Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Doctor: Zika Virus Likely Causing Brain Damage Worse Than What You’re Told

 
William Dobyns studied five children stricken with the virus and found the most severe cases of birth defects he’s seen in 30 years—defects he has seen from another virus before.

A leading pediatric neurologist who has studied the brains of babies stricken with the Zika virus says the damage is far more severe than global health officials are telling the public.

Dr. William Dobyns was emailed the images by a specialist in Brazil and told The Daily Beast the cases are some of the worst he’s seen in more than 30 years of study. Dobyns says images also share telltale signs of viral infection, though a definitive link from the birth defects to the Zika virus has not yet been established.

The iconic image of the Zika outbreak are babies born with abnormally small heads, a condition called microcephaly. The microcephaly diagnosis is made when a baby’s head is at least two standard deviations below the mean for age and sex.

These heads are six deviations below the mean, Dobyns estimates. 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Daily Beast

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