Person to person Zika virus transmission
The title of a Eurosurveillance article, “An autochthonous case of Zika due to possible sexual transmission, Florence, Italy, 2014” was written to make the headlines. The title should be “An autochthonous case of Zika due to person to person contact, Florence, Italy, 2014.”
An Italian man returns from a 10 day holiday in Thailand and a day later develops a rash with fever and headache. Within 6 days the rash has subsided. About two weeks later his girlfriend develops a similar disease. As this was 2014 no one looked for Zika virus and both were presumed to have dengue virus infection.
The serum...
Source: virology blog - February 26, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information person to person transmission sex sexual transmission viral virus zika virus Source Type: blogs
This inspiring doctor proved Zika virus doubters wrong
I recently told you of my admiration for Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the Michigan pediatrician and epidemiologist whose strong research and advocacy was able to finally bring a shining light to the problem of lead in the water supply of Flint.
Continuing with a theme, I now bring you the story of Dr. Adriana Melo of Campina Grande, Brazil.
Dr. Melo is an OB-GYN who subspecializes in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM), the branch of obstetrics that deals with high-risk pregnancies.
She lives and works in northeast Brazil, which is less populous and more economically challenged than the southern, more well-known parts of the country...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 25, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: John Schumann, MD Tags: Conditions Infectious disease Source Type: blogs
On the Blog
Donald Trump’s Healthcare Problem by Roger Collier
How Not to Research ACOs by Kip Sullivan
Apple and the 3 Kinds of Privacy Policies by Adrian Gropper, MD
A Better Pathway to Acute Care by Karen Sibert, MD
Electronic Health Records: From Ebola to Zika, Fighting the Last War by Shira Fischer
CMS Is the Reason We Have so Little Useful ACO Research by David Introcaso
Why We Have so Little Useful Research on ACOs by Kip Sullivan
Why I Don’t Believe In Science by Michel Accad, MD
Dear Madam/Mister Future President by Margalit Gur-Arie
The Trump Healthcare Interview by Ian Morrison
Matthew Holt: Seth Sternberg talks about...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 24, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Zika virus and the fetus
An epidemic of Zika virus infection began in Brazil in April 2015, and six months later there was a surge in the number of infants born with microcephaly. Confirming that Zika virus causes microcephaly will require much more information than is currently available. So far there have been few isolations of Zika virus RNA from microcephalic fetuses or amniotic fluid.
A single case report revealed the entire Zika virus genome in fetal brain tissue from a 25 year old who developed fever, muscle and eye pain, and rash during the 13th week of gestation in Natal, Brazil. The fetus was aborted at 28 weeks of gestation when...
Source: virology blog - February 24, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information amniotic fluid fetus microcephaly viral virus viruses Zika Source Type: blogs
Zika: Time for the next wave of sensationalized worry
by Craig Klugman, Ph.D.
On the season (series?) finale of the X-Files (Season 10, episode 6) this week, all of humanity is being attacked by the Spartan virus, a disease that seems to turn off the human immune system and permits other diseases to kill us. This episode is built on our fears of an inevitable worldwide pandemic and, of course, the recent concerns over Zika virus.
Zika is a virus spread by the Aedes mosquito. An adult who is infected may experience a “mild fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache.” Zika has been known since 1947 when the virus was found in a rhesus mac...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - February 23, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Craig Klugman Tags: Featured Posts Politics Public Health emerging infectious disease epidemiology Zika Source Type: blogs
10 simple facts about Zika virus
1. Zika is an infectious disease caused by a virus and transmitted by mosquitoes. It is one of four worrisome viral infections that have spread rapidly across the world recently including dengue, chikungunya, and West Nile virus, all of which are transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks. The most dangerous mosquito type is the one that spreads yellow fever (Aedes).
2. Though Zika is mostly spread by mosquito bites, there is emerging evidence that it may be sexually transmitted from men to women (not vice versa) as well as blood transfusions and during labor. The Zika virus can live in urine and saliva but so far there in no evid...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 23, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tanu S. Pandey, MD Tags: Conditions Infectious disease Source Type: blogs
On the Blog
Apple and the 3 Kinds of Privacy Policies by Adrian Gropper, MD
A Better Pathway to Acute Care by Karen Sibert, MD
Electronic Health Records: From Ebola to Zika, Fighting the Last War by Shira Fischer
CMS Is the Reason We Have so Little Useful ACO Research by David Introcaso
Why We Have so Little Useful Research on ACOs by Kip Sullivan
Why I Don’t Believe In Science by Michel Accad, MD
Dear Madam/Mister Future President by Margalit Gur-Arie
The Trump Healthcare Interview by Ian Morrison
The Radiology Report by Saurabh Jha, MD
Can the Exchanges Be Saved? by Michael Turpin
Matthew Holt: Seth Sternberg talks about Honor (...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 22, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
No, DDT won’t save us from the Zika virus
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last decade-plus of blogging about medicine and alternative medicine, it’s that any time there is an outbreak or pandemic of infectious disease, there will inevitably follow major conspiracy theories about it. It happened during the H1N1 pandemic in the 2009-2010 influenza season, the Ebola outbreak in late… (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - February 22, 2016 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Biology Medicine Politics Popular culture Source Type: blogs
Apple and the 3 Kinds of Privacy Policies
By ADRIAN GROPPER, MD
Why Are Apple’s Competitors Staying Silent On the iPhone Unlocking Fight? is the question of the day on tech blogs. The answer is hardly technical and may not be legal, it’s all about privacy policies and business strategy and it is very evident in healthcare.
