The Azika virus was initially identified in 1947 in Uganda, where it was originally limited to rhesus monkeys. It’s an arbovirus, meaning the disease is transmitted via mosquito, tick or flea bites.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists malnutrition and exposure to toxic chemicals as two of the three known risk factors. The third is certain infections during pregnancy, including rubella, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, and others.
This year, it’s the Azika virus, which is being blamed for a rash of reports of microcephaly among infants born in Brazil. The condition, in which babies are born with unusually small heads, is said to have surged from an average of about 150 cases annually to more than 4,780 cases since October 2015.
Yet of the cases examined so far, only 404 have been confirmed as having microcephaly. Only 17 of them tested positive for the Azika virus.
In humans, Azika infection typically causes only mild flu-like symptoms, if any, and there does not appear to be any prior evidence suggesting it might cause birth defects.
While this doesn’t exclude the possibility, there are many other factors that offer a more likely and rational explanation for the rise in microcephaly in this area of Brazil, besides Azika-carrying mosquitoes.
Of particular significance, the outbreak is occurring in a largely poverty-stricken agricultural area of Brazil that uses large amounts of banned pesticides.
Environmental pollution and toxic pesticide exposure have been positively linked to a wide array of birth defects.
More importantly, vitamin A deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of microcephaly specifically, while zinc plays an important role in the structure and function of the brain.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists malnutrition and exposure to toxic chemicals as two of the three known risk factors, the third is being infections during pregnancy, including rubella, cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, and others.
The pesticide Atrazine also appears to be a viable culprit. Atrazine is used to prevent pre- and post-emergence weeds and is the second most commonly used herbicide.
There is a long list of pesticides that have the potential to disrupt fetal development is. Yet another suspect is Imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid. In October 2012—around the same time that these women would have been getting pregnant–Brazil lifted its ban on aerial spraying of neonicotinoids
The most obvious cause of birth defects in this area is direct contact and absorption of pesticides. A study of pesticide-use on tomatoes in a Northern State of Brazil known as Pernambuco, showed that 71% – almost three-quarters of pregnant workers, reported miscarriages, while 11% reported offspring who were mentally and/or physically impaired.
There is a long list of pesticides with a known potential to disrupt fetal development. Another suspect is Imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid. In October 2012—around the same time that these women would have been getting pregnant–Brazil lifted its ban on aerial spraying of neonicotinoids.
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