Mike Kaufman interview keeps Zika threat in perspective for Michigan
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EmailListen to MSU entomologist Michael Kaufman's interview with Kirk Heinze on Greening of the Great Lakes, where he talks about Zika's low threat in Michigan.
"There are a lot of viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, including some in Michigan that are what we call neuroinvasives like West Nile, which is in the same family as Zika," Michigan State University associate professor of entomology Michael Kaufman tells Kirk Heinze on Greening of the Great Lakes. "The key question on Zika is why the virus is particular in being able to invade the brain cells of developing infants."
Kaufman says, "The probability of anyone in Michigan picking up Zika from a mosquito is extremely low. We don't have the species of mosquito that we know transmitted the virus in the tropics. It's in the same probability range as being struck by lightning." Hear why, in Kaufman’s interview on Greening of the Great Lakes, which airs every Sunday evening at 7 p.m. on News/Talk 760 WJR and around the state each weekend via the Michigan Talk Network.
