RIO & the ZIKA Virus

By  David Begnaud CBS News August 2, 2016, 7:30 PM
 "DEET should be Miami's new perfume"
MIAMI -- On Tuesday, health officials reported a 15th case of Zika virus in south Florida, apparently transmitted by mosquitoes.
But this one was outside the so-called "Zika zone" in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood.

Play Video
CBS Evening News

LaPook: Health professionals "beside themselves" over lack of Zika funding

Dr. Jon LaPook has been covering the Zika outbreak since day one. He says that if the $1.9 billion requested from Congress had been approved, sma...

Zika can cause severe birth defects, and a major effort is underway to protect women who are expecting.
"Women are scared to death right now," said 36-year-old Jessica Ardente.
Ardente is an expectant mother and a nurse practitioner.
"That makes it worse because you know what's out there in the news, but you also know the medical ramifications that can happen," she said. Not to mention, she lives in the Zika zone. "Right smack dab in the middle of it," she said. Following CDC recommendations, she gave blood and urine samples on Monday to test for the presence of Zika virus. Ardente is due in January.
"At this point, we are not telling women that there is a safe trimester," said Dr. Christine Curry of the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, and Ardente's OBGYN.
Dr. Curry is monitoring 12 pregnant women believed to have contracted Zika while traveling.
"A year ago there wasn't a conversation about it, and now it's something that's effecting and infecting most of our hemisphere," she said. "And so it's really changing the reproductive narrative for women all over."
Dr. Matthew DeGennaro is a mosquito geneticist, who believes Zika will spread to other pockets of Miami Dade county.
"The way that will happen is not by the spread of mosquitoes themselves, but by the movement of infected people," he said.
The CDC is encouraging everyone living in areas where there are mosquitoes that can carry Zika to protect themselves by covering up and using repellent with DEET.
"DEET should be Miami's new perfume," said Dr. DeGennaro.Dr. Matthew DeGennaro.                                     
Tuesday, in the Zika zone, Miami police handed out free repellent to homeless people.
Ardente is spending less time outdoors, awaiting the outcome of her Zika test.
How long will it take to get the results? Seven to ten days, Ardente said.
"I would love to know to tomorrow," she said, "but it's not going to happen."
Inside the Zika zone, business owners are becoming concerned about what the spread of the virus is going to do to their bottom line. Wednesday morning, for the first time this year, crews will start aerial spraying of repellent in a 10 square mile area around the Zika zone.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/expert-deet-should-be-miamis-new-perfume-in-light-of-zika-virus/

Well, there's 12 pregnant women that the CDC is monitoring and to have to wait those 7 - 10 days of waiting for the test results for the ZIKA scan ...unF'n believable!    

Tommy Monk wrote:And there we have it folks... just more bullshit!!!

Awwww, still to lazy to do the reading, I see!

Tommy Monk wrote:Now... try answering the question... I will break it down for you...



1) What makes you think that someone can't turn up in America with the virus after contracting it abroad?

2) what makes you think that a person arriving to America  cant get bitten by a local mosquito that is capable of transmitting the virus?

3) what makes you think a mosquito cant bite soneone with the virus and then transmit it to another local person...!!!???

Tommy Monk wrote:

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/06/scientific-sleuths-hunt-zika-carrying-mosquitoes

Lord Foul wrote:Thats exactly what he's saying and gioven te info in that post eddie made ...is the most likely happening
person A travels to a zika area...gets infected...
returns home and ignores the mild symptoms
gets bitten by a local mossie
which then goes and bites person B
who has never been in a known zika area
the mossies are NOT travelling....according to that article they are proper stay at homes....within 150 meters of home......
so tommy has been right all along.....
so 4ever just pack it in.....
you are in such a hurry to indulge your nasty mouth you cant even read properly....

Lord Foul wrote:FOR YOU 4EVER

"Posters that repeatedly post in such a manner that admins deem it deliberately disruptive of threads will be warned, and action will taken against repeat offenders"

Tommy Monk wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:Now... try answering the question... I will break it down for you...



