Zika Virus

Playa Escondida is currently mosquito free and all our rooms have mosquito nets or screens and a/c. It is not mosquito season and we are regularly fumigating to ensure that we remain free of mosquitos.

October 25, 2016 (The Washington Post)
RIO DE JANEIRO — Nearly nine months after Zika was declared a global health emergency, the virus has infected at least 650,000 people in Latin America and the Caribbean, including tens of thousands of expectant mothers.

But to the great bewilderment of scientists, the epidemic has not produced the wave of fetal deformities so widely feared when the images of misshapen infants first emerged from Brazil.

Instead, Zika has left a puzzling and distinctly uneven pattern of damage across the Americas. According to the latest U.N. figures, of the 2,175 babies born in the past year with undersize heads or other congenital neurological damage linked to Zika, more than 75 percent have been clustered in a single region: northeastern Brazil.

The pattern is so confounding that health officials and scientists have turned their attention back to northeastern ­Brazil to understand why Zika’s toll has been so much heavier there. They suspect that other, underlying causes may be to blame, such as the presence of another ­mosquito-borne virus like chikungunya or dengue. Or that environmental, genetic or immunological factors combined with Zika to put mothers in the area at greater risk.

However, after completing tests alongside experts from the CDC, two cases were confirmed to be caused by Zika contracted by the mother. Another 16 diagnoses were ruled out as being linked to Zika, and the others are still being studied, they said.

April 14, 2016 (Wall Street Journal)
In a news conference Thursday, Colombian health officials said they have identified 33 reported cases of microcephaly in Colombia this year, unchanged from the country’s usual average.

However, after completing tests alongside experts from the CDC, two cases were confirmed to be caused by Zika contracted by the mother. Another 16 diagnoses were ruled out as being linked to Zika, and the others are still being studied, they said.

CBC News (Canadian Broadcasting Company)

April 6, 2016 (Reuters)
"The number of confirmed and suspected cases of microcephaly in Brazil associated with the Zika virus declined to 5,092 in the week through April 2, from 5,235 a week earlier, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday."

"Of these, the number of confirmed cases climbed to 1,046 from 944 a week earlier, but suspected ones under investigation fell to 4,046 from 4,291 in the same period."

"Cases that have been ruled out rose to 1,814 in the week through April 2, from 1,541 a week earlier, the ministry said."

Our note: At the present rate of confirmed cases of microcephaly in Brazil we could expect about 2400 confirmed cases of the 6000 cases initially reported which would be about 8 per 10,000 births given that Brazil has about 3 million births per year. This compares with the U.S. rate of about 6 microcepahly cases per 10,000 births (American Academy of Neurology).

March 16, 2016 (The Guardian)
About one in 100 women infected by the Zika virus in early pregnancy may be at risk of having a baby with microcephaly, according to a new study of an epidemic that occurred in French Polynesia.

Although the risk that they calculate through mathematical modeling – 1% – is low by comparison with a virus such as rubella which causes birth defects in 50% of women infected in early pregnancy, the attack rate of the Zika virus itself is very high.

There may be other co-factors in Brazil, where the rise in cases of microcephaly has triggered an international alert from the World Health Organisation. But if the findings from French Polynesia are applicable, “in Latin America right now we are speaking about relatively small risks which apply to a very large population of pregnant women,” said Professor Arnaud Fontanet, co-author of the study, from the Institut Pasteur in Paris.

March 2, 2016 (AP)
According to the Washington Post today, "Out of every 10,000 live births in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 2 to 12 babies are born with microcephaly. In Brazil, where care for pregnant women is much less extensive, official statistics from previous years show a rate of 0.5 per 10,000. That means the country could have had thousands of undocumented cases."

Given that there is a serious birth defect problem in Brazil as a result of generally poorer health and prenatal care than in the United States (microcephaly can have many causes, including toxins, various infectious agents such as syphilis and rubella, or maternal alcohol or drug abuse), most health experts agree that the numbers for microcephaly in Brazil should be higher than those in the U.S.

There are about 3 million births in Brazil each year. This would make us expect 3600 or more microcephaly cases per year in Brazil. Since October 22 of last year there are 641 confirmed cases of microcephaly in Brazil which is about 6 per 10,000 births. That figure will increase as more suspected cases are evaluated but is not expected to pass 2300 confirmed cases for this period or 7000 per year which would be 23 cases per 10,000 live births. This is still a high rate but not unrealistic given the general health conditions in much of Brazil.

The suspected link between Zika and microcephaly continues to vex scientists. Health authorities have said that definitive proof, or disproof, of the connection won’t be possible for several more months.

February 25, 2016 (New York Times)
"It's a global scandal. Brazil has created a worldwide panic," said Alexandre Dias Porto Chiavegatto Filho, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Sao Paulo, one of the most-respected universities in Latin America. "I'm not saying that Zika is not causing microcephaly, but I am saying that the ministry has yet to present any scientifically credible evidence to support that conclusion."

Chiavegatto and others argue there are still too many unanswered questions to blame Zika. Why are the vast majority of the cases of microcephaly being reported in Brazil? Why haven't they also shown up in proportional numbers in other countries hit hard by Zika, such as Colombia? (The answer, some say, is that Brazil was hit by Zika first, and microcephaly cases might be expected to crest elsewhere in the months ahead.)

