OT: Could chemicals — rather than the Zika virus — be to blame for birth defects in Brazil?

I dunno. On one hand pyriproxyfen, which is added to drinking water to stop the development of mosquito larvae, has been around for decades and is used extensively in the USA. Where are all of the microcephaly cases in the USA?

On the other hand Zika has been in Africa since 1947 and is not considered dangerous. There aren't any black Africans babies with small heads, so there might be something else in Brazil.

I am sure they will isolate the source of those microcephaly cases very soon.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/02/17/could-chemicals-rather-than-the-zika-virus-be-to-blame-for-birth-defects-in-brazil/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_tyh-zika-1100am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

“While the rest of the world is focused on hunting down mosquitoes with Zika, a group of doctors and researchers in Argentina has published a report making the provocative argument that a pesticide, rather than the virus, is to blame for the alarming number of birth defects being reported in Brazil.”

Post Edited (Coffeemate) : 2/18/2016 5:03:17 AM (GMT-7)

If it's endemic in Africa, maybe everyone is exposed in childhood. Perhaps it doesn't cause problems unless you first contract it while pregnant. Or maybe the virus has mutated.

Nope, nothing to worry about unless your pregnant. At worst, brief flu like symptoms. Yet another example of the news media scaring everyone spitless, over something unlikely to occur for the vast majority of the population. But I suppose it's a whole lot less of a sensational story headline when presented that way :-P

Truely horrible what it does to those babies though...

iPoop said...
Nope, nothing to worry about unless your pregnant. At worst, brief flu like symptoms. Yet another example of the news media scaring everyone spitless, over something unlikely to occur for the vast majority of the population. But I suppose it's a whole lot less of a sensational story headline when presented that way :-P

Truely horrible what it does to those babies though...

I didn't think so. My dad was going on about how he was in the Caribbean and he could have it, I was thinking, so? He's over 70 and not having babies.

Truly is devastating, the babies