"Trump Could Fight Zika with Regulatory Reform" By Angela Logomasini, Ph.D. President-elect Donald Trump has promised that he will focus on reversing an expanding federal regulatory burden. As part of that agenda, he should address regulatory hurdles that undermine efforts to control dangerous mosquito-transmitted diseases, such as the Zika virus. Quick action on Zika is essential as it spreads in Florida with potential serious health effects. Zika can cause microcephaly, a serious and … [Read more...]
Zika Prevention Kit
August 25, 2016
"The Best Possible Zika Prevention Kit Includes DEET," By Angela Logomasini, Ph.D. Last week, Broward Country Florida recorded the first two Zika cases transmitted by mosquitos in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging pregnant women to assemble and deploy a “Zika Prevention Kit,” which is a good idea. CDC’s suggested kit includes: bed nets; insect repellent; mosquito dunks, which are added to standing water to prevent development of mosquito larvae; … [Read more...]
A Smart Approach to Fight Zika
May 6, 2016
"We Don’t Need Billion$ To Prevent Zika," by Paul Driessen and Robert Novack. The Zika virus is increasingly linked to serious neurological complications for pregnant women and microcephaly in newborns: smaller than normal heads and brains. It also affects areas of fetal brains that control basic muscular, motor, speech and other functions, leading to severe debilities that require expensive care throughout a person’s life. The disease is becoming a crisis in Brazil, site of this year’s Summer … [Read more...]
Zika And Spurious Associations
March 14, 2016
"Organic Consumers Association Doubles Down On Pesticides And Zika Claims," by Hank Campbell. Organic Consumers Association, which funds Denier For Hire cabals like the anti-science group U.S. Right To Know, has baffled the science community once again by just making stuff up. When groups made claims that a larvicide named pyriproxyfen was part of a Monsanto conspiracy to promote Zika to give Monsanto a problem to solve(1), they were dismissed by even Washington Post reporters, so OCA has … [Read more...]
Controlling Zika
March 14, 2016
"DDT or DEET to Stop Zika? Not So Obvious," by Josh Bloom. The surest way to avoid worrying about getting the Zika virus is avoid being bitten by a mosquito transmitting it. That means sales of repellents are very likely to boom. Almost all products to keep mosquitoes away contain the active ingredient N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, commonly called DEET. Even the CDC recommends it. Read more. … [Read more...]
Larvides Don’t Cause Microcephaly
February 22, 2016
"Zika and Monsanto: Did you Buy the Bogus Viral Story?" by Center for Accountability in Science. Understandably, lots of us are worried about the possible link between the Zika virus and a reported increase in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect in which a baby’s brain doesn’t fully develop in the womb. Now, a group of doctors in Argentina claims these birth defects aren’t actually caused by the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus. Instead, these doctors who call themselves “Physicians in … [Read more...]
Zika: Part of a Much Bigger Public Health Problem
February 22, 2016
"Zika Wake-Up Call," by Angela Logomasini. The spread of the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus should be yet another wake-up call for public officials around the world. As a relatively new threat, Zika has captured headlines in a world where many insect-transmitted diseases continue to wreak havoc on public health. Unfortunately, the ability to control all such vector-borne diseases is hindered by more than our limited scientific understanding. Disease control is limited by the lack of political … [Read more...]
Zika Virus and Pesticides
February 1, 2016
"Zika Virus Will Sure Get Us to Embrace Toxic Chemicals," by Hank Campbell.The recurring joke in science when the Ebola craze consumed American media was that all the wealthy elites in California, Oregon and Washington who denied vaccines due to concerns about autism, would make sure their families were first in line for a new vaccine. While rich coastal parents knew they could avoid risk for their special snowflakes, while still protecting them from whooping cough (pertussis) by counting on … [Read more...]
