GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT OF FLORIDA HAS DECLARED A STATE OF
EMERGENCY IN THE STATES AS A RESULT OF THE ZIKA VIRUS
OUTBREAK.
THERE ARE AS MANY AS NINE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE
DETECTED THE VIRUS, BUT THEY HAVE NOT CONTRACTED IN THE
UNITED STATES.
THEY TRAVEL TO OTHER COUNTRIES AND THAT IS WHEN
THEY GOT BITTEN BY A MOSQUITO AND GOT THE VIRUS.
THE GOVERNOR
IS AFRAID THAT THIS WILL NOW
SPREAD TO PEOPLE AND WILL LEAD TO MANY TERRIBLE BIRTH DEFECTS
FOR PREGNANT WOMEN.
IF YOU GET THE ZIKA VIRUS AND YOU ARE A
HEALTHY ADULTS, YOU WILL HAVE SOME MILD SYMPTOMS THAT WILL
EVENTUALLY GO AWAY.
BUT IF YOU ARE PREGNANT IT CAN HAVE SERIOUS
RAMIFICATIONS ON THE BABY.
IT CAN LEAD TO A CONDITION THAT HAS
THE BABY DEVELOP A SMALL HEAD AND SMALL BRAIN.
USUALLY THEY
DON'T LIVE A VERY LONG.
THEY DIE
SHORTLY AFTER BIRTH.
LET ME GIVE YOU SOME MORE DETAILS.
>> I WOULD JUST DO THAT NOW.
IF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO LOWER
THE AMOUNT OF MOSQUITOES IN THE
AREA THAT ARE LIKELY TO HAVE THE VIRUS, I WOULD PROBABLY
JUST DO IT.
I AM SURE IT IS EXPENSIVE.
>>OF COURSE, BUT WHO CARES.
THAT IS WHERE OUR TAXPAYER MONEY
SHOULD BE USED.
MIAMI, SANTA
ROSA, THEY ARE ALL COUNTIES THAT
HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THIS.
>> SO, NINE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN INFECTED.
ALL OF THEM ARE TRAVEL
CASES.
THEY WENT TO AN AREA THAT HAD IT, GOT INFECTED, THEN THEY
CAME BACK.
THAT IS WHAT THEY SAID IT.
YOU CAN GO AROUND
QUESTIONING THE GOVERNMENT AS
MUCH AS YOU WANT.
THEY WOULDN'T SAY IF THREE OF THEM HAVE GOTTEN
IT BECAUSE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE
CAME BACK AND MOSQUITOES BIT THEM AND SPREAD TO SOMEONE ELSE.
THIS COOL THING ABOUT THE VIRUS IS THAT IT DOESN'T SAY IN THE
BODY VERY LONG.
AS LONG AS THEY ABSTAIN FROM SEXUAL ACTIVITY,
BECAUSE IT CAN BE SPREAD
SEXUALLY AS WELL ñ
>>JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS FLORIDA.
FLORIDA IS ONE MASSIVE
SWAMP.
STAGNANT WATER EVERYWHERE.
IT IS LIKE A
BREEDING GROUND FOR MOSQUITOES.
TO TELL PEOPLE OF 40 TO AVOID
GETTING BITTEN BY MOSQUITOES IS UNREASONABLE.
>>IT BECOMES EVEN MORE THAN THAT BECAUSE OF A TESTER TO SPREAD
THAN WE MIGHT HAVE TO HAVE SOME VERSION OF WHAT MANY COUNTRIES
IN LATIN AMERICA ARE DOING AND ASKED HIM TO ABSTAIN FROM HAVING
CHILDREN FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY
ARE GOING TO DO.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS LIKELY TO SPREAD IT.
IT
HAS SPREAD ACROSS HUGE
POPULATIONS.
I WORKED IN CALIFORNIA, AND IT SEEMS TO BE
AT LEAST ONE OF THE MOSQUITOES
BREEDING GROUNDS.
BUT IT WILL PROBABLY BEGIN TO MOVE INTO AREAS THAT HAD
PREVIOUSLY NOT LIVED IN.
>> I AM ACTUALLY PRETTY WORRIED ABOUT THIS.
IT COULD HAVE A
NEGATIVE IMPACT ON SOCIETY, ESPECIALLY IF YOU TELL SOCIETY
YOU CAN'T HAVE KIDS FOR TWO
YEARS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF IMPACT THAT WILL HAVE.
BUT I
ALSO WORRY BECAUSE I AM GOING TO BE VISITING TO AREAS THAT ARE
IMPACTED BY THIS, MEXICO, AND
FLORIDA.
>> SO FAR FLORIDA IS FINE.
>> I AM GOING TO MIAMI, FLORIDA.
>> IF YOU ARE TOLD FOR TWO YEARS YOU CAN HAVE KIDS, AND THERE
USED TO BE CLINICS IN YOUR AREA, OR NOW THEY ARE HUNDREDS OF
MILES AWAY, THEN SOME WOMEN WILL
START TO BE AFFECTED.
ONE SILVER LINING, I UNDERSTAND THAT
SCIENTISTS ALL OVER THE WORLD, ESPECIALLY IN AMERICA ARE
WORKING ON TREATMENTS FOR IT THE VIRUS.
IT IS DIFFICULT TO EVEN
TEST FOR IT.
IT SHOULD START TO HAVE AS MAYBE PAY MORE ATTENTION
TO THE FACT THAT ZIKA HAS SOME PERCENTAGE OF THE KIDS BORN WITH
THE VIRUS DEVELOP MICROCEPHALY.
WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE NUMBER
IS.
THERE KNOW IF IT'S 50
PERCENT, ONE PERCENT, .1 PERCENT.
BUT I ALSO KNOW THERE
ARE 100 OTHER THINGS IN THE ENVIRONMENT THAT CAUSED BIRTH
DEFECTS OR DEVELOP MENTAL
PROBLEMS THAT WE DON'T TEST FOR.
BP A ABSOLUTELY DESTROYS KIDS
AND IS STILL LARGELY UNREGULATED AND A LOT OF PRODUCTS.
>>YES, IT MIMICS ESTROGEN.
YOU SEE MORE AND MORE GIRLS WHO ARE NOT EVEN IN THEIR TEENS
YET STARTING PUBERTY.
YES, THERE'S ALL SORTS OF STUFF AROUND US THAT IS MORE
HARMFUL OR POSES A RISK.
>> I'M NOT TRYING TO MINIMIZE ZIKA WHATSOEVER.
BUT MAYBE THE
GOVERNMENT CAN START TO TAKE IT
SERIOUSLY ENOUGH FOR VARIOUS REASONS THEY HAVE NOT.