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By Dr. Nicole Lurie, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The Zika virus is causing devastating birth defects in countries with outbreaks of the virus. It also causes bad pregnancy outcomes, like miscarriage and stillbirth, and can cause serious neurologic problems as...
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Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss / EarthTalk Zika virus, first discovered in Uganda’s Zika Forest in 1947, is transmitted to humans and other mammals through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, and typically causes only a mild and short-term illness (fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis) that likely immunizes...
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At southeastern Brazil’s town of Piracicaba, genetic engineering is being used to produce modified sterile mosquitoes being used to reduce the mosquito as a vector of the ZIKA VIRUS. In such treated areas, the mosquito population is reduced by some 80%. The genetically engineered mosquito clones are sterile; so...