MALWARE CONFERENCE 2016
EL CONQUISTADOR HOTEL & RESORT,
FAJARDO, PUERTO RICO
October 18-22, 2016
ZIKA Alert
Please note that the Zika virus has been detected in Puerto Rico. Participants would have to make their own decisions weighing their individual risks in attending the conference. In order to help you with your decision, the organizing committee has included relevant information below, including our recommendations for high risks individuals.
What is the hotel saying or doing to deal with