I just read in my local paper that Columbian Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria said the most worrisome part of the mosquito borne virus is the dramatic spike in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome that are now thought to be Zika related. "This is the principal concern of the public health sector in Latin America," Gavira said of the virus.

(According to the newspaper) The WHO said the virus has been reported in 23 countries and is likely to spread to every nation in the hemisphere except Chile and Canada because of its cooler climate.

I am not trying to scare anyone but I figured being informed would be a good idea. There is no medicine or vaccine to treat the virus and further taxing our nervous system is the opposite of what we try to do. I am personally going to be very careful to protect myself from mosquitoes.

I found this article this morning:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...guillain-barre

I think we are seeing the tip of an iceberg with this potentially destructive virus.. If it can cause microcephaly in unborn babies it has to be doing nasty things to adults as well.

And this is circulating:

http://theantimedia.org/zika-outbrea...eased-in-2015/

--Guillain Barre syndrome, and some other acute onset autoimmune neuropathies, are known to often be associated with an infectious prodrome, with an infection being reported days to weeks before the onset of the neuropathy, implying a molecular mimicry process.

Among the organisms previously implicated are Campylobacter jejuni and Haemophilus influenzae; it would not surprise me if Zika has been behind some mysterious Guillain Barre onsets (and may continue to be).

As MrsD says this is the "tip of the iceberg" - and not just for the Zika virus. For anyone interested there's an excellent book: "Viral Storm" by Nathan Wolfe - published in 2012 - it may be a little out of date now but well worth reading.

My son and his wife have an upcoming trip they can not cancel to Costa Rica in May. The WHO suggests an EPA-registered repellent. I would not be so freaked but they are trying to get pregnant. Costa Rica is not Brazil but still...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.