Deadly Dysfunction: Bureaucratic Snafus Delay A Novel Approach To Zika

By Henry I. Miller and John J. Cohrssen

Abandoning earlier caution about the relationship between the Zika virus and various serious possible sequelae, including microcephaly (a devastating condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains), CDC scientists have confirmed cause and effect.

The findings mark a “turning point in the Zika outbreak,” according to CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. “The science now shows what the hundreds of impacted families have suspected all along. Zika virus is the cause of the tragic increase in microcephaly cases and other serious brain defects,” he added. Evidence is quickly mounting about those other effects on the brain, including acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which causes symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis.

But even Dr. Frieden’s statement understates the impact: Thousands of families are likely to feel the effects of Zika infections.....To Read More....