Thinking back I am not even sure sex ed in school talked much about the risks of STD's in MM sex - it was always MF context - and as you say we were taught they were an issue - but none of them were life altering as pretty much everything had a cure - and growing up in a college town there were free "no ask" clinics where no one would ever find out.

The fear of getting someone pregnant messing up both your lives - even if she got an abortion there would be emotional issues - was stressed so much as the ultimate issue.

I had a buddy were we had fooled around but he was much more into girls so our fun had faded. He got a girl pregnant and but after she ended the pregnancy he started calling wanting to hang out more again for awhile....

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Another relatively common thing among the college guys was the seriously increased need to hang out (sexually) with their buddies towards the end of every month. The cash flow was running seriously low, and the entertainment fund was down to zero, but you were still horny, nonetheless.

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The key thing here was changing the mindset towards the STDs. The old days, when none it was really life-altering/threatening because, there indeed, WAS a cure available are now behind us.

Hopefully, the folks out there will take ZIKA seriously!

KD

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Back to the Zika virus itself, yesterday a new study in the British medical journal The Lancet Guillain-Barré Syndrome outbreak associated with Zika virus infection in French Polynesia: a case-control study linked Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and also provided a possible estimate of the odds that someone with Zika might develop GBS.

A report from CNN Study finds strong link between Zika virus and Guillain-Barre is easier to read.

The study looked at a Zika outbreak in French Polynesia in 2013- 2014 with a suspected 32,000 Zika cases and an increase in GBS.

The microcephaly cases affecting babies of Zika-infected pregnant women have been well-reported. Regarding GBS, which can affect adults, here's part of CNN's report:

The quote in CNN's piece is from Dr. Peter Jay Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine here in Houston.

In Zika can cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, study shows USAToday talked to Arnaud Fontanet, one of the authors of The Lancet's study and head of the emerging diseases epidemiology unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and noted his reluctance to generalize about the odds of Zika leading to GBS: "Fontanet said it's not possible to say what percentage of people in Latin America and the Caribbean will be infected with Zika or affected by Guillain-Barre. He notes that Zika may spread differently on a large continent than it did on these islands."

Separately, the World Health Organization released a new Situation Report about Zika, microcephaly, and GBS on February 26.

Clearly it's a developing story and researchers are learning more.

Meanwhile, we're not quite into mosquito season along the Gulf Coast. Our highs yesterday and today were into the 80s. Local authorities are still emphasizing advance clean-up of places where mosquitoes might breed as well as cautions to those who travel to Zika-affected areas and their sex partners.

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Well this is not good news...


Zika virus: Sexual transmission 'more common than thought' - BBC News

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Thanks for posting that for all of us. I'd seen the news yesterday evening but this week I've been even more pressed for time than ever.

I'm not excerpting anything right now; you can read (or watch) the links:

This is what I saw last night: CDC: Puerto Rico Will Be Ground Zero for Zika Outbreak in U.S. - NBC News

WHO statement: WHO | WHO Director-General addresses media after Zika Emergency Committee

CDC current travel advisory includes Latin American countries, Puerto Rico, and the Cape Verde Islands near Africa: Zika Travel Information | Travelers' Health | CDC

IBT discusses Zika possibilities in Taiwan, Hainan, and mentions southern mainland provinces of China: Zika Virus Update: Taiwan, China’s Hainan Province May See Zika Spread With Mosquito Season Starting, Scientist Says

LA Times discusses climate change and Zika and possibilities of mosquito-borne transmission in the US: Could climate change be the culprit in spread of Zika virus? - LA Times

I actually do expect at least a few mosquito-borne cases here in Texas and other Gulf Coast areas since Dengue Fever had been identified in mosquitoes here in Greater Houston in 2013. Chikungunya was also seen here in 2014 and even as far inland from the Gulf as the Austin and Dallas areas last year. And of course, that would impact Zika's sexual transmission or blood transfusion or...

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Finally taking a few moments with my local news at the end of an extremely long day, there was this:

City health lab offers 1-day Zika tests - Houston Chronicle

Looks like Houston is getting ready for mosquito season.

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Well with the amount of rain Texas has had this winter it is going to be prime breading conditions for mosquitoes.

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