Zika and birth control

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/23/health/brazil-zika-pregnancy-warning/

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/18/health/zika-pope-francis-contraceptives/

http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-brazil-zika-makes-getting-pregnant-a-fraught-choice-1457433041

On November 28 2015, Brazil’s Health Ministry announced that during an autopsy it had found the Zika virus in a baby born with microcephaly, establishing a link between the two. Microcephaly results in babies being born with abnormally small heads that cause, often serious, developmental issues and sometimes early death. In response, authorities in Brazil urged women not to get pregnant. Then came the warning from Colombia to delay pregnancy until July. In an interview, a health official in El Salvador recommended that women “try to avoid getting pregnant this year and the next.”

‘It’s a very personal decision, but at this moment of uncertainty, if families can put off their pregnancy plans, that’s what we’re recommending,’ pediatric infectologist Angela Rocha, told CNN.

Those developments, among others, have set off a chain reaction of debate on questions of public health and women’s reproductive freedom, including whether the use of contraceptives and even extending access to legal abortion are justifiable measures to stem the epidemic.

At a press conference aboard a flight from Mexico to Rome, the Pope was asked whether the church should consider contraception the “lesser of two evils” compared with the possibility of women aborting fetuses infected with Zika. His comments may cheer health officials in Latin America but appear to put him at odds with some Catholic leaders in the region.

The Catholic catechism states that aside from natural family planning, anything that works to “‘render procreation impossible’ is intrinsically evil.” The church’s teachings have put women in Latin America, where a majority of people are Catholic, in a difficult situation.”Contraceptives are not a solution,” Bishop Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, the secretary general of the National Council of Bishops of Brazil, said in an interview earlier this month. “There is not a single change in the church’s position.” Furthermore, Catholic priest in Salvador told Catholic News Service that “If someone asks me for advice, I would say that the important thing is to get rid of the larvae, but I can’t say do not get pregnant.”

On the topic of abortion, Brazilian law currently permits abortion in cases of rape, when there is a health threat to the mother’s life or if the fetus has anencephaly, a disorder in which large parts of the brain are missing. Certain rights groups plan to petition Brazil’s Supreme Court to allow pregnant women who have contracted Zika to obtain abortions. The guiding principle in the debate, they maintains, should be women’s rights to dignity, health care, and freedom from psychological torture.

Zika Virus Effects and progress

Article: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-studying-new-way-to-keep-dengue-at-bay

There are many positive effects brought about due to the advancements in technology, including a healthier workforce, a healthier environment to live in and also extended longevity. With the new Zika virus successfully penetrating the defences of Singapore, Singaporeans have a lot to worry about as Zika as it not only affects pregnant mothers, it affects Singapore as a whole over a few sectors.

Needless to say, the Health Sector is badly affected. The Zika Virus would be transmitted in the blood stream and also by bodily fluids. Diagram: zika-transmission-infographic. The diagram attached shows how it can be transmitted mainly through the female mosquitos biting someone that is infected and when another female mosquitos bites an infected, it becomes a carrier and could potentially spread the virus when it bites another person. The World Health Organisation has also found out that the virus could be spread to other people through bodily fluids via. through sexual intercourse etc.

To overcome this epidermic, companies are coming up with innovative methods to prevent its spreading. Since the female mosquitos are the ones that bites humans and spread the disease, companies have came up with genetically modified male mosquitoes and been releasing them. When mating with the female mosquitoes, the genetically modified male mosquitoes would cause the lava eggs laid by the females to die more easily or eggs that do not hatch. However this method is still undergoing research and is not a full proof method, also some Singaporeans are generally unreceptive about “genetically modified” organisms thus more research needs to be done, having the cost and benefit weighed to ensure its reliability before application. That being said, something needs to be done soon, quickly, before our future generation starts developing microcephaly.