It absolutely is a global emergency.

Here is a question for the American media, which candidate had the best answer for the global emergency of Zika? Oh, forgot to ask, huh? Typical, there may be Democratic candidates that might actually have the answer, other than, "It is up to the WHO."

Democrats are never suppose to win the presidency of the USA. They might actually have the answers for the majority of Americans and that would not do at all.

We all start out our lives with some mutations. (click here) These mutations inherited from your parents are called germ-line mutations. However, you can also acquire mutations during your lifetime. Some mutations happen during cell division, when DNA gets duplicated. Still other mutations are caused when DNA gets damaged by environmental factors, including UV radiation, chemicals, and viruses.

Few mutations are bad for you. In fact, some mutations can be beneficial. Over time, genetic mutations create genetic diversity, which keeps populations healthy. Many mutations have no effect at all. These are called silent mutations.

But the mutations we hear about most often are the ones that cause disease. Some well-known inherited genetic disorders include cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, Tay-Sachs disease, phenylketonuria and color-blindness, among many others. All of these disorders are caused by the mutation of a single gene.

These are some scary questions, but, how much do we know about this virus in the way of permanent genetic damage? What is causing the microcephalic manifestation in pregnancy? Is it a one time occurrence, possibly due to fevers, etc? If this virus is able to reach into the genetics of a fetus, is it due to damage to the fetus or the genome in the ovum? Are women giving birth to microcephalic infants permanently damaged in a way that will result in all pregnancies of the same nature at birth? That needs to be determined for many reasons.

February 1, 2016
By Ryan Grenoble, Anna Almendraia and Erin Schumaker

The World Health Organization (click here) declared a "public health emergency of international concern" on Monday morning due to the clusters of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities that may be caused by Zika virus.

This designation, also known as PHEIC, has only been applied to three other illnesses in the past -- most recently to Ebola during the 2014 to 2015 outbreak in West Africa. 

The determination is intended to mobilize an international response to combat mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has spread throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean and is suspected to be the cause of a sharp rise in birth defects in Brazil.

The WHO reserves the PHEIC designation for “extraordinary” events that “constitute a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease” such that they require “a coordinated international response.”

With the announcement, the WHO has said it will scale up its surveillance of Zika in countries battling the virus, and in other countries it may spread to next....