1) What makes you think that someone can't turn up in America with the virus after contracting it abroad?

2) what makes you think that a person arriving to America  cant get bitten by a local mosquito that is capable of transmitting the virus?

3) what makes you think a mosquito cant bite soneone with the virus and then transmit it to another local person...!!!???

Still waiting...

4EVER2 wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:And there we have it folks... just more bullshit!!!

Awwww, still to lazy to do the reading, I see!
And here is yet another drawing for your visionary pleasure, that you'll need an adult to read to you but perhaps ...just maybe you'll stop your future BS utterances and continued confused way of twisting what you DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS ISSUE around and trying to make it sound LIKE YOU DO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THIS SERIOUS ISSUE! 

And now Fuck-Wit, I'll call it a finished game and place your sorry ass back on ignore; your quite the example of What Ruins A Decent Discussion!

nicko wrote:Sorry Tommy,     if she's in the wrong she wont answer.

sassy wrote:

nicko wrote:Sorry Tommy,     if she's in the wrong she wont answer.

She has answered him every step of the way with facts that prove him wrong, don't you start being an idiot as well.

CBS News August 4, 2016, 7:10 AM
As Florida's Zika battle escalates, money to fight virus running out     

WYNWOOD, Fla. -- An aerial attack on aedes aegypti mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus began Thursday morning in south Florida. The Department of Health and Human Services warns that money to fight Zika could run out this month. Fifteen locally transmitted Zika cases have been confirmed in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

Play Video                
CBS Evening News    
Possible Zika vaccine being tested
The NIH has begun a new vaccine trial to combat Zika. Dr. Jon LaPook has more.
The first plane spraying for the mosquitoes targeted a 10-square mile area with insecticide, reports CBS News correspondent David Begnaud. Government officials warn, in order to combat this virus, it's going to take billions that Congress has yet to approve.
Fighting the Zika virus is challenging and expensive. The first Zika vaccine is now being tested by the National Institutes of Health. According to the NIH, this vaccine uses a DNA approach which is similar to how the West Nile virus vaccine was developed. Eighty volunteers are the focus of this first phase of testing. If successful, up to 5,000 more people could be tested in a second phase starting in January.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said stalled funding in Congress could compromise the process.
"The president asked for $1.9 billion in February," Fauci said. "If we don't get the money very soon that will interfere with the smooth transition ... into the phase two trial."
Florida is the only state to report locally transmitted cases of Zika. Miami-Dade County is using an insecticide called Naled to spray the bugs from the air. In Puerto Rico, where nearly 5,000 cases of Zika have been reported, officials rejected using the chemical over health concerns -- but the EPA insists the pesticide is safe.
In 2015 an estimated 15 million people visited Miami, spending approximately $24 billion. So for the city, Zika's threat expands beyond a health crisis.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said he is "deeply concerned" about Zika's impact on Florida's tourism industry.
"Do you think there's a reluctance on the part of some state officials to act more aggressively because they're afraid of what it may do to tourism?" Begnaud asked him.
"I haven't seen that. The state has put up close to $20 million of state money to deal with this issue," Rubio said. "I don't think the state would put public health behind tourism."
Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday that all pregnant women across the state can now be tested for free. But civilians aren't the only ones affected, as 44 service members overseas reportedly are also infected with Zika -- including one pregnant woman.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/zika-virus-miami-wynwood-florida-plane-sprays-insecticide-money-running-out/

Despite the 'LACK OF MODS' doing anything about the GOADING and redundant topic derailing that you are allowing; this is far too important a thread and ADULT discussion and yet your lack of 'Give-A-Shit' but heavy assed boot stomping around at the wrong member is so F'd up as usual! 

sassy wrote:Well, seems to me that it's not 4Ever with the big gob after that ludicrous post.

