the health agency said "the cause of the increase in GBS incidence ... remains unknown, especially as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus have all been circulating simultaneously in the Americas."

While "no scientific evidence to date confirms a link between Zika virus and microcephaly or GBS," the agency pointed out that GBS was also observed during the 2013-14 Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia.

In Brazil, which has been hardest hit by the current Zika outbreak, the state of Bahia in July reported 42 cases of GBS, 26 of them in patients with a history of symptoms consistent with Zika virus infection. In November, seven patients in Brazil presenting GBS were confirmed by laboratory tests to have a Zika virus infection, WHO reported.

"In 2015, a 19 percent increase in GBS cases was reported in comparison to the previous year" in the state of Bahia, the WHO said.

Symptoms of GBS include muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis which can last days or weeks.

Dr. Bruce Hirsch, an infectious diseases specialist at North Shore University Hospital, in Manhasset, New York, told CBS News that Guillain-Barré generally causes an "ascending motor paralysis" that starts at the feet and moves up towards the head.

"When it involves the muscles of respiration, people who have Guillain-Barré require a breathing machine in order to survive and get through experience," said Hirsch.

The syndrome is "very, very variable" from person to person -- some may just experience numbness in the feet while others may suffer complete paralysis. Most patients eventually recover from it, Hirsch said.

The Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes and the current outbreak has affected 34 countries, including 26 countries in the Americas, WHO said. Brazilian authorities estimate up to 1.5 million cases of Zika virus infection have occurred since the outbreak began, the agency said.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/guillain-barre-syndrome-paralysis-rises-along-with-zika-cases/
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 7:43am
http://beta.www.cbsnews.com/news/guillain-barre-syndrome-paralysis-rises-along-with-zika-cases/

The U.N. health body in Geneva said in a weekly report that Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), which can cause temporary paralysis, has been reported in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Suriname and Venezuela.

However,

the health agency said "the cause of the increase in GBS incidence ... remains unknown, especially as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus have all been circulating simultaneously in the Americas."

While "no scientific evidence to date confirms a link between Zika virus and microcephaly or GBS," the agency pointed out that GBS was also observed during the 2013-14 Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia.

comment: there needs to be more than just a rise in cases in these areas of GBS. As was reported and posted elsewhere there also has been a massive use of pesticide which may very likely be causing these deformities for almost two years at least.

https://birdflu666.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/latin-american-scientists-say-zika-pesticide-causes-microcephaly/

While the link between the mosquito-borne virus and microcephaly has yet to be scientifically proven, Argentinian and Brazilian doctors have suggested an alternate culprit: pesticides.

The report, written by the Argentine group Physicians in the Crop-Sprayed Towns (PCST), suspects that pyriproxyfen—a larvicide added to drinking water to stop the development of mosquito larvae in drinking water tanks—has caused the birth defects.

The authors said that the pesticide, known by its commercial name SumiLarv, is manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical, a Japanese subsidiary of Monsanto.

According to PCST, in 2014, the Brazilian Ministry of Health introduced pyriproxyfen to drinking-water reservoirs in the state of Pernambuco, where the proliferation of the Zika-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito is very high.

“Malformations detected in thousands of children from pregnant women living in areas where the Brazilian state added pyriproxyfen to drinking water is not a coincidence, even though the Ministry of Health places a direct blame on Zika virus for this damage, while trying to ignore its responsibility and ruling out the hypothesis of direct and cumulative chemical damage caused by years of endocrine and immunological disruption of the a acted population,” PCST said.

As it happens, the northeast state has registered the largest number of cases of microcephaly. Pernambuco, the first state to detect the problem, has roughly 35 percent of the total microcephaly cases across Brazil.

The reality is that it may take as long for them to get their act together and establish a "scientifically proven" link as it does for them to make a vaccine... years. Perhaps the old phrase primum nil nocere - First do no harm- might apply here.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/greekmedicine/f/HippocraticOath.htm

In attempting to stop the mosquito carrying Zika virus, they are causing many birth defects in children - the cure or prevention of the virus may be worse than the disease.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyriproxyfen

On February 13, the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul suspended pyriproxyfen's use, citing both Abrasco and PCST positions.[13][14]


"not if but when" the original Medclinician
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 8:34am
Originally posted by Medclinician Medclinician wrote:

comment: there needs to be more than just a rise in cases in these areas of GBS. As was reported and posted elsewhere there also has been a massive use of pesticide which may very likely be causing these deformities for almost two years at least.





Scientific studies have already indicated it.  There are numerous studies that have shown the clear link.  Don't listen to everything the WHO tells you.  They are the lone wolf in these claims of no proof.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1600651

All you can rely on are studies, and that's as good as it gets.  They have shown the link, plus increase with Zika.  Pretty clear at this point.  

Unless Zika learns how to speak and says, "yep, I'm the cause", this is as far as it goes.




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 8:45am
WHO says no link?  Maybe they should listen to the scientific community and get in the game here.  These stories are coming out daily. 


Brazil Zika virus: New link to microcephaly in babies

  • 16 February 2016


More evidence linking the Zika virus to birth defects in babies has been found, scientists in Brazil say.

The research team discovered the virus in the brains of two babies who only lived for 48 hours.

The mosquito-borne virus is thought to cause microcephaly in babies, who are born with damaged brains and abnormally small heads.

Brazil has about 460 confirmed cases of microcephaly, and is investigating about 3,850 suspected cases.

The virus has spread throughout Latin-America, but Brazil has been hardest hit.

Scientists told the BBC that samples taken from the brain tissue of the two babies showed that the Zika virus was still actively present.

The research was conducted by scientists from Rio's Federal University (UFRJ), Fiocruz Institute and Paraiba's Professor Amorim Neto Research Institute.

The scientists have been following the pregnancies of 10 women in the north-eastern state of Paraiba - the second worst-hit by cases of microcephaly.

One of the researchers who made the possible connection between Zika and brain defects, Dr Adriana Melo, told the BBC that cases she has seen in the north-east of Brazil "are never microcephaly alone" - but include other brain disorders such as dilated ventricles, calcifications and contractures to the joints.

The BBC's Julia Carneiro in Rio de Janeiro says that the findings add more evidence to results announced last week by scientists in the US and Slovenia who detected the virus in samples from other babies with microcephaly.

On Monday, a team at the PUC-Parana University in the south of Brazil also announced to have found the virus in tissues taken from babies with microcephaly who died after birth.

On Saturday Brazil said it was deploying more than 200,000 soldiers across the country to warn people about the risks of the virus.

President Dilma Rousseff has insisted the crisis would not "compromise" the Olympics Brazil is hosting in August.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35584953


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 8:49am
Keep in mind, should the WHO confirm the link, you will see flight restriction arguments arise the same day.  They are not about to let that happen.
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The WHO are out on a limb that's for sure.

Margaret Chan at it again
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LOPPER Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 6:20pm
Originally posted by Albert Albert wrote:

Originally posted by Medclinician Medclinician wrote:

comment: there needs to be more than just a rise in cases in these areas of GBS. As was reported and posted elsewhere there also has been a massive use of pesticide which may very likely be causing these deformities for almost two years at least.








Scientific studies have already indicated it.  There are numerous studies that have shown the clear link.  Don't listen to everything the WHO tells you.  They are the lone wolf in these claims of no proof.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056EJMoa1600651 - http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1600651

All you can rely on are studies, and that's as good as it gets.  They have shown the link, plus increase with Zika.  Pretty clear at this point.  

Unless Zika learns how to speak and says, "yep, I'm the cause", this is as far as it goes.









Albert after my bout with GBS I read everything there is to read about it. Interestingly enough chemical injury can mimic the exact symptoms of GBS. I don't arbitrarily discount the possible link between GBS and pesticides especially given the vast quantities as well as the various unknown and untested combined pesticides being sprayed in Central America.

Maybe there is a link between GBS and Zika, maybe there isn't.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 7:08pm
Good point Lopper.  I suppose what I'm asking is for the WHO to confirm that, "in some cases it can lead to".   Or perhaps something like, "although of course GBS can be linked to pesticides and toxins in the environment, we have also found a link to GBS and Zika virus. Although Zika is not the cause of all GBS in South America, some cases of GBS may result from a zika virus infection".  

My problem is that the WHO won't acknowledge even one case or a possible link whatsoever.  I'm not saying 100% of all GBS in the region is from Zika, but there has been a clear spike in this Zika outbreak.   Coincidence?   They have also tested numerous fetus samples, sample from preg mothers, babies, deceased babies, etc...  and many many show Zika present.  

I still think if they attribute any deaths or microcephaly to Zika, they will have to deal with flight restriction questions.     They don't want that after what happened with Ebola, is my guess. 


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 7:21pm
And as we're talking about this, the USA Today comes out with this moments ago.  They're all starting  to think the WHO is basically a joke with this.  So I'm not the only one.   I just already know why the WHO is downplaying and in denial, is the only difference.  The reason is about flight restrictions and the Olympics a few months away.   Nothing more nothing less.   After the Olympics the WHO will be confirming everything, but of course by that time Zika will be entrenched, Globally.


Scientists debunk theory linking pesticide, not Zika, to birth defects

USA TODAY 8:56 p.m. EST February 16, 2016

Experts debunked a theory this week that linked pesticides to an increase in birth defects thought to be caused by the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Brazil.

The theory gained traction among social media users after Argentine environmentalists issued a report linking the surge to pyriproxyfen, a chemical that kills mosquito larvae.

Pyripyroxyfen interferes with a mosquito growth hormone, preventing the larvae from developing into adults, said biologist Laura Harrington, professor and chairwoman of the entomology department at Cornell University in New York.

Brazil's Ministry of Health rejected any link between the chemical and the microcephaly outbreak, noting the World Health Organization deems pyriproxyfen safe for use as a pesticide.

Pyripyroxyfen has been used for decades, with no reports of increased birth defects, said Ernesto Marques, associate professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh, who is working in Recife, Brazil to study microcephaly.

"It's ridiculous," said Marques, of the purported link between the chemical and microcephaly. "These guys come out of the blue, and people believe them, with no evidence at all. It really shows the lack of science education among the public."

The WHO has said there is no definitive proof yet that Zika — spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito — causes microcephaly, a condition where babies are born with abnormally small heads. But researchers say the evidence of such a link is growing stronger.

Scientists didn't connect the Zika virus, discovered in 1947, to microcephaly until last fall when Brazil reported an increase in the birth defect. Doctors noticed the rise about six months after diagnosing the first cases of Zika, suggesting the virus infected the mothers in their first trimester of pregnancy, a critical time for fetal brain development.

Researchers found genetic material from the virus in the brains, placenta and amniotic fluid of several infants with microcephaly, including ones miscarried or aborted by women infected with Zika while pregnant.

A recent analysis of microcephaly cases in French Polynesia found rates of the birth defect increased there after a Zika outbreak in 2013 and 2014. No one noticed the spike until researchers went back to their records to look for it.

Research on Zika and the birth defect "overwhelmingly point to a virus as the cause of microcephaly," said Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The Argentine environmental group said on its website that cases of microcephaly have occurred only in places in Brazil where the pesticide has been used. But the Brazilian Ministry of Health said cases have increased across the board — even where the pesticide hasn't been sprayed.

The environmentalists called pesticide spraying from planes a "criminal, useless and a political maneuver" by governments to show they are taking action.

"The reason that the pesticide is found in areas with microcephaly is because it's being used to control Aedes aegypti and Zika," said Grayson Brown, director of the public health entomology laboratory at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. "The larvicide would not be used in areas lacking the mosquito vector. The whole notion is misplaced cause and effect."

The group opposes the use of genetically engineered mosquitoes, which scientists are testing as a way to reduce the insect population. It called the experiment a "total failure, except for the company supplying mosquitoes."

Brown said the environmentalists "are using this tragedy to promote their own agenda" against pesticide and genetic engineering.

"There's a lot of alarmism going around right now, and we would all benefit if it would get tamped down a bit," Brown said. "It is really quite irresponsible and counterproductive."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/02/16/experts-dismiss-claims-pesticide-not-zika-causes-birth-defects/80451116/#


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote arirish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2016 at 8:15am
Question: Can you imagine the uproar if they tried to put pyriproxyfen in the drinking water in the United States? Some people went nuts about Fluoride! If nothing else, just to be on the safe side, I'd stop putting it in drinking water!


Could chemicals — rather than the Zika virus — be to blame for birth defects in Brazil?

While the rest of the world is focused on hunting down mosquitoes with Zika, a group of doctors and researchers in Argentina has published a report making the provocative argument that a pesticide, rather than the virus, is to blame for the alarming number of birth defects being reported in Brazil.

The University Network of Environment and Health wrote that pyriproxyfen, which is added to drinking water to stop the development of mosquito larvae, may be causing something in the fetal development process to go awry when ingested by pregnant women and may be leading to the babies being born with microcephaly -- a condition defined by abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

That idea is one of a number of alternate theories about the cause of the crisis that has been making its way around social media in recent days and has prompted a swift rebuttal from health officials from the United States, Brazil and other regions.

[WHO says $56 million needed to fight Zika spread in coming months]

While authorities still can't definitively make a causal link between Zika and microcephaly, they have reiterated that the evidence -- including the presence of the virus in amniotic fluid and the strong geographic and temporal correlation between the cases and infections -- is strong and it's growing. The theory that pyriproxyfen is the cause, however, has no scientific basis, they said.

Still, at least one Brazilian state is taking the paper seriously enough to suspend its use of the chemical. Rio Grande do Sul Health Secretary Joao Gabbardo said that the "suspicion" of a correlation is enough, according to teleSUR, a pan–Latin American TV station sponsored by various governments. "We cannot run that risk," Gabbardo said.

At a workshop on Zika hosted by the National Academy of Sciences Tuesday, experts discounted the link between larvicide and possible correlation to microcephaly.

“I think there’s very limited application of larvicide, especially in the poor communities in Brazil where a lot of these cases are occurring,” said Scott Weaver, who heads the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Albert Ko, chair of the department of epidemiology of microbial diseases at Yale School of Public Health, who is conducting work on Zika in Brazil, said there is “very minimal” use of larvicide in Brazil’s northeast, hardest hit by the Zika epidemic. Larvicide is used in the rural and agricultural areas and not the urban centers where the Zika cases started.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/02/17/could-chemicals-rather-than-the-zika-virus-be-to-blame-for-birth-defects-in-brazil/
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Albert Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2016 at 8:47am
Zika could be a partial cover-up for that for all we know.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2016 at 10:24am
Don't be fooled by the explosion in dengue cases or the pesticides, these in my opinion may cause increased CNS disorders however its Zika that's the bioweapon and they are trying to cover their tracks by throwing a few wobbies, pesticides or dengue does not explain the increased incidences in microcephaly at the Oxitecs GM Skeeter release site, we see increased incidences everywhere Zika has previously visited, then the gene highlighted as SLC25A19 which causes a lethal form of microcephaly which is ideal for weaponization via a virus plus the recent autopsies the cite Zika as a cause microcephaly.

I suspect they thought nobody would oust Zika this early in the epidemic phase better to wait until after the Olympics and call it a pandemic instead.

There is a real possibility of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from the GM Skeeters to humans.
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