In
all this furore over the Zika Virus, including the cover-up by the Minister of
Health Horace Dalley as pointed out in my blog article entitled “Why
the Ministry of Health is covering up Local Transmission of Zika Virus in
Jamaica”, it looks as if I overlooked something super obvious.
Causation
does not equal correlation.
I
say this in light of the fact that Colombia has diagnosed some 3,177 Pregnant
Women with the Zika Virus and is now in a wait-and-see mode to determine if any
babies are being born with microcephaly as noted in the article “Colombia
Diagnose 3,177 Pregnant Women With Zika, But No Microcephaly”, published
Saturday February 6, 2016, The Jamaica
Gleaner.
Three
(3) in Colombia have died from the rare nerve disorder called Guillain-Barre
disorder with three other deaths being investigated as noted in the article “Three
Develop Rare Nerve Disorder After Contracting ZIKV In Colombia, Die”,
published Saturday February 6, 2016, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
So
despite the lack of the Zika virus being established as the true cause of these
conditions, the WHO (World Health Organization) to declare the Zika virus a
Global Epidemic, erring on the side of caution as noted in the article “Zika
Virus a Global Health Emergency, W.H.O. Says”, published Monday February 1st
2016 by Sabrina Tavernise and Donald Mcneil jr, The New York Times.
Which
makes me wonder.... is this panic is somehow being magnified by the media in
much the same way sunlight can be magnified by a glass bottle to burn an ant?
Media
sensationalization of the Zika Virus - Chikungunya might have already made us
immune
Ok,
some facts!
First
thing off the bat is the cases of microcephaly in Brazilian babies being
associated with the Zika Virus as noted first in my blog article
entitled “739
Zika Virus Cases in Brazil and 2 adult deaths - How Zika Virus is causing birth
defects in unborn Brazilian babies”.
This
is just a correlation as scientists have yet to establish causation; it could
be a case that microcephaly was always common to babies born to Brazilian
women, especially given their poor environmental track record.
Ditto
too reports of it being transmitted by body fluids such as from kissing, touching
or sexual intercourse as noted in the article “Active Zika found in saliva and
urine” published Friday February 5th 2016 By James Gallagher, BBC News.
We
simply do not know enough about the Brazilian cases as well as the mechanism by
which the Zika virus works to make such a declaration.
But
the travel bans are understandable and in fact, may end up boosting tourism
arrivals to Jamaica as reported in the article “Jamaica
Added To US Zika Travel Advisory List”, published Thursday February 4,
2016, The Jamaica Gleaner.
So
too are twenty eight (28) day blood donations from persons infected with the
Zika Virus as noted in the article “Zika
virus sees blood ban on donors returning to UK from Latin America”,
published Wednesday 3 February 2016 by
Adam Withnall, The UK Independent.
Secondly,
the symptoms of the Zika Virus, which take four (4) to seven (7) days after the
initial infection to manifest and last for up to four (4) weeks or longer, are
not much different from the common cold:
1.
Conjunctivitis
2.
Fever
3.
Headache
4.
Joint and muscle pain
5.
Rash
6.
Swelling of the lower limbs
7.
Weakness
In
fact, 80% of adults infected with the Zika Virus, as suggested by the video
above, show now outwards signs of being ill or suffer any adverse effects. So
even if the Ministry of Health cover-up as it relates to a local spread of the
Zika Virus is real, given that the Aedes
Aegypti mosquito can breed in swamps and stagnant water in gullies, does it
make a difference?
After
all, we'll soon be infected and recover just as quickly as we did from the
Chikungunya Virus as noted in my blog article
entitled “Minister
of Health comes clean on Chikungunya Virus Epidemic - 35 Official Cases as 60
percent possibly Infected and Medicines running low”, developing immunities
along the way.
Plus
there may be the possibility that if you had caught the Chikungunya Virus, you
already have immunities from the disease. This is good news for the vulnerable
as listed below:
1.
Babies
2.
Children suffering from an illness
3.
Elderly persons with other health
problems
They
will suffer, but not as badly as they did from the Chikungunya virus. Still
precautions such as changing ones diet to include more vitamin C and B12
supplements as explained in my blog article
entitled “Why
the US of A must fear Zika Virus as Dominica and Jamaica next by February 2016”,
will help you recover faster.
Also
the following precautions work just as well:
1.
Wearing long-sleeved clothing or long pants
2.
Using DEET insect repellents
3.
Sleeping under mosquito nets
4.
Removing or covering container that can
hold water
But
what if you cannot afford to purchase a DEET Insect repellant? Worse, how do
you apply it to your baby, as their skins are sensitive and might blister if
you rub DEET directly on their soft skin?
How to make you own
non-DEET mosquito repellant - Save money on protecting yourself from Zika
That's
right dear reader! You can make your own non-DEET insect repellant using the
following essential oils:
- Castor oil
- Catnip Oil
- Citronella Oil
- Clove oil
- Garlic oil
- Geranium
- iso-propyl alcohol
- Lemongrass oil
- Neem oil
- Pimento oil
- Rosemary oil
- Soy Oil
To
make the repellant, simply blend the above ingredients in pure iso-propyl
alcohol to a puree. Then leave to stand to seep for at least 2 days. After it’s
done seeping, strain using a fine mesh cloth, keeping the puree to make more
later.
The
alcohol suspension of essential oils is highly concentrated and will repel most
mosquitoes for at least three hours after application. Best of all, it won't
irritate the skin.
Combined
with the following precautions to reduce the breeding areas for the Zika Virus as
shown in the CARPHA
Yard Poster below, the chances of being bitten by an Aedes Aegypti mosquito carrying the Zika Virus will be greatly
reduced.
Still,
the Ministry of Health has to come clean on the local spread of the Zika Virus
as well as the fact that the Aedes
Aegypti mosquito can reproduce in stagnant water in gullies and slow-moving
streams.
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