U.S. Official Expresses Concern Over Zika’s Possible Impact In Haiti; Colombia Experiencing Higher Incidence Of Zika-Associated Guillain-Barré

Agence France-Presse: ‘Extreme’ U.S. worry about Zika impact in Haiti
“A top U.S. health official expressed ‘extreme concern’ Friday over the potential for Zika to expand throughout Haiti and said the United States is helping the deeply impoverished Caribbean nation prepare. There was ‘extreme concern of Haiti in terms of impact that dengue has there, and of course, the vulnerable population is a challenge,’ said Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control…” (2/19).

Los Angeles Times: Worries grow over Zika virus in Colombia
“…Of particular concern are the 3,177 Colombian women who … contracted Zika while pregnant. Although no microcephalic babies linked to Zika have yet been confirmed in Colombia, the fear is that the country could soon see a wave of abnormal births similar to those in Brazil. … Zika infections have also been linked to a rise in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a nervous disorder causing partial paralysis that strikes mostly victims over 40. Colombia has seen a 50 percent increase in cases since October…” (Kraul, 2/21).

Washington Post: Zika has been linked to birth defects. Now it may be causing paralysis.
“…The mosquito-borne virus has spread rapidly here and across lowland Colombia, but the city [Turbo] is unusual for the subsequent outbreak of a rare, debilitating disorder known as Guillain-Barré syndrome, whose precise link to the virus remains unclear. Before Zika’s arrival in Turbo, a mostly Afro-Colombian town of 60,000 set amid vast banana plantations on the country’s north coast, doctors typically saw one case of Guillain-Barré a year, if that…” (Miroff, 2/21).

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