The articles stated specifically that the people concerned had not travelled or been in sexual contact with anyone that had travelled.   Now, would you like to post the scientific study that says mosquitoes can get Zika from people?

Quite honestly your harrassment of 4Ever is getting beyond a joke and should not be tolerated, especially from a mod.

sassy wrote:Well, seems to me that it's not 4Ever with the big gob after that ludicrous post.

The articles stated specifically that the people concerned had not travelled or been in sexual contact with anyone that had travelled. 

have you been bitten by the "stupid bug " as well....


HOW the HELL do youn think the mosquito carries the virus from person to person??????????????????

mosquito bites carrier "A"   then bites person "B" who then gets the virus from "A" via mosquito

just like using a needle infected with HIV from a previous user...DOH...in your haste to excuse your special friend , you just descended into the depths of moronicus


  Now, would you like to post the scientific study that says mosquitoes can get Zika from people?


"Zika is primarily spread by the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is active mostly in the daytime, although researchers have found the virus in common Culex house mosquitoes as well.[30] The mosquitos must feed on blood in order to lay eggs.[31]:2 The virus has also been isolated from a number of arboreal mosquito species in the Aedes genus, such as A. africanus, A. apicoargenteus, A. furcifer, A. hensilli, A. luteocephalus and A. vittatus, with an extrinsic incubation period in mosquitoes of about 10 days.[21]

The true extent of the vectors is still unknown. Zika has been detected in many more species of Aedes, along with Anopheles coustani, Mansonia uniformis, and Culex perfuscus, although this alone does not incriminate them as a vector.[32]

Transmission by A. albopictus, the tiger mosquito, was reported from a 2007 urban outbreak in Gabon where it had newly invaded the country and become the primary vector for the concomitant chikungunya and dengue virus outbreaks.[33] There is concern for autochthonous infections in urban areas of European countries infested by A. albopictus because the first two cases of laboratory-confirmed Zika infections imported into Italy were reported from viremic travelers returning from French Polynesia.[34]

The potential societal risk of Zika can be delimited by the distribution of the mosquito species that transmit it. The global distribution of the most cited carrier of Zika, A. aegypti, is expanding due to global trade and travel.[35] A. aegypti distribution is now the most extensive ever recorded – across all continents including North America and even the European periphery (Madeira, the Netherlands, and the northeastern Black Sea coast).[36] A mosquito population capable of carrying Zika has been found in a Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D. C., and genetic evidence suggests they survived at least four consecutive winters in the region. The study authors conclude that mosquitos are adapting for persistence in a northern climate.[37] The Zika virus appears to be contagious via mosquitoes for around a week after infection. The virus is thought to be infectious for a longer period of time after infection (2 weeks) when transmitted via semen.[38][39]

Since 2015, news reports have drawn attention to the spread of Zika in Latin America and the Caribbean.[40] The countries and territories that have been identified by the Pan American Health Organisation as having experienced "local Zika virus transmission" are Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Co

and

Pathogenesis

Zika virus replicates in the mosquito's midgut epithelial cells and then its salivary gland cells. After 5–10 days, the virus can be found in the mosquito’s saliva, which can then infect humans. If the mosquito’s saliva is inoculated into human skin, the virus can infect epidermal keratinocytes, skin fibroblasts in the skin and the Langerhans cells. The pathogenesis of the virus is hypothesized to continue with a spread to lymph nodes and the bloodstream.[18][59] Flaviviruses generally replicate in the cytoplasm, but Zika antigens have been found in infected cell nuclei.[60]


Quite honestly your harrassment of 4Ever is getting beyond a joke and should not be tolerated, especially from a mod.


SO...I suggest YOU stop defending 4ever...especially when she is in the wrong....

AND

I suggest you stop spouting garbage and listen to people (and in this case I mean ME...who know a LOT more about this kind of thing (epidemiology) than YOU do...
(you seem to have forgotten my background in this area....)

