Zika virus and depopulation: Rising number of miscarriages, birth defects blamed on virus as governments urge women not to reproduce

Friday, February 05, 2016 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: Zika virus, depopulation, birth defects

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(NaturalNews) The next pandemic is upon us, and it has taken the form of another (likely) mosquito-borne virus known as Zika, which may end up being indirectly responsible for depopulating the world, much to the delight of the Agenda 21 crowd.

As reported by The Washington Post, the rapid appearance and spread of Zika – which has been around since the 1940s but which some think is now spreading rapidly due to Brazil's release of genetically modified mosquitoes in 2012 – has led governments in Latin America to urge women to avoid becoming pregnant for as many as two years, in what is seen as an extraordinary response aimed at curtailing a rash of new birth defects that are being linked to the virus.

Why delaying births is a big deal

The Post further reported:

What until recently was a seemingly routine public health problem for countries that are home to a certain type of mosquito has morphed into a potentially culture-shaping phenomenon in which the populations of several nations have been asked to delay procreation. The World Health Organization says at least 20 countries or territories in the region, including Barbados and Bolivia, Guadeloupe and Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Panama, have registered transmission of the virus.

This is a big deal because, as noted by The Christian Science Monitor in December, birth rates in Central and Latin America have plummeted in recent years as more women become educated, enter the workforce and share control over family finances. Indeed, in Brazil, the believed epicenter for the new Zika outbreak, birthrates have fallen to 1.7 children per mother, on average, less than the (low) U.S birthrate and far lower than the 6.3-children average in 1960.

In Brazil, some 1 million people have contracted the virus; in the past four months, however, health officials have received reports that in some 4,000 cases the virus has been linked to microcephaly in newborns – in which babies are born with unusually small heads and major brain damage.

Neighboring Colombia is also dealing with its own Zika outbreak. Sharing an Amazonian border with Brazil, health officials in Colombia have documented more than 13,000 cases of the disease. Authorities there are also urging women to forego pregnancy for at least several more months. Other nations in the region – such as Honduras and Jamaica – have also asked women to delay getting pregnant.

Extreme measures

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides some details about the Zika virus on its website:

Zika virus is spread to people through mosquito bites. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon.

"In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil," the CDC said. "The outbreak in Brazil led to reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome and pregnant women giving birth to babies with birth defects and poor pregnancy outcomes."

Following the documentation of more than 5,000 Zika cases last year and through the first few weeks of this year, health officials in El Salvador have adopted the most extreme countermeasures to date: Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Espinoza has asked women to delay getting pregnant until 2018. The impoverished Central American nation saw its first documented Zika cases in November, sending samples to the U.S. to be tested, the minister said in an interview with the Post.

"The recommendation is that people plan their pregnancies, that they avoid if at all possible to have babies this year," Espinoza told the paper. "This is the first time that we have suffered an attack of Zika virus, and the first attack is always the worst."

Sources:

WashingtonPost.com

CSMonitor.com

Mirror.co.uk