THERE HAVE BEEN THREE NEW CASES OF THE ZIKA VIRUS AMONG U.S.
CITIZENS.
DON'T WORRY I'LL GIVE YOU THE DETAILS OF WHAT IS.
THE ZIKA VIRUS IS SOMETHING THAT IS TRANSMITTED FROM
MOSQUITOES FROM PERSON-TO-PERSON.
IT IS NOT CONTAGIOUS.
IF SOMEONE HAS THIS VIRUS THEY ARE NOT GOING TO GIVE IT TO
YOU BY BEING AROUND YOU.
YOU COULD BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH SEXUAL CONTACT, BUT EVEN
THAT IS UNCLEAR AT THIS POINT.
DO KNOW THAT MOSQUITOES DO TRANSMIT THE ZIKA VIRUS.
IF YOU ARE A NONPREGNANT HUMAN, THEN YOU ARE PROBABLY NOT
GOING TO SUFFER ANY SERIOUS HEALTH CONCERNS.
HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE PREGNANT, NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING TO
WORRY ABOUT THE ZIKA VIRUS LEADS TO PHYSICAL DEFORMITY
AMONG CHILDREN.
WE HAVE A PICTURE OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
BASICALLY THE BRAIN AND THE HEAD DON'T DEVELOP NORMALLY.
OFTENTIMES CHILDREN WHO ARE BORN WITH THIS VIRUS DO NOT
SURVIVE A VERY LONG.
THERE HAVE BEEN THREE CASES IN FLORIDA, TWO IN ILLINOIS,
ONE IN TEXAS, AND ONE IN HAWAII.
IT IS NOT EASILY TRANSMITTABLE, HOWEVER IF THERE IS A BIG
OUTBREAK IN A PARTICULAR AREA OR COUNTRY IS LIKELY THAT IN A
HOT, HUMID WEATHER MOSQUITOES CAN MULTIPLY.
IT BECOMES MORE AND MORE OF AN ISSUE.
LET'S GIVE YOU DETAILS ON TRANSMISSION.
RIGHT NOW THOSE TRAVELING TO THE CARIBBEAN OR SOUTH AND
CENTRAL AMERICA ARE AT RISK.
IF YOU ARE PREGNANT, THIS IS MORE ABOUT YOU THAN
ANYTHING ELSE.
I GUESS THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS IS GROWING RAPIDLY.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT ARE PLAYING A ROLE IN THAT,
INCREASED TRAVEL IS ONE.
ANOTHER ISSUE IS CLIMATE CHANGE.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS OF COURSE WARMING OUR PLANET.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, ALSO BECAUSE OF INCREASED
PRECIPITATION, WHAT TYPICALLY HAPPENS IS IT CREATES AN
ENVIRONMENT FOR THESE MOSQUITOES TO THRIVE.
MORE MOSQUITOES MEAN MORE PEOPLE GETTING INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS.
THAT IS WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW IN THE WORLD.
>>HOORAY.
THERE ARE NOT REALLY WAYS TO COMBAT THIS BESIDES
AVOIDING THEM?
>> NO TREATMENTS AND NO VACCINES AVAILABLE AT THIS MOMENT.
>>IT SEEMS LIKE WHAT THEY ARE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IS
MODIFYING MOSQUITOES?
>>YES.
THEY ARE TRYING TO GENETICALLY MODIFY THESE MOSQUITOES SO
THEY WILL BE UNABLE TO PASS ALONG THIS VIRUS.
THE BRITISH BIOTECH FIRM IS TRYING TO CRACK THE VIRUS
BY GENETICALLY MODIFYING THE INSECTS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WORKS, BUT IT SOUNDS GREAT.
>> WE HAVE COVERED A SIMILAR STUDY BEFORE WITH AN
ATTEMPT TO NEUTRALIZE MOSQUITOES.
MOSQUITOES ARE ACTUALLY THE MOST DEADLY ANIMAL IN THE WORLD.
SO, SOME RESEARCHERS HAVE ATTEMPTED TO INJECT SOME
MOSQUITOES WHICH WOULD RENDER THEM STERILE, THEN THESE
MOSQUITOES WOULD MEET WITH MOSQUITOES IN THE WILD,
THEN THEIR LARVAE WOULD NEVER GET TO THE HR THEY WERE
ABLE TO BECOME SUSTAINABLE.
>> THAT IS AN INTERESTING WAY OF COMBATING THIS ISSUE.
I HAVE A QUESTION.