4EVER2 wrote:

sassy wrote:Well, seems to me that it's not 4Ever with the big gob after that ludicrous post.

The articles stated specifically that the people concerned had not travelled or been in sexual contact with anyone that had travelled.   Now, would you like to post the scientific study that says mosquitoes can get Zika from people?

Quite honestly your harrassment of 4Ever is getting beyond a joke and should not be tolerated, especially from a mod.

Well, if the simple minded could think through their huge EGO's and figure that out ...that the hundreds of types of mosquito's ARE NOT THE EXACT TYPE THAT CAN CARRY/BREED the ZIKA virus ...then the CDC and the many types of mosquitos attacking all of those humans in all of those specific regions would ALL BE DOOMED FOR THE ZIKA VIRUS.

But nooooo, this is just a EGO driven issue an the thinking stopped long ago!

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You've proven that you'll ignore the most recent CDC Directors researchers updated articles - bio-hazards reports and fall right back into anything in your desperate/flailing attempt to make your STANCE A VALID ONE   

BRAVO ...that was valid POV from what the research was for the science printed up and studied since 1947 era!     

And that's a real rhetorical question sense this isn't about the TOPIC at all but your irrational/obsessive need to stomp me into submission because Tommykins & Nicko have now whined you into some knee jerk reaction even when it's absolutely so off topic, to be ludicrous

4EVER2 wrote:Odd, how you've missed the many ARTICLES about the CDC's being very pissed off about the hold up for their funding request in Congress ...but I completely understand.  Being able to read the entire thread {minus the BS ranting derailing's} seems to allow the allusion that you do indeed read the entire thread!

Low KEY my Arse!

BTW - my snarky - attitude is as it's always been; you can take it or leave it - you can't moderate members humor bones and if you want to start that type of 'COMBAT CONTROL' Herr Foul ...the be sure to spread your non-biased moderation around this forum equally; THERE WILL BE NO MORE HUMOR EXPRESSED UNLESS IT FALLS FROM HERR FOULS OWN FINGERS ONTO THIS COMMUNITY! 

You need to get a grip or a pin prick to that HUGE ego you've self-inflated.

4EVER2 wrote:

Handy Andy wrote:Unless Trump imported them in a bid to destabilise the Democrats

   Well, I'm not much for a 'wing-nut' conspiracy theory analysis ...but that's been questioned on another community  
How hard would it be to capture those breeding mosquitos, say in the Rio region - transport them into an area {like the USA} and release those little untraceable virus carriers into that perfect breeding rich environment just for shits & grins? 
Shit, forget germ warfare/chemical warfare/nuclear bombs - this is the cheapest/easiest way to invade a country and create chaos and deplete the human breeding stock known to mankind.
We still have ZERO clues if there's any way to inoculate humanity from this virus - how long it lives within our bodies - yes, it causes major birth defects but what actual impact does it have on a child/teenager/adult - men vs women react differently to certain blood viruses too! 
So many questions and our government is playing games with the funding!

Lord Foul wrote:oh and YOU are the only member who hides there arsey attitude behind a pretended humour...

everyone else openly admits its "them"

so no ...not humour...just the rantings of a tiresome and foul tempered old woman

Oh, dear ...you've forgotten to drag my chickens into your little diddy; do you have a jingle that goes along with your song & dance? 

Makes me feel quite soooo special, the way you dole out your OCD attention to me and ignore your 'parachute club'!

Lord Foul wrote:oh and YOU are the only member who hides there arsey attitude behind a pretended humour...

everyone else openly admits its "them"

so no ...not humour...just the rantings of a tiresome and foul tempered old woman

sassy wrote:

Lord Foul wrote:oh and YOU are the only member who hides there arsey attitude behind a pretended humour...

everyone else openly admits its "them"

so no ...not humour...just the rantings of a tiresome and foul tempered old woman

Well, let's say one at least is as disgusting as they can be, rants and raves, then crawls, then thinks he's the best poster (obviously psychology was lost on him) and then starts all over again, but seems to have turned you into a lap dog.


