BREAKING:US Confirms Zika Virus Causes Birth Defects And Can Also Be Transmitted Through Mosquito

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that the Zika virus causes severe birth defects, including microcephaly.

Hundreds of babies were born in Brazil last year with microcephaly, a syndrome where children are born with unusually small heads.

The defects coincided with a spike in Zika infections, leading experts to suspect the mosquito-borne virus.

Research has now affirmed those experts' suspicions, the CDC said.

"This study marks a turning point in the Zika outbreak. It is now clear that the virus causes microcephaly," said Dr Tom Frieden, the head of the CDC.

On Monday, US health officials warned the Zika outbreak could have more of an effect on the United States and called for additional funding to combat the virus.

"Everything we know about this virus seems to be scarier than we initially thought," said Dr Anne Schuchat of the CDC.

Zika virus was first diagnosed in 1947 in Uganda, but symptoms have typically been mild, including rash, joint pain and fever.

The current outbreak started in 2015 in Brazil and the symptoms have been much more severe. Nearly 200 babies have died as result of the virus.

Researchers are interesting learning why some cases of the virus result in birth defects while others do not.

Some women who were infected with Zika while pregnant gave birth to apparently healthy children.

There have been 346 confirmed cases of Zika in the continental United States, according to the CDC, all associated with travel.

CDC officials said the findings do not change the agency's earlier guidance to pregnant women.

The CDC has discouraged pregnant women from travelling to places where the Zika virus is spreading, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Dr Frieden said intensive research was under way to find out much more about the mosquito-borne virus and to develop a vaccine for it, although he warned that that could still be years away.

This is the first time that mosquito bites have caused birth defects, Dr Frieden said. The virus can be transmitted by sexual contact as well.

SOURCE : BBC

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6 things You Need To Know About Diabetes

Annually, the World Health Organisation (WHO) celebrates the world health day on April 7 to mark its founding in 1948. This year focuses on diabetes because of its increasing occurrence, especially in low and middle-income countries. More than 40,000 diabetes deaths are recorded annually in Nigeria.

And according to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), most of them are avoidable with the availability of information and resources. With treatment and management of the disease costing N53,000 annually, especially in a country that lives below poverty line, prevention is key.

 Here are some key facts and pointers that can help prevention. DEFINITION According to WHO, diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body’s systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels.

 TYPES

 There are three main forms of diabetes – Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes. While Type 1 diabetes has no known cause, people living with it need daily insulin administration for survival. Type 2 is mainly as a result of excess body weight and inactivity. Majority of the people living in the world have this type and is now increasingly occurring in young people and children. The third, gestational, as its name implies, occurs in pregnancy and carries a risk of type two diabetes. Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lowerlimb amputation.

 STATISTICS

 Almost half of all deaths attributable to high blood glucose occur before the age of 70 years. WHO projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in 2030

 PREVENTION

 Healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco are ways to prevent or delay the onset of type two diabetes.

 MANAGEMENT

 Diabetes can be managed with diet, physical activity, medication and regular screening and treatment for complications. Avoiding sugar and saturated fats intake.

  CONSEQUENCES

Diabetes can cause blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation.

SOURCE : THE CABLE

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