Quote:
Originally Posted by pike
There is a mutation, CCR5 delta 32, which provides the bearer with immunity against most HIV strains. The downside of the mutation is that it lessens the bearer's resistance to a class of viruses called flaviviruses. These viruses include Zika, dengue, yellow fever and west Nile.
All in all, I'd rather be resistant to the whole host of encephalitis viruses than HIV. Safe sex is easier to do than avoiding mosquitoes.
See wikipedia for more information.
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Thanks for mentioning that. I found
Wikipedia page for those who are interested but don't want to search.
Speaking of mutations, late last night I saw NBC's
Zika Virus Mutation May Explain Spread: Study. This explains in lay terms how Zika has evolved to make people who get it feel sicker than patients years ago and also the big increase in birth defects as well as neurological issues such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome, encephalitis, meningitis, etc.
The icing on the cake was in the CDC's Weekly
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of April 15 which
finally revealed that the very first case of sexually-transmitted Zika, which we learned about in early February was actually, as the CDC puts it, "Male-to-Male Sexual Transmission of Zika Virus — Texas, January 2016."
I understand that with the high number of birth defects in Brazil and neighboring countries the publicity would concentrate on warnings with respect to pregnant women and women in childbearing years.
However, it does seem at least a bit negligent that no one outright even mentioned male-to-male sex in connection with Zika until now. Even the CDC's "Guidance" page about sexual transmission of Zika seems somewhat circumspect.