I'm ashamed of you Vic, really I am, your open dislike is supposed to be ok and your abuse of 4Ever just about every day is sickening when you are hiding behind your mod status.   What the fuck is the matter with you.

sassy wrote:Well, seems to me that it's not 4Ever with the big gob after that ludicrous post.

The articles stated specifically that the people concerned had not travelled or been in sexual contact with anyone that had travelled.   Now, would you like to post the scientific study that says mosquitoes can get Zika from people?



Quite honestly your harrassment of 4Ever is getting beyond a joke and should not be tolerated, especially from a mod.

Gee whiz, golly shucks ...I'm so tickled that you've gone from a hammer/chest thumping Neanderthal to finally doing some actual reading and finding your own CDC links and research.  Not that all of those aren't within my plethora of posts back up there; but I do fully understand your reluctance in wading through the 'Off Topic BS' that I've had to entertain just to keep this important topic flowing forward!

More Zika in the United States Than Has Been Counted
New computer modeling suggests the virus has been underestimated by tens of thousands of cases.

   
Mosquito larvae are seen in Guangzhou, China, at the the world’s largest "mosquito factory." Bobby Yip / Reuters                           
Adrienne LaFrance   Aug 3, 2016

Try as they might, public-health officials can’t really track the Zika virus in real time. There is inevitably a lag between how a disease spreads and when the public finds out about it.

Even in Miami, where new updates are being issued every weekday, there’s only so much officials know about how quickly and widely Zika is traveling through the population. Then there are the unknowns that are harder to pin down: How many cases of Zika are going uncounted? It turns out, that number may be enormous.

Researchers at Northeastern University say federal-health officials are likely vastly undercounting Zika in the United States. In a paper that’s still under review for journal publication, they describe computer modeling that suggests there were nearly 30,000 cases of travel-related Zika in the country in mid-June, about 25 times more cases than the 1,200 or so reported by the CDC at the time.
“Models can be only as good as the data they ingest.”
Researchers found the undercounting occurred in at least nine states: Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and Oregon.

“CDC is doing a great job, but it is really hard to detect cases,” said Alessandro Vespignani, one of the authors of the paper. The federal agency is faced with an exceedingly difficult task, in part because it is cobbling together data from various monitoring systems in different states and jurisdictions. The nature of the virus presents additional challenges, making it more complicated to track than other epidemics. “You have to ingest much more data and deal with another level of complexity as well as other sources of uncertainties,” Vespignani said.

Because Zika is transmitted by mosquitoes (as well as sexually spread between humans), researchers trying to model or predict its path have to take into consideration the presence of certain mosquito species, mosquito populations in different areas, that population’s variability with weather conditions, and so on. (Northeastern’s computer model does not take sexual transmission of Zika into consideration, even though it’s one of the ways the virus is transmitted.)

Vespignani and his colleagues also used their model to predict how Zika will continue to move through the Americas through the end of 2016, based on how it has spread globally since 2013. (They also took into account the rate of transmission of Dengue in various regions, since that virus has much in common with Zika.)

The modeling suggests that while the Zika epidemic has already peaked in Brazil, the number of cases is still growing rapidly in Puerto Rico, and will continue to climb well into the fall. And while the researchers say their findings should be interpreted cautiously, given the complexity of the modeling, they believe their projections offer important indications of “the magnitude and timing” of the epidemic as it progresses.



There are other computer-modeled predictions that could be useful—the estimated number of cases of Zika-related Microcephaly, a brain defect in which newborns have abnormally small heads, for example. But modeling such outcomes, especially when so much remains unknown about Zika, is difficult if not impossible without more robust clinical data. “Models can be only as good as the data they ingest,” Vespignani said.

For the CDC, good data may be the central challenge in tracking Zika. Because the agency only counts confirmed cases of the disease, and because people who catch Zika are usually asymptomatic, there are almost certainly a significant number of people who have had the virus without knowing it.

