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 Street processions, block parties and the televised, big-budget
parades that are the hallmark of the festival moved into their
second day on Sunday, even as Brazilian health officials continued
to grapple with an outbreak that may have infected as many as 1.5
million people and could be linked to suspected deformations in more
than 4,000 infants and unborn children.
"It's one more thing to worry about," said Juliana Araujo, a
48-year-old schoolteacher at a street party in Rio de Janeiro, where
other problems, like an economic recession and impeachment
proceedings against Brazil's president, seemed distant concerns.
Recent news that traces of the virus had been identified in blood,
saliva and other bodily fluids of patients known to have been
infected with Zika would not do much to dampen a festival known for
its fair share of casual sex, she predicted: "People aren't going to
stop having fun and hooking up."
Over a million people hit the streets in cities like Rio, home to
the country's best-known Carnival celebration, and the northeastern
capitals of Salvador and Recife, two cities hard hit by the
outbreak.
Along with the usual cross-dressing, superheroes and other
outlandish costumes worn by partygoers, some toyed with themes
related to the scare. Outside a juice bar in Rio early on Sunday,
three men dressed as mosquitoes mingled with other revelers, the
names of maladies borne by the insect stenciled across their chests:
"Zika," "dengue" and "chikungunya."
Carnival officially ends on Wednesday.
For some, the levity is welcome relief amid nonstop Zika headlines.
After emerging in Brazil last year, the virus has now been locally
transmitted in at least 30 countries, according to the World Health
Organization.
Last week, scientists said they would investigate a report that an
American in Texas had transmitted Zika to a sexual partner. On
Friday, Brazilian researchers said they had found genetic material
from the Zika virus in saliva and urine from two patients.
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They said more research was necessary to determine if it can be
transmitted by those fluids, but warned pregnant women, believed to
be most at risk because of links between the virus and deformations
in developing babies, to avoid the casual kissing of strangers
common at Carnival.
Scientists have found genetic material from Zika virus in tissue and
fluids taken from mothers and children in at least 17 cases of
microcephaly, a deformation characterized by abnormally small heads
that can also include brain damage. Researchers have yet to prove if
the virus actually causes microcephaly.
For foreigners visiting Brazil, the scare makes them want to take
precautions - but has not ruined a good time.
"I was scared coming out here," said Martha Scofield, 23, a tourist
visiting Rio from England. "But there's not much you can do really.
I'm going to come, have a good time, be careful, and I don't plan to
get pregnant."
(Reporting by Sergio Queiroz and Paulo Prada; Editing by Jonathan
Oatis)
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