Hi folks. Over the last year or so, Zika virus dominated the news. Especially during the 2016 Rio Olympics. If you remember Zika is the virus that can cause birth defects if it infects pregnant women. It was not a common virus and a lot of people did not know about it. Therefore, I had written an ebook called Taming Zika (available on Amazon.com). But since then additional information has come to light. Maybe I will cover it in my second edition, but I thought I will also talk about it in my post.

Recently a study published in the journal Nature by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. They injected mice with the Zika virus and found that after 3 weeks it caused lasting damage to key cells in the male reproductive system causing shrunken testicles, low levels of sex hormones and reduced fertility. How it translates to men is something that needs further evaluation. The researchers said that in their knowledge, this is the only virus that causes such severe damage  to the reproductive system.

So far, I do believe that there is vaccine, but I don’t think it is widely available. Until there is a cure, people should use caution when they travel or are out in the evening in areas with known Zika virus presence. Use long sleeve clothing and spray mosquito repellent.