Our Blog
Zika travel warning issued for Miami neighborhood
Zika fears prompted US health authorities yesterday to issue a travel warning for a small section of Miami where local mosquitoes have spread the virus to 14 people, officials said."We advise pregnant women to avoid travel to this area," said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Tom Frieden, noting that the virus can cause the birth defect microcephaly.The area to avoid is inside a 1.6km section north of downtown Miami, a popular arts and restaurant district known as Wynwood.Women wh
…
5th Aug 2016
Wipe out Zika with army of modified mosquitoes
The Aedes aegypti mosquito.Cancelling the Rio Olympics would do little to slow the spread of the Zika virus. That horse has bolted: more than 60 countries and territories already have Zika. It will soon be almost anywhere that its mosquito host lives.Now that the link with microcephaly is well established, becoming pregnant in any country with Zika carries a small but real risk of birth defects for the baby.In the 1970s, troubled by the risks of using pesticides, we took our eye off the fight ag
…
23rd Jul 2016
Are itchier insect bites more likely to make us sick?
New research suggests we could
better understand mosquito-borne disease by looking closely at our itchy bites.Mosquitoes need blood.
Unfortunately, they often get that blood from us; some of us are bitten more
commonly than others. But mosquitoes aren’t flying syringes transporting
droplets of infected blood from person to person. The mosquitoes need to be
infected with a pathogen first before it can be passed on. And, more
importantly, the mozzie’s spit must be infected.Bites and bumpsWhe
…
23rd Jul 2016
Australia Equipped to deal with the Zika Virus
Published: 3:33 pm, Sunday, 31 January 2016As the devastating impacts of Zika virus hit Latin America, Australia is preparing for a potential outbreak.http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2016/01...Health authorities have linked the virus, which in itself is only a mild disease, to microcephaly - which prevents foetus' brains from developing properly.There is no vaccine, and if a pregnant woman contracts the disease there is a chance their baby could be born with the rare and debilitating
…
2nd Feb 2016
Zika Virus Concerns
Scientists are trying to genetically engineer mosquitoes to stop the rapidly-spreading Zika virusLYDIA RAMSEYJAN 20 2016, 5:04 AM
FACEBOOKTWITTERREDDITLINKEDINGOOGLE+A virus thatuntil this monthhad never been in the US has beenconnected to a case of brain abnormalityin Hawaii.The mosquito-borne Zika virus is causing severe problems in Brazil, where it appears to be connected to serious birth defects.To stop Zika’s spread, a company called Oxitec is planning on expanding its genetically-engineer
…
29th Jan 2016