And how can conclusions be drawn from government statistics that are flawed and possibly vastly underreported in the past, before Brazilian officials required doctors to report microcephaly cases?

In an article published Wednesday by the Annals of Internal Medicine, 14 Brazilian and American researchers said the link between Zika and microcephaly "remains presumptive." The strongest evidence is circumstantial, they said, and there are challenges in confirming the connection.

February 20, 2016 (AP)
One of the puzzling questions facing researchers: Why have so many severe health problems been reported in Brazil, but comparatively few in other Latin America or Caribbean countries with Zika? Will we soon see similar spikes elsewhere, or is the Brazilian setting somehow unique? Health officials are closely watching Colombia, which had a Zika outbreak after Brazil and so far has not seen a spike in microcephaly cases.

February 17, 2016 (Guardian News)
Doubts about the causes continue to spark controversy. This week, the state government of Rio Grande do Sul in the south of Brazil banned the use of the larvicide pyriproxyfen after a report by the Argentinian group Physicians in Crop-Sprayed Towns suggested it might be causing the foetal brain deformities. Brazilian health authorities and the larvicide’s makers – Monsanto and Sumitomo Chemical – said there was no scientific basis for this claim. But Leslie Lobel, one of the world’s leading virologists (chair of the virology department at Ben-Gurion University) said there was a strong possibility pesticides could be involved and this needed to be studied.

February 13, 2016 (Reuters)
More than 5,000 pregnant Colombian women are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the country's national health institute said on Saturday.

There are so far no recorded cases of Zika-linked microcephaly in Colombia, the government has said. Officials are still examining figures from countries such as Brazil, but say Colombia can expect between 500 and 600 cases this year.

Much remains unknown about Zika, including whether the virus actually causes microcephaly.

February 12, 2016
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos stated last Saturday that there's no evidence Zika has caused any cases of microcephaly in his country, though 3,177 pregnant women have been diagnosed with the virus.

CDC researchers are fanning out across Central and South America to gather data on the crisis that has been centered in Brazil, and will independently check Santos' claim, said Dr. Edward McCabe, senior vice president and medical director of the March of Dimes.

"Hopefully, we will have information coming through CDC to confirm or not to confirm" Santos' remarks, McCabe said. "If that statement is true, it would be good news. But then we would be left with why are they seeing microcephaly in Brazil and not in other countries."

February 12, 2016
The WHO today recommended "Women who are pregnant should discuss their travel plans with their healthcare provider and consider delaying travel to any area where locally acquired Zika infection is occurring."

Please note that the only part of Mexico where "locally acquired Zika infection is occurring" is in the extreme south of the country, about 1000 miles from here.

February 12, 2016
Some researchers in Argentina and Brazil are claiming that insecticides are the cause of the surge in microcephaly, not Zika. In particular they point to pyriproxyfen, a new larvicide, which was introduced in Brazil in 2014 and used extensively in the areas where most of the microcephaly cased have been reported. link to report

February 4, 2016
Mexico's Health Secretary, Mercedes Juan López, has urged the international community not to overreact to the presence of the Zika virus in Mexico, explaining that protocols are in place to control the Aedes mosquito population, by which the virus is spread.

Aerial insecticide sprays have been ordered throughout Chiapas which should help slow down the spread of the disease which is expected with the summer rainy season.

So far there are 37 confirmed cases of the virus in Mexico, 24 of which are in Chiapas where the most intensive mosquito eradication efforts are currently taking place.

Chiapas is about 1000 miles from Puerto Vallarta.

February 1, 2016
The World Health Organization on Monday said a surge in serious birth defects in South America was “strongly suspected” of being caused by the Zika virus and constituted an international health emergency. WHO meanwhile refrained from issuing travel warnings, although Chan hinted that pregnant women might want to avoid travel to Zika-affected areas, if possible.

Mexico now has a total of 18 confirmed cases of Zika. There are at least 18 cases reported in Oaxaca as well, however, they are not yet confirmed. Oaxaca is the state adjacent to Chiapas.

January 28, 2016
Mexico reported the first local transmission of Zika virus infection (Zika) in November 2015. Local transmission means that mosquitoes in Mexico have been infected with Zika virus, spreading it to people. Because Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes, CDC recommends that travelers to Mexico protect themselves from mosquito bites.

Playa Escondida is currently mosquito free and all our rooms have mosquito nets or screens and a/c. It is not mosquito season and we are regularly fumigating to ensure that we remain free of mosquitos.

Ten cases of Zika virus have been found in Chiapas, the extreme south of Mexico, near the Guatemala border, about 1100 miles from here.

We expect the virus to follow the rainy season up the coast. Normally the rains are expected to begin by May in the south and then by June or July they start here. We will keep you up to date on any new cases reported in Mexico.

Our first concern is for the safety of our guests so we will let you know if we have any further information which might affect you. If you are pregnant please consult your doctor to see if your baby would be in danger at your stage of pregnancy in the event you contracted the disease.