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[Dateline] Love in the Time of Zika

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Danielle, Leticia and Cleane are all new mothers, but their children have birth defects. Dateline follows the devastating impact of the Zika virus in Brazil through their eyes.


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By Euna Cho

Source: SBS



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Danielle, Leticia and Cleane are all new mothers, but their children have birth defects. Dateline follows the devastating impact of the Zika virus in Brazil through their eyes.


15-year-old Ruana has been infected with a mosquito-borne virus, Zika - the four-letter word that now haunts the women of Recife, as well as millions of others across Latin America.

Its believed to be behind a massive spike in the number of babies born with microcephaly, a condition where their heads are abnormally small, and their brains are underdeveloped.

But what do you do if you live in the tropics, surrounded by mosquitoes, and youre told to avoid getting bitten - for nine months?

If youre not wealthy enough to enjoy air conditioning, its simply not practical to cover up for that long in the oppressive humidity. If you live in a favela, you probably cant even afford repellent.

How fearful would you be if you knew that because of an insect bite, your child could suffer from seizures, intellectual disability, hyperactivity, impaired motor skills, even blindness and deafness?

Ive travelled to Recife, the capital of the north-eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, because I want to know what it was like to live - and love - with questions like this hanging over your head.

 


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