Re: US Presidential Election 2016
Reply #82 –
Which is why the NEJM study is so interesting. Finding the virus targetting the brain and eyes of an aborted foetus with microcephaly is bracing indeed. If the Zika virus and microcephaly were just ships passing in the night, you wouldn't expect that.
It can be easy to confuse cause and effect. But if you count foetal cases of Microephaly and Zika you must also count cases of healthy babies born with Zika and no Microcephaly.
It may be that Zika is a potential cause of Microephaly, it may have always been that way. But that doesn't necessarily mean there really is a spike in Microcephaly cases, or that increased detections of the Zika virus will means an increase in Microcephaly. It may be that a foetus with Microcephaly is more susceptible to Zika, the cause and effect reversed.