My Thoughts on Technology and Jamaica: How Imperial College London Study reveals Zika Virus Infection ending in 3 years thanks to Rio Olympics 2016

Monday, July 18, 2016

How Imperial College London Study reveals Zika Virus Infection ending in 3 years thanks to Rio Olympics 2016

“The current explosive epidemic will burn itself out due to a phenomenon called herd immunity. Because the virus is unable to infect the same person twice -- thanks to the immune system generating antibodies to kill it -- the epidemic reaches a stage where there are too few people left to infect for transmission to be sustained”

Professor at Imperial's School of Public Health, Dr. Neil Ferguson, commenting on the spread of the Zika Virus

Zika Virus sufferers in Jamaica don't have much to rejoice about these days! For one, it's spreading rapidly across the island unchecked as the symptoms are so mild as to be unnoticeable.

Now comes word from the Imperial College London that the infected will end in the next three (3) years as reported in “Zika epidemic should fizzle out within 3 years: study”, published Thursday, July 14, 2016, The Jamaica Observer

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According to the scientists, in a study published in the US Journal Science, Globalization will make the disease spread rapidly. However, thanks to the fact that the infected rapidly develope immunities to the Zika Virus, the virus will soon run out of people to infect, a phenomenon known as herd immunity.

Eventually, the rate of infection will burn itself out in three (3) years tops. Even more interestingly, even if the Zika Virus mutates, thanks to this herd immunity, it'll be a decade before it can infect anyone at this global level again.

Mosquito control a bad idea, says Imperial College London – Increases chances of Zika Virus Mutations

Even more interesting are the study’s observation on mosquito control methods such as my crazy idea for a super-sized Carbon Dioxide Generator Mosquito Trap as explained in my blog article entitled “How to kill Zika and Yellow Fever mosquitoes using a Carbon Dioxide Generator Mosquito Trap”.
                               
According to the scientists at the Imperial College London, any such mosquito control method, even using natural chemicals such as Garden croton, Tawa-tawa and Lemon grass as described in my blog article entitled “How Garden croton, Tawa-tawa and Lemon grass can be used to kill Aedes Aegypti Mosquito Larvae” will help to prolong the Zika Virus spread, as they might promote mutations.

Worse, the vaccine might be pointless; by the time it passes clinical trials, thanks to herd immunity, there may not be anybody with the love virus in them in the next three (3) years even test the vaccine on, as we'll all have immunities, to quote Professor at Imperial's School of Public Health, Dr. Neil Ferguson: “If our projections are correct, cases will have dropped substantially by the end of next year, if not sooner. This means by the time we have vaccines ready to be tested, there may not be enough cases of Zika in the community to test if the vaccine works”.

CDC says Zika Virus Spread Low-risk – No pregnancies for three years will lower populations

This it makes sense that the CDC (Center for Disease Control) see the risk of a massive Zika Virus spread during the Rio Olympics 2016 as a low risk occurrence, as the rapid global spread may actual hasten the coming of Herd immunity and thus cause the Zika Virus to fizzle out in less than three years.

The Zika Virus may infect some 500,000 international visitors and athletes from 207 countries, but the probability of spread is also low due to cooler and drier weather expected in Rio de Janeiro, to quote the CDC: “Visitors to the Games are expected to have a low probability of mosquito-borne Zika infections because the Games will occur during the winter season in Rio de Janeiro (August 5-21 and September 7-18, respectively) when the cooler and drier weather typically reduces mosquito populations”.

Only countries with weak health infrastructure may be devastated by a further spread of the Zika Virus due to such a global travel event, namely:

1.      Chad
2.      Djibouti
3.      Eritrea
4.      Yemen

Still to avoid babies being born with microcephaly as noted in my blog article entitled “How the Zika Virus now connected to Microcephaly, acute myelitis and Guillain-Barré syndrome” pregnant women need not travel to the Rio Olympics.

Not to mention just avoid getting pregnant for the next three years, a phenomenon which may see a drop in birth-rates and population globally!


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