546 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

CNN: What real threat does Zika pose to the Rio Olympics? History has an answer

http://www.cnn.com/2...lympics-threat/

[NewMarketSean]

It'll be interesting to see what happens, that's for sure.

 

Since it has been discovered that Zika can be a STD, does that mean if men with Zika sperm impregnate a woman, the child will develop the symptoms that we're seeing with Zika babies? If so, that's the game changer. You could have people bitten, bringing it back home, and passing it on to others. Especially men to women, and unborn children. You have to look at the ripple effect that could cause, world wide.

 

It's scary, regardless of whether there's a real crisis that can shut down the Olympics. And if people are scared, they won't go. If they do hold it, this could be the poorest attended Olympics ever. Rio is already dealing with the sewage and other health problems.

 

Seems like it was another shortsighted decision on the IOCC's behalf to award a fringe third-world city like RDJ with the Olympics. They must have been paid off well.

 

A side note, I leave for Guadeloupe in a week, where there have been some cases of Zika reported. Not changing my plans, my wife and I don't plan on having children and the majority of Zika cases go undetected. So I am not too worried about it, but if my wife was pregnant or if we were planning on having children within the next couple of years, we'd be canceling. 

[DJ MC]

Considering the, uh, reputation of the Olympic Village during those two weeks, I hope they aren't just looking at the spread of this by mosquitoes.

[papasmurfbell]

On an overarching look at Zika I see this as natures effort to control our population.  

[NewMarketSean]

On an overarching look at Zika I see this as natures effort to control our population.  

 

How is it controlling the population when people rarely die from it?

[Pedro Cerrano]

How is it controlling the population when people rarely die from it?

 

It pretty much kills any baby born with it.

[NewMarketSean]

It pretty much kills any baby born with it.

 

Not really.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Not really.

 

Then I have grossly midheard the news then -- because it's my understanding that all babies born with it have abnormally small heads and die soon after birth.

[NewMarketSean]

That remains to be seen for Zika babies but the disease, or deformity, that they're being born with exists in other children and they haven't died. They can't speak or walk though.

[BSLMikeLowe]

How is it controlling the population when people rarely die from it?

 

You have governments warning people not to get pregnant because of Zika. Whether they heed that warning remains to be seen, but if they do that would lead to a dip in births.

[NewMarketSean]

You have governments warning people not to get pregnant because of Zika. Whether they heed that warning remains to be seen, but if they do that would lead to a dip in births.

 

True.

 

In the case of Brazil, which is a Catholic country, that'll be hard to do but they should be dropping condoms from helicopters.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Maybe when the mosquitos attempt to breed on all the fecal bacteria laden water they will be killed off. Problem solved!

[papasmurfbell]

It pretty much kills any baby born with it.

These kids are dying within a couple of yrs after birth.  Then add in the birth ban of a couple of yrs.  

 

Now take this in context of the global warming and these mosquitos expanding their territory.  So as they migrate to more areas and bring  this virus with them then over time it will lower population.  Mother nature is quite creative.

[NewMarketSean]

These kids are dying within a couple of yrs after birth.  Then add in the birth ban of a couple of yrs.  

 

Now take this in context of the global warming and these mosquitos expanding their territory.  So as they migrate to more areas and bring  this virus with them then over time it will lower population.  Mother nature is quite creative.

 

In Brazil with poor medical assistance, yeah, I am sure they're dying moreso than kids elsewhere.

 

Such a sad state of affairs. I read that screens in windows would do a lot to prevent this from spreading so much in Brazil.

 

Sometimes I wonder if I am missing out by not having kids, and not planning on having any, but when it comes to stuff like this I'm glad I don't have to worry about this being an issue for me.

 

But I can't imagine how many vacations and honeymoons will be canceled this summer and fall because of this crap. I also feel bad for the countries that depend on the tourism and will lose out on it. Brazil especially, since they've probably already doled out billions of dollars to set up for the Olympics.

[papasmurfbell]

I bet a lot of spectators don't go down for the Olympics.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Such a sad state of affairs. I read that screens in windows would do a lot to prevent this from spreading so much in Brazil.

 

It's amazing how many people are killed annually by mosquitos, not directly but by the viruses they transmit. Very interesting article in Slate recently. The author proposes we essentially attempt to eliminate mosquitos through extinction, and there are several groups researching how it could be done. It is believed that wiping them out would have no known impact on the food chain of any other species, though there is probably no way to be 100% certain of that. And as is almost always the case when you try to mess with nature on such a large scale, there are almost certain to be unintended consequences.

[NewMarketSean]

It's amazing how many people are killed annually by mosquitos, not directly but by the viruses they transmit. Very interesting article in Slate recently. The author proposes we essentially attempt to eliminate mosquitos through extinction, and there are several groups researching how it could be done. It is believed that wiping them out would have no known impact on the food chain of any other species, though there is probably no way to be 100% certain of that. And as is almost always the case when you try to mess with nature on such a large scale, there are almost certain to be unintended consequences.

Screw it. If it takes out some lame bird species, do it.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Screw it. If it takes out some lame bird species, do it.

 

If anything, it's going to have the exact opposite effect, and species whose populations are kept in check by mosquito-borne viruses are likely to explode.

 

And then there is the impact on humans. In many poor or developing countries couples might have six children with the belief that only 3 or 4 of them live to adulthood. Eliminate mosquitos, and by extension lower child-mortality rates, and you have to find a way to get those people to change their behavior or the population growth in these countries could get even more out of control then they already are thanks to the advances in medicine that some of them already do have access to. And I'm not suggesting that should be a reason not to eradicate mosquitos if we can. It's just that there are going to be consequences that we have to think about and prepare for that might not be in the forefront of our collective minds.

[DJ MC]

Rio Has Given Up On Its Goal To Clean Up The Water In Time For The Olympics

[BSLChrisStoner]

SI: Obstacles still remain in readying host city Rio