“Like the [Northeastern University] team, when we work on estimating components of the epidemic, we try to understand the dynamics of infection relative to the available information, always under the assumption that what we ‘see’ through surveillance is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Michael Johansson, a biologist in the CDC Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, in a statement provided to The Atlantic by a spokesman. “Many infections are asymptomatic, some are mild with symptoms that do not cause people to seek care, some cases are mistaken as other diseases, and then we get to the diagnostics which are also challenging.”

“All of those components contribute to many fewer cases being reported than the number of infections that actually occurs,” Johansson said.

What does all of this mean for people who just want to protect themselves from the virus? Zika should be taken as the serious threat to public health that officials have said it is. Though many cases of Zika are mild, scientists are just beginning to understand how devastating it can be—including among children and adults sickened by the disease, not just fetuses. In Utah, one man died from the virus. (And officials still don’t understand how a family member who cared for him contracted Zika.)

The CDC has clear guidelines on how people—particularly pregnant women—can protect themselves from the virus. Until scientists learn more about how Zika spreads and how it might be stopped, it’s important to understand it could be much more widespread than it appears.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/08/more-zika-than-anybody-thought/494201/

And 'some' blood tests are not showing up as a TRUE POSITIVE test either!

4EVER2 wrote: Gee whiz, golly shucks ...I'm so tickled that you've gone from a hammer/chest thumping Neanderthal to finally doing some actual reading and finding your own CDC links and research.  Not that all of those aren't within my plethora of posts back up there; but I do fully understand your reluctance in wading through the 'Off Topic BS' that I've had to entertain just to keep this important topic flowing forward!
Was it a huge shock that {while you missed it in my other points and articles} that the Rio Olympics is going on during their 'WINTER CLIMATE'?  Whew ~~~ makes the continual cycle of information a steady pot that swirls, not to dissimilar to the toilet bowl.

ah so you are now trying to back track since I posted something up that you clearlky MISSED.....I didnt NEED to "find" all that stuff....I already knew it  
as for the "winter" thing sure...it reduces...NOTE reduces NOT eleiminates the chances of infection from mossies...thats NOT of course to mention that some of those visiting RIO for the olympics may also avail themselves of some of its less salubrious entertainments.....and thus bring it hiome with them...



And as my standard 'regurgitated answers' have been to Tommykins: if you don't have SEX with anyone returning from the Olympics then you obviously won't have anything to worry about! 


You STILL havnt actually taken on board what is being said have you???  The virus CAN be brought here by symptomless carriers...as the article you posted below suggests.....AND we DO have Aedes aegypti present here AND there is increasing evidence that our more common and widespread (and adventurous) culex spp is a potential carrier...

But that and all of the data/links/posts just kept being ignored and he just kept coming back for more and now you've picked up his Sword of Stupidity and seem to want to wail away at that 'Wind Mill Don Quixote'

was that necessary...shall I reply in kind??   Not to mention that you are wrong with all this....



And why am 'I' so fixated about this issue '?' > > >

More Zika in the United States Than Has Been Counted
New computer modeling suggests the virus has been underestimated by tens of thousands of cases.

   
Mosquito larvae are seen in Guangzhou, China, at the the world’s largest "mosquito factory." Bobby Yip / Reuters                           
Adrienne LaFrance   Aug 3, 2016

Try as they might, public-health officials can’t really track the Zika virus in real time. There is inevitably a lag between how a disease spreads and when the public finds out about it.

Even in Miami, where new updates are being issued every weekday, there’s only so much officials know about how quickly and widely Zika is traveling through the population. Then there are the unknowns that are harder to pin down: How many cases of Zika are going uncounted? It turns out, that number may be enormous.

