Olympic health update: Zika vaccines, GMO mosquitoes, and snake oils

David Warmflash | August 10, 2016 | Genetic Literacy Project

With the 31st Olympic Games going on in Rio de Janeiro, the only topic trending close behind Rio 2016, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Katie Ledecky and the medal counts is the Zika virus that’s spreading through Brazil and popping up in other countries, including the United States.
“My concern is that Zika could already be here on the Gulf Coast,” explained Peter Hotez, Baylor College of Medicine’s dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, in an article for JAMA Pediatrics. “It is just that nobody is looking, because none of the country and local health departments have funding to conduct active surveillance.”.....The gravity of the situation is fueling acceleration of research toward a Zika vaccine, which will go through early clinical testing in 80 people over the next year. Unfortunately, fear of the virus is also fueling scams, fake anti-Zika products.......In addition to giving unsuspecting consumers a false sense of security, some of the products have the potential for direct harm. Ultrasonic devices, for instance, have been demonstrated, not to repel mosquitoes, but possibly to attract them., Schneiderman noted in an interview. He also said that some of the worse devices were targeted for use in children...... To Read More...