Posted on 07/08/2016 7:38:26 PM PDT by Tilted Irish Kilt
SALT LAKE CITY — An elderly Salt Lake County resident who died in late June is the first confirmed Zika-related death in the continental U.S., health officials announced Friday.
The individual traveled to a Zika-infected area earlier this year and was awaiting Zika testing results when he or she died, according to Salt Lake County Health Department Director Gary Edwards.
He said officials found the cause of death to be "of suspicion" and later received test results confirming that the individual had Zika.
(Excerpt) Read more at ksl.com ...
Vitek clarified in a news conference Friday that officials believe Zika contributed to the death but do not know if it was the sole cause.
First U.S. Death (Utah) - Zika Virus contributed death
A 70-year-old Puerto Rican man who died in February was the first U.S. death tied to the disease.
All they said on the news here in Utah was she was an elderly lady....
Not specified : neither infromation of age , sex, or other health concerns.
The elderly, weak and very young are always the ones who succumb to these diseases...and they will be in my prayers.
Is this new? I thought the only danger from Zika was with pregnancy.
There are indications that Zika may have contributed by surpressing the immune system.
Yes, generally speaking , the sick, the elderly, and the very young , who have an undeveloped immune system are at risk.
OMG, in Utah!!??? Wow. Not even near a port city.
What a crock. In Utah? A single mosquito somehow found its way past all of the other continental States on the way up there, bypassing them all, and somehow hopped all the way up to Utah to pick someone off. Hogwash. Lies. If he/she contracted Zika, it wasn’t because of some indigenous rogue mosquito living in Utah all by itself.
“the man died as the result of an autoimmune reaction to an earlier Zika infection in which his antibodies started attacking his platelets”
I don’t like the sound of that
Most persons who come down with Zika , thus far, have traveled to other areas where it is prevalent.
Thanks for the ping. The Olympics in Brazil start in a just a few weeks and I’m afraid Zika will spread like wildfire.
I share your concern
The Olympics are an international competition, and thus could spread internationally.
While Viri readily mutate, the Brazilians have already reported 1600 infected pregnant females.
I believe the Brazilian to be a genetic variant, and perhaps the worst disease at the wrong time, at the wrong place.
If it is a localized Brazilian variant, this is the wrong time to have international travel.
Much better to be safe ,..than sorry.
related... why a Brazilian mosquito control measure might be more dangerous than the mosquito:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3447511/posts
See post #14
The most worst known side effect is on the fetus, if infected during pregnancy, is microcephaly, nervous system problems.
Not enough is yet known about Zika, and more is learned each day, including its ability to mutate.
Personally, although I am not a virologist, I believe that Brazilian is a localized variant, which mutated due to insecticides, herbicides, and other environmental influences,
since previously, the only known side effect was a rash to 30% of those ( male and female) who got infected.
See also post #15 (hotlink) for thought provoking issues, as there remains some serious questions regarding environmental contributing issues.
More serious and questioning science is needed to determine 'cause and effect'.
I feel for the athletes. Many of them are young and they've worked so hard to develop their bodies and minds. From a distance, it does seem the sane thing would be not to attend the Olympics. Instead, they'll rationalize that they can avoid infection. Denial always kicks in when one is too close to the threat.
Indications? Well, that 's what diseases DO.
The human immune system has gotten weaker, I read. It doesn't seem to be "survival of the fittest" anymore, since modern medicine seems to have a cure for almost everything.
From Google: The Zika virus is a mosquito-transmitted infection related to dengue, yellow fever and West Nile virus.
Although it was discovered in the Zika forest in Uganda in 1947 and is common in Africa and Asia, it did not begin spreading widely in the Western Hemisphere until last May, when an outbreak occurred in Brazil.
Note the "related to" part. Viruses seem to mutate and come up with yet another life of illness for humans.
I also read that we can't kill viruses yet and we simply must allow our immune systems to keep us alive while the virus lives out its short life in our bodies.
Don't you think that newer and still ugly viruses will continue to appear? I do. It seems a part of nature's cycle of life and death.
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