Our Wager Of The Week Winner: The Zika Virus

Our Wager Of The Week Winner

• The Zika Virus
• Mosquitoes AND Sex
• Infection hedges its bets

Hedging your bets is something all gamblers are familiar with. And conversely there's nothing wrong with splurging a little on a long shot at Bet365 however much you've got on the favorite, something the Zika Virus seems to understand only too well as it begins to spread itself across the Americas not just by mosquito bites alone but via sexual transmission as well.

The World Health Organization has become a victim of its own success. Announcing the Zika Virus is running out of control in South America the reaction from the planet was mostly one of impatience rather than panic. Ever since they tamed Ebola, it is assumed they'll just defeat the next plague as easily, and perhaps they will, but whilst the hunt is on for a cure, infections in Zika Virus countries continue to rise, and if you're in the US gambling news reports of that cure will come sooner than summer, think again. Florida governor Rick Scott has already declared an emergency in 4 counties.

Most people exhibit no symptoms or very mild ones, but the links with genetic disorders amongst births to women infected during pregnancy has everyone alarmed, especially as now it is not just the mosquito that must be combated as reports surface of it being transmitted through sex to people who have not been exposed to infected mosquito bites. If you're a virus that already has the world's mosquito population on your side, this is just the icing on the cake, and makes you our wager of the week winner for covering all the angles.

Wager Of The Week Winner Hedges Its Bets With Sex

Authorities in Zika infected nations, that includes Brazil the hosts of this year's Olympics in Rio, are doing all they can to combat the disease, directing their efforts at eradicating mosquito breeding grounds, but one does wonder if the proximity of vast tracts of jungle might not mean they're fighting a losing battle on this one, a rear guard action till an inoculation can be found. This leaves us with government health advice being to treat this as one would any other mosquito borne infection, gambling news reports will actually cover the details. Which they did, however unhelpfully.

Apparently wearing repellant and covering as much of yourself as possible during those hours of the day when the mosquitoes come out to play to avoid being bitten was key. This rather ironically means that should a cure not be found soon pregnant women in Florida and other southern states of the US will need as much protection as possible, leaving them but one option; a burqa. The Zika Virus might be our wager of the week winner for branching out into sexual transmission but our hat is off to it for possibly turning the baby care aisle at the Fort Lauderdale Walmart into a scene from a suburban mall in Tehran. Who said diseases couldn't have a sense of humor?