Researchers at Northeastern University say federal-health officials are likely vastly undercounting Zika in the United States. In a paper that’s still under review for journal publication, they describe computer modeling that suggests there were nearly 30,000 cases of travel-related Zika in the country in mid-June, about 25 times more cases than the 1,200 or so reported by the CDC at the time.
“Models can be only as good as the data they ingest.”
Researchers found the undercounting occurred in at least nine states: Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and Oregon.

“CDC is doing a great job, but it is really hard to detect cases,” said Alessandro Vespignani, one of the authors of the paper. The federal agency is faced with an exceedingly difficult task, in part because it is cobbling together data from various monitoring systems in different states and jurisdictions. The nature of the virus presents additional challenges, making it more complicated to track than other epidemics. “You have to ingest much more data and deal with another level of complexity as well as other sources of uncertainties,” Vespignani said.

Because Zika is transmitted by mosquitoes (as well as sexually spread between humans), researchers trying to model or predict its path have to take into consideration the presence of certain mosquito species, mosquito populations in different areas, that population’s variability with weather conditions, and so on. (Northeastern’s computer model does not take sexual transmission of Zika into consideration, even though it’s one of the ways the virus is transmitted.)

Vespignani and his colleagues also used their model to predict how Zika will continue to move through the Americas through the end of 2016, based on how it has spread globally since 2013. (They also took into account the rate of transmission of Dengue in various regions, since that virus has much in common with Zika.)

The modeling suggests that while the Zika epidemic has already peaked in Brazil, the number of cases is still growing rapidly in Puerto Rico, and will continue to climb well into the fall. And while the researchers say their findings should be interpreted cautiously, given the complexity of the modeling, they believe their projections offer important indications of “the magnitude and timing” of the epidemic as it progresses.



There are other computer-modeled predictions that could be useful—the estimated number of cases of Zika-related Microcephaly, a brain defect in which newborns have abnormally small heads, for example. But modeling such outcomes, especially when so much remains unknown about Zika, is difficult if not impossible without more robust clinical data. “Models can be only as good as the data they ingest,” Vespignani said.

For the CDC, good data may be the central challenge in tracking Zika. Because the agency only counts confirmed cases of the disease, and because people who catch Zika are usually asymptomatic, there are almost certainly a significant number of people who have had the virus without knowing it.

“Like the [Northeastern University] team, when we work on estimating components of the epidemic, we try to understand the dynamics of infection relative to the available information, always under the assumption that what we ‘see’ through surveillance is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Michael Johansson, a biologist in the CDC Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, in a statement provided to The Atlantic by a spokesman. “Many infections are asymptomatic, some are mild with symptoms that do not cause people to seek care, some cases are mistaken as other diseases, and then we get to the diagnostics which are also challenging.”

“All of those components contribute to many fewer cases being reported than the number of infections that actually occurs,” Johansson said.

What does all of this mean for people who just want to protect themselves from the virus? Zika should be taken as the serious threat to public health that officials have said it is. Though many cases of Zika are mild, scientists are just beginning to understand how devastating it can be—including among children and adults sickened by the disease, not just fetuses. In Utah, one man died from the virus. (And officials still don’t understand how a family member who cared for him contracted Zika.)

The CDC has clear guidelines on how people—particularly pregnant women—can protect themselves from the virus. Until scientists learn more about how Zika spreads and how it might be stopped, it’s important to understand it could be much more widespread than it appears.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/08/more-zika-than-anybody-thought/494201/

So far the basic UA {urine} test seems more accurate for the pregnant women who have contracted the Zika Virus ...but of the 14 now known cases in Florida there were nearly 9 that had no idea because they just never felt 'ill' or had any of the tell-tale-markers for the Zika Virus!
And 'some' blood tests are not showing up as a TRUE POSITIVE test either!

and ALL that shows is that you have potentially a VERY LARGE pool of potential human vectors...which THEN...given the relatively low level of the Aedes aegypti spp in some of those areas lends even more credence to the likelyhood of another spp being the mosquito vector......(either that or they have a population of whores, both male and female)