There are three classes of privacy policy in healthcare and everywhere else:
Class 1 – “Apple will not see your data.” This is Apple’s privacy policy for ResearchKit and HealthKit and apparently for whatever data the FBI is hoping to read from the terrorist’s phone. Obviously, in this case the person is in complete control...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 22, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: THCB Source Type: blogs
LITFL Review 220
Welcome to the 220th LITFL Review! Your regular and reliable source for the highest highlights, sneakiest sneak peeks and loudest shout-outs from the webbed world of emergency medicine and critical care. Each week the LITFL team casts the spotlight on the blogosphere’s best and brightest and deliver a bite-sized chuck of FOAM.
The Most Fair Dinkum Ripper Beauts of the Week
The world is buzzing about Zika Virus. Found out what you need to know this week from emDocs. [MG]
Interesting perspective on the Zika virus in this week’s NEJM, describing the “pandemic expansion of multiple, heretofore relatively unimport...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - February 21, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Marjorie Lazoff, MD Tags: Education LITFL review Source Type: blogs
On the Blog
Electronic Health Records: From Ebola to Zika, Fighting the Last War by Shira Fischer
CMS Is the Reason We Have so Little Useful ACO Research by David Introcaso
Why We Have so Little Useful Research on ACOs by Kip Sullivan
Why I Don’t Believe In Science by Michel Accad, MD
Dear Madam/Mister Future President by Margalit Gur-Arie
The Trump Healthcare Interview by Ian Morrison
The Radiology Report by Saurabh Jha, MD
Can the Exchanges Be Saved? by Michael Turpin
Interoperability Form and Function: Interview with Doug Fridsma by Leonard Kish
The Search For the Elixir of Life by Tom Emerick
Matthew Holt: Seth Sternberg talks...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 21, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
TWiV 377: Chicken with a side of Zika
On episode #377 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiVniks review the past week’s findings on Zika virus and microcephaly, and reveal a chicken protein that provides insight on the restriction of transmission of avian influenza viruses to humans.
You can find TWiV #377 at microbe.tv/twiv, or you can listen below.
Click arrow to play
Download TWiV 377 (70 MB .mp3, 95 min)
Subscribe (free): iTunes, RSS, email (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - February 21, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology amniotic fluid ANP32A avian influenza H5N1 host protein host restriction larvicide microcephaly ocular defects pyriproxifen RNA polymerase semen species restriction TORCH viral virus viruses zika v Source Type: blogs
Current Wisdom: Swatting Away the Zika/Climate Change Connection
The Current Wisdom is a series of occasional articles in which Patrick J. Michaels and Paul C. “Chip” Knappenberger, from Cato’s Center for the Study of Science, review interesting items on global warming in the scientific literature or of a more technical nature. These items may not have received the media attention that they deserved or have been misinterpreted in the popular press.
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We hardly need a high tech fly-swatter (although they are fun and effective) to kill this nuisance—it’s so languorous that one can just put their thumb over it and squish.
Jeb Bush’s candidacy? No, rather the purported connect...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 19, 2016 Category: American Health Authors: Paul C. "Chip" Knappenberger, Patrick J. Michaels Source Type: blogs
Electronic Health Records: Yesterday's Ebola and Today's Zika
Electronic health records in U.S. hospitals are not yet prompting for screening questions related to Zika virus. Why? The existing system is too slow to respond and when it does, it finds itself chasing the past. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - February 18, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: RAND Corporation Source Type: blogs
Electronic Health Records: From Ebola to Zika, Fighting the Last War
By SHIRA FISCHER
When I showed up at the obstetrical urgent care unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the care I received was swift and appropriate. I saw a nurse quickly and a doctor soon after. They asked relevant questions and immediately put a plan for further evaluation in place. Only then did the nurse turn to the computer to enter everything into the electronic record. As she worked her way through the required documentation, she asked several more questions. Any allergies that weren’t already in the system? Surgeries she should note? And, of course, importantly, had I been to an Ebola-infected country recently...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 17, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: THCB Source Type: blogs
