Zika is dangerous even if you’re not pregnant.

This statement comes from Dr. Lee Norman who spoke recently to Newsmax.

The following is part of the article that was published soon after the recent 17 confirmed locally transmitted cases in Florida. Now we have two such cases here in Cayman.

By Charlotte Libov Tuesday, 09 Aug 2016

Read more: Zika Causes Serious Risk Even To the Non-Pregnant

With the number of “homegrown” Zika cases rising in the U.S., the focus is largely on the birth defects it can cause in children born to pregnant women infected by the virus. But Zika is also linked to other life-threatening ailments that put everyone at risk, a top expert says.

“Most people who get Zika get over it quickly but the virus can also cause neurological complications that could cause long-term consequences and even death,” Dr. Lee Norman tells Newsmax Health.

Zika-infected mosquitoes transmit the disease. People traveling outside the U.S. have brought in most cases in this country, but now illness caused by local mosquitoes are cropping up.

But 17 local cases have been confirmed in Florida and state officials said Tuesday they are investigating four additional suspected cases. Officials believe all local cases have occurred in Miami-Dade County, but other travel-related cases have shown up in Broward, Palm Beach, and other counties.

Wynwood, a one-mile area in Miami, is home to the largest cluster of 13 “homegrown” cases.

Zika can cause microcephaly, a dreaded birth defect that causes babies to be born with small heads. But Zika also causes or is suspected in a growing list of other neurological problems that can affect anyone, says Norman, senior vice president and chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan.

Zika is a confirmed cause of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a serious autoimmune disorder.

“Most people get over it completely, but some others have to deal with it their whole lives,” says Norman, who is also an intelligence officer specializing in disaster medicine planning in the U.S. Army National Guard and reports to the director of Homeland Security.

There are also preliminary reports linking Zika to other neurological ailments, which have prompted scientists to consider whether the virus may infect nerves directly in adults, as well as fetuses. These include neurological problems that Brazilian researchers reported at an American Academy of Neurology meeting in April in Vancouver.

The researchers presented a study that included six people who developed neurological problems following Zika infection. Of the six, four had Guillain-Barré, but the other two developed acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), which causes a swelling of the brain and spinal cord.

ADEM is similar to multiple sclerosis, and most people recover from it. But in some cases the disease can recur.

To read the whole article go to: http://www.newsmax.com/Health/Headline/Zika-US-brain-diseases/2016/08/09/id/742847/?ns_mail_uid=64942667&ns_mail_job=1681349_08102016&s=al&dkt_nbr=ir2rewo7

I have spoken with much condemnation on the very dangerous recent media rhetoric from ill-informed and politically motivated persons who whipped up individuals to fight the release of the Oxitec genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitos.

It was imperative that when we were clear from Zika preventative measures were put in place immediately.

Government did just that and even went the extra mile in informing people by way of public meetings with the experts being present before the release of the mutant mosquitoes.

And of course, the words “genetically modified” (GM) and “mutant” conjured up horrific things in people’s minds. Even though it is a fact male mosquitoes do not bite humans, these idiots played this down and encouraged the perception we could be turned into some horrible creature when bitten by these modified flying monsters.

When the cases started springing up here of Zika from persons travelling to Zika infected countries this did not stop their verbiage, in fact they increased it. They even managed to stop the release of the GM mosquitoes just as they were going to be released and not only did we lose one week we lost thousands of them. They had to be destroyed.

Our premier, Alden McLaughlin, was not shy to condemn this action in his message yesterday (9) after we have now TWO patients with locally transmitted Zika virus.

From Premier’s message:

“It is regrettable that despite the very clear public health risks caused from Zika, some in the community chose to try and stop the release of the genetically modified mosquitos.

“Their attempt to prevent the release of the modified mosquitos fortunately did not succeed but if it had would have put Caymanians, residents and our visitors at further risk of contracting the diseases carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito – chikungunya, dengue and now Zika.

“This Government did not act out of ignorance when we approved the release of the modified mosquitos. We had the backing of the World Health Organisation, the MRCU and approval from the National Conservation Council.

“Just yesterday we learned that the Food and Drug Administration in the United States determined that the modified mosquitos can be released in Florida where cases of locally transmitted Zika have occurred. That is just further evidence that we were right in our decision to allow the MRCU to take pre-emptory measures to help prevent the scourge of vector-borne diseases.

“Many of those who opposed the release of the mosquitos here are already politicians or are political aspirants; people who should be taking public health seriously, not using it as a political platform to grandstand.

“Anyone who has ambitions to be a community leader or a Member of the Legislative Assembly must be more objective and thoughtful regarding the stances they take.

“They also need to adopt this Government’s mantra of transparency. The leader of the campaign to stop the release has yet to openly confirm who or what entity funded the campaign. The public deserves to know the full truth to understand the motives behind the ill-advised and dangerous campaign.

“I am especially disappointed in the Leader of the Opposition Hon. McKeeva Bush who as a longstanding member of the Legislative Assembly, former Cabinet member and former Premier is all too familiar with the good work that the MRCU does and that it is the true expert in mosquito control. The MRCU is a major part of Cayman’s success story and I have no doubt in my mind that it would not do anything to endanger our people or our country; quite the contrary, as it has demonstrated over and over again.

“Instead of continuing to support MRCU in its work to prevent several harmful vector-borne illnesses, the Opposition Leader chose to pull his party colleagues onto the alarmist train in an attempt to stop what may be the best hope for controlling the Aedes aegypti mosquito and the dangerous diseases that the breed carries.”

You can read the complete message at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/cayman-islands-premiers-statement-on-locally-transmitted-zika-case/

Well said Premier McLaughlin. I wait with eagerness to hear what the Leader of the Opposition has to say in response.

PS: I have just read Hon. McKeeva Bush’s reply on the Cayman Reporter website:

“What he  [McLaughlin] has said there is a pure political rhetoric about his disappointment. What I am disappointed in is the fact that we had the cases here and Government had not done anything in the beginning. That is what he need to talk about not that there are cases now and try to blame McKeeva again. The fact is what did they do to prevent this in the very beginning? Was anything done? That is the question. He is just being too political,” Mr Bush contended.

He accused the Premier of shifting the blame “when he cannot find solutions and we do not know if these things are solutions.”

To read the whole story go to: http://www.caymanreporter.com/2016/08/10/bush-premier-politcising-mrcuoxitec-zika-cases/

I have no comment to make on the Leader of the Opposition’s reply at this moment until I can actually discern what he said.