UCLA Fears Zika Is Mutating Fast

UCLA sees the potential for change:

The Zika virus possesses the ability to mutate rapidly, meaning the current outbreak of the virus has the potential to spread swiftly around the world, according to a UCLA study released Friday…

“We don’t know why Zika infection was not associated with serious human disease, especially in newborns, until recently,” said co-author Dr. Stephanie Valderramos, a fellow in obstetrics-gynecology at the Geffen School. “We hoped that taking a closer look at the virus’ genetic changes over time would reveal clues to this mystery.

I expect the real pandemic will be hot out of the box, and airborne. To really set things off, you need something that keeps people attuned to disgust, and feelings of uncleanness. If you are washing your hands at every opportunity, that will affect the amygdala. It will also make you begin to eschew contact with people who seem at high risk of infection.

But until then a fast-mutating, sexually transmitted sterilant for which there is no vaccine could be a significant de-rabbitizer.