OFTENTIMES WHEN WE DO THESE STORIES ABOUT MOSQUITOES
SPREADING ILLNESSES, I ALWAYS WONDER IF THERE IS REALLY A
NECESSITY FOR MOSQUITOES.
I'M SURE THERE IS SOME NECESSITY THAT IS IMPORTANT TO THE
ECOSYSTEM.
>> IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT A
MOSQUITOES PURPOSE IS BESIDES MAKING US DEAD.
WE ARE NOT REALLY SURE OF THAT.
THERE MIGHT BE SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
WHAT IF IT CAUSES ñ WHAT IF SOMEHOW THIS CAUSES THE
STRAIN TO MUTATE INTO A MORE VIRULENT STRAIN.
WE ARE NOT REALLY THERE YET IN KNOWING WHAT THE CAUSAL
EFFECTS OF THIS ARE.
I THINK IT'S A GOOD CAUSE.
>> IT'S RISKY BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE SOME HIDDEN
UNKNOWN CONSEQUENCES OF MESSING WITH MOSQUITOES.
BUT I HATE MOSQUITOES AND I AM WILLING TO TAKE THOSE RISKS.
>> WHEN YOU WEIGH THE EFFECTS, PERHAPS IT WOULD AFFECT THE
FOOD CHAIN OR THE ENVIRONMENT IN SOME WAY.
BUT WE ARE ALSO TALKING ABOUT SAVING HUMAN LIVES.
>> ALSO, IF WE HAVE CREATED THIS ISSUE WHERE OUR PLANET IS
WARMING AND NOW WE HAVE THIS UNNATURAL INCREASE IN
MOSQUITO POPULATIONS, I DON'T THINK IT IS NECESSARILY THE
WORST THING IN THE WORLD TO FIND A WAY TO MITIGATE THAT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS, BUT IF CLIMATE CHANGE IS
LEADING TO THE SPREAD OF MORE VIRUSES, WE NEED TO DO
SOMETHING ABOUT IT, RIGHT?
I KNOW IT SOUNDS SCARY FOR PREGNANT WOMEN.
IT IS SCARY FOR WOMEN WHO TRAVEL ABROAD.
THIS ILLNESS COULD REALLY HAVE SERIOUS ñ
>> MICROCEPHALY IS DRASTICALLY AWFUL IN WHAT IT DOES TO
LITTLE KIDS.
I'M SORRY, JUST INFANTS, NOT LITTLE KIDS.
LET'S HOPE THAT THIS GMO ENGINEERING WORKS.
I CANNOT STAND THESE LITTLE BUGGERS.
>> THE RESEARCH TECHNIQUES NEED TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE
WE
ARE AWARE OF THE EFFECTS.
>> FOR MOST PEOPLE, WHAT DO YOU DO?
YOU LIVE IN A BIG CITY WITH BUSES, CARS.
OR IF YOU LIVE OUT IN THE COUNTR-, I REMEMBER WHEN I
LIVED IN LOUISIANA, AS I ENTERED THE STATE OF LOUISIANA THIS HUGE
BILLBOARD HAD A BIG MOSQUITO ON IT THAT SAID 'MOSQUITOES KILL'.
AND I THOUGHT WHY ARE WE NOT TURNING AROUND TO WHERE
DYING OF THINGS MAKE SENSE?
THERE ARE SO MANY NEW THINGS TO BE AFRAID OF.
JUST FUCK IT, JUST GO AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
>>TO BE HONEST, THIS IS NOT ONE OF THE THINGS I AM AFRAID OF.
JUST TO BE CLEAR, I JUST BOOKED MY HONEYMOON IN MEXICO.
I'M NOT GETTING PREGNANT THERE, THAT'S FOR SURE.
I'M GOING TO USE PROPER PROTECTION AND NOT GET PREGNANT.
IN BRAZIL IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A HIGH CHANCE.
LET ME GIVE YOU SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS AND TELL YOU WHY
THIS IS NOW MAKING NEWS.
THE ZIKA VIRUS HAS BEEN AROUND FOR SOME TIME, BUT THERE
HAVE BEEN VERY FEW CASES REPORTED UP UNTIL RECENTLY.
SO, THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE PANICKING ABOUT IT.
THE SPREAD IS RAPID.
AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT PREGNANT OR ARE NOT PLANNING TO GET
PREGNANT, YOU ARE GOING TO BE FINE.
>> THAT IS MY THEORY IN LIFE.
>> IT IS ALL GOOD, Y'ALL.