Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
One Thing Missing From Colombia's Zika Outbreak: Babies Born With Microcephaly
The New York Times: Colombia Is Hit Hard By Zika, But Not By Microcephaly
This tropical city on the Caribbean coast may hold the answer to one of the deeper mysteries of the Zika epidemic: Why has the world’s second-largest outbreak, after Brazil’s, produced so few birth defects? In Brazil, more than 2,000 babies have been born with microcephaly, abnormally small heads and brain damage caused by the Zika virus. In Colombia, officials had predicted there might be as many as 700 such babies by the end of this year. There have been merely 47. (McNeil and Symmes Cobb, 10/31)
In other news on the virus —
Stat: In Mouse Study, Zika Damages Cells In Testes, Impedes Fertility
The Zika virus attacks cells in mouse testes crucial for sperm and sex hormone generation and hampers reproduction, according to new research that raises the possibility that the virus could affect fertility in men. There are major caveats to the research, which was published Monday in the journal Nature. The study was conducted in mice, and many findings from mouse studies do not hold up in people. The researchers also used a very powerful dose of Zika when infecting the mice. (Joseph, 10/31)
