Bay Area Tech to Help Track Zika Virus During Rio Olympics | NBC ...

Zika Virus: What We Know (And What We Don"t)

Olympic athletes are arriving in Rio, full of confidence, hope and concerns about Zika.

Will they get it? How will they know if theyre at risk? Enter Silicon Valley, and the smart thermometer, as it is called.

Thats what San Francisco-based Kinsa calls its thermometer, which hooks up to your smart phone to monitor and store your symptoms as they change.

Doctors and teammates will then know if theres a health problem on a specific team or in a specific area.

It"s kind of a social network for health or an early warning system.

"With a few simple taps you can add in symptoms, results, notes, in addition to the fever history that you have," said Kinsa CEO Inder Singh.

The thermometer is catching on so quickly with athletes that Kinsa is now offering them its product for free. Singh says six teams have already requested the thermometer and hundreds of them have been sent out.

You can track your health, with the thermometer and Kinsa app, from the Android or iOS store.

Scott tracks the Olympics on Twitter: @scottbudman

Published at 7:04 PM PDT on Jul 28, 2016

Source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Bay-Area-Tech-to-Help-Track-Zika-Virus-During-Rio-Olympics-388602792.html

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Zika Virus in Rio: Doctor Treating Infants Says "This is Scary"

What Is Zika Virus And Should We Be Worried?

A Brazilian doctor working with 130 infants born with the rare birth defect associated with exposure to the Zika virus in utero -- microcephaly -- said the disease has been frightening for both patients and doctors.

"This was the first time we related Zika virus to microcephaly," Dr. Camilla Ventura is an ophthalmologist at the Altino Ventura hospital told ABC News. "This is scary.

Microcephaly has been associated with the Zika virus in Brazil after the outbreak started last May. More than 4,000 infants have been born in the country with the condition, characterized by an abnormally small head and brain.

We are dealing with disease that we have no information about and we, the Brazilians are responding differently from what we expected to see, Ventura said of the Zika virus.

Ventura said the team is testing various aspects of the infants" comprehension and reaction to see what, if any, developmental delays they have.

Ventura demonstrated with one young patient how they used toys and sound as tests.

The doctor said the birth defects have been difficult not only for the children but for the parents and that mothers have come in depressed or with other psychological problems as a result.

Many of the mothers, they did not know that their babies had issues and it was as surprise not only for the doctors but for these mothers, they were not expecting at all, Ventura said. Many got depressed.

Ventura said they started group counseling sessions to help mothers cope with the birth defects.

Little by little we are working with these mothers, they are exchanging experience, she said. They can open themselves, they can express their feelings."

The key, she said, is to teach the mothers how to help their infants outside of the clinic. Ventura said the infants are doing better and better with therapies.

Its very important to not only come to the center weekly but also mothers they have to learn to treat these babies at home, she said.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/zika-virus-rio-doctor-treating-infants-scary/story?id%3D36610358

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Metro Mosquito Control lab monitoring Zika virus

Zika Virus Could Turn Into "Explosive Pandemic"

Metro Mosquito Control monitoring Zika virus

Bryan Piatt6:46 PM. CST January 28, 2016

The lab at the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District in St. Paul is quiet in the winter. But, they are still monitoring theZikavirus.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. - The lab at the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District in St. Paul is quiet in the winter. But, they are still monitoring the Zika virus.

People in Minnesota shouldn"t be worried about local transmission of this virus right now, says vector ecologist Kirk Johnson.

Johnson says the Zika virus is only known to spread through two types of mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Johnson says they have found Aedes albopictus in Minnesota before, but it did not survive the winter. We do have similar types of mosquitoes in Minnesota, but none that are known to transmit Zika virus, he says.

The mosquitoes that do transmit the Zika virus are more common in the southern part of the United States.The Zika virus is being actively spread right now in south and central America.

Johnson says there"s concern about Minnesotans who are traveling to those parts of the world. We should expect to see multiple travel-associated cases of Zika infections in the U.S. and Minnesota residents in the next few months, he says.

Johnson says they"ll be watching closely for any new types of mosquitoes that could transmit the Zika virus when the winter comes to an end.

We"ll be observing as the season warms and we see the mosquito season start to spread further north whether this virus is actually being transmitted in the United States, he says.

The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District says pregnant women, or women who want to become pregnant, should be especially careful if they"re traveling to countries where the Zika virus is spreading.KARE 11 learned Thursday that most major airlines and cruise lines are now offering refunds, or offering to rebook flights, for pregnant travelers.

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Source: http://www.kare11.com/news/metro-mosquito-control-lab-monitoring-zika-virus/24339318

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