Looks like Zika Virus is now a serious threat in the
Caribbean.
Puerto Rico, one of the first countries infected
with th Zika Virus, has now reported their first case of microcephaly as
reported in “Puerto
Rico declares first case of Zika-related microcephaly”, published Friday,
May 13, 2016, The Jamaica Observer.
Puerto Rico Zika virus stats are grim:
1. 925
cases of Zika virus
2. 18
pregnant women with Zika virus
Microcephaly, a deformity where the baby is born
with an abnormally small head, has been linked to Zika virus in Brazil. Brazil
also has equally grim statistics since October 2015 according to the US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention:
1. 1,271
babies in Brazil with microcephaly
2. 235
babies dead from microcephaly
So how is Jamaica faring against the Zika Virus?
Ministry
of Health hiding behind numbers - IAES
to irradiate Male mosquitoes
So far, we've confirmed some eight (8) cases of the
Zika Virus since Friday April 29th 2016.
However, based on past experience with the
Chikungunya virus in 2014 as detailed in my blog article
entitled “Jamaican
Chikungunya Virus cover-up - JA$10,000 for Chikungunya Virus Test as Tropical
Storm Edouard boost Aedes aegypti Mosquito”, there may be way more Zika
Virus cases than is being reported.
So says Ministry of Health’s National Epidemiologist
Dr Karen Webster-Kerr in the article “Number
of confirmed Zika cases the ‘tip of the iceberg’”, published Friday, April
29, 2016, The Jamaica Observer.
Since Thursday May 5th 2016, plans are
apparently in the works to release genetically modified Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes to reduce their population as reported in
“Jamaica
To Participate In Genetically Engineered Mosquito Pilot Project”, Published
Thursday May 5, 2016, The Jamaica Gleaner.
According to Medical entomologist in the ministry,
Sherine Huntley Jones, the idea is being led by the IAEA (International Atomic
Energy Agency). The IAES will help Jamaica and other participating countries to
irradiate male mosquitoes in much the same way they irradiate male screw worm larvae
to produce sterile males.
When these males mate with females, they produce
eggs that do not hatch, thereby reducing the population of mosquitoes in
Jamaica. Because irradiation damages the male Aedes Aegypti Mosquito genetic code, the mosquitoes can be siad to
be genetically modified.
Minister of Health, Dr. Christopher Tufton, however,
has not signed off on this idea as stated in the article “Jamaica
not yet on board regarding irradiated”, published Monday, May 09, 2016, The Jamaica Observer.
So how does this differ from Oxitec’s genetically
modified Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes?
Cayman
Islands and Oxitec Genetically modified mosquitoes – Why irradiation is better
Since Thursday May 5th 2016 the Cayman
Islands has also been testing genetically modified Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes produced by the biotech company Oxitec as
reported in the article “Cayman
To Start Releasing Genetically Modified Mosquitoes In Disease Fight”,
Published Thursday May 5, 2016, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
This initiative, which is a partnership between
Cayman’s Mosquito Research and Control Unit and Oxitec, has resulted in the
mosquito population being reduced by as much as 96%, as confirmed by Cayman
Premier Alden McLaughlin.
Oxitec's tech kills the mosquito by using the Wolbachia
bacterium inside of the mosquitoes gut. This bacterium may potentially mutate
and start making animals ill and then possibly humans that consume meat containing
this bacterium.
I’m betting on IAEA use of irradiated mosquitoes to
do a better job in reducing the Aedes
Aegypti Mosquito population and bring the Zika Virus epidemic under control.
Irradiation and sterilization damages their reproductive capability and is
known to work with screw worms.
Hopefully the Ministry of Health and IAEA will start
their test trials of irradiated Aedes
Aegypti Mosquitoes so as prevent potential microcephaly deaths from Zika
virus.
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