Zika

[Catskillady]

If I go on a Caribbean vacation and use caution by staying out of areas with excessive numbers of mosquitos and use

"Off" mosquito repellent spray will I be safe enough? I have been having monthly IVIG infusions for many years now.

[Kwenda]

Are you a gambler..?? Gambling with money is one thing but gambling with your health is something else..

Listed below are numerous topics regarding the new diseases that have arrived in the Caribbean.

( I have an interest here since I spent 35+ years of my life living in the Caribbean..)

ZIKA other damaging diseases now common in the Caribbean.

Concerns about Zika are growing alongside evidence that the virus can cause a variety of health problems. When pregnant women get the virus, their babies can be born with microcephaly, a condition in which an infant’s head is much smaller than average and which is associated with a number of neurological defects. There’s also growing scientific consensus that the virus can cause Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a disorder where the body’s immune system attacks the nervous system, which can lead to full-body paralysis, though most patients regain much of their mobility as they recover. Lab research has found evidence that Zika could be causing eye infections such as conjunctivitis, and recent studies in mice suggest that the virus could attack the adult brain as well.

fivethirtyeight.com/feature...

Uptick in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome raises concern among health officials

For some adults, Zika virus is a rashy, flulike nuisance. But in a handful of people, the virus may trigger a severe neurological disease.

About one in 4,000 people infected by Zika in French Polynesia in 2013 and 2014 got a rare autoimmune disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome, researchers estimate in a study published online February 29 in the Lancet. Of 42 people diagnosed with Guillain-Barré in that outbreak, all had antibodies that signaled a Zika infection.

sciencenews.org/article/sci...

Zika may harm grown-up brains.

The virus, which can cause brain damage in infants infected in the womb, kills stem cells and stunts their numbers in the brains of adult mice, researchers report August 18 in Cell Stem Cell. Though scientists have considered Zika primarily a threat to unborn babies, the new findings suggest that the virus may cause unknown — and potentially long-term — damage to adults as well.

If Zika targets newborn brain cells, adults may be at risk, too, reasoned neuroscientist Joseph Gleeson of Rockefeller University in New York City and colleagues. Parts of the forebrain and the hippocampus, which plays a crucial role in learning and memory, continue to generate nerve cells in adult brains.

In mice infected with Zika, the virus hit these brain regions hard. Nerve cells died and the regions generated one-fifth to one-half as many new cells compared with those of uninfected mice. The results might not translate to humans; the mice were genetically engineered to have weak immune systems, making them susceptible to Zika.

But Zika could potentially harm immunocompromised people and perhaps even healthy people in a similar way, the authors write.

sciencenews.org/article/zik...

Zika virus is capable of infecting the eye, according to a new study. The study, in mice, helps explain why some people with Zika virus develop eye disease, and suggests that contact with infected eyes may play a role in spreading the disease.

Researchers have found that Zika virus can live in eyes and have identified genetic material from the virus in tears, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study, in mice, helps explain why some Zika patients develop eye disease including a condition known as uveitis which can lead to permanent vision loss.

"Our study suggests that the eye could be a reservoir for Zika virus," said Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine and one of the study's senior authors. "We need to consider whether people with Zika have infectious virus in their eyes and how long it actually persists."

sciencedaily.com/releases/2...

Chikungunya Virus Outbreak, Dominica, 2014

Chikungunya is a dengue-like mosquitoborne viral disease that has caused outbreaks in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. St. Martin reported the first documented occurrence of autochthonous transmission of chikungunya in the Caribbean islands in December 2013.

Dominica reported its first case on January 17, 2014

wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/2...

Post-Chikungunya Rheumatoid Arthritis, Saint Martin

Despite initial brief improvement, the patient never totally recovered and subsequently chronic polyarthritis developed, which involved >10 joints, including interphalangeal joints, wrists, and knees. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs did not relieve the diffuse pain, stiffness, and swelling.

(niaid.nih.gov/labsandresour...

For more on this subject see these posts and links to more information.

Those contemplating a Caribbean holiday or cruise should take careful note.

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo.....

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo....

medpagetoday.com/Infectious...

medpagetoday.com/Infectious...

newsroom.doh.state.fl.us/wp...

healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

jama.jamanetwork.com/articl...

Dick

[Catskillady in reply to Kwenda]

Thank you very much for the helpful information. Although it saddens me to think of not going on our vacation I appreciate everything you said. I realize when given a choice I need to choose my health as a priority.

Again, many many thanks!

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero]

Might find the Yellow Book helpful as well, Chapter 8 deals with the immunocompromised traveller...

wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellow...

The CDC website has months of reading on the Zika virus...

cdc.gov/zika/index.html

[Catskillady in reply to Cllcanada]

Thank you very much, I will check out the link. Much appreciation for the response.

[virdieblue]

I ruled out the Caribbean, Mexico and Florida. If you live in the Catskills you know the need for winter sun! We're going to Hawaii where, so far, there is no local transmission of Zika.

I did read that there is a lemon eucalyptus spray that works.

The world is closing down...

Virginia

[Catskillady]

We do live in the Catskills, and the need for sun in February becomes overwhelming! I will look into Hawaii. Thank you so much for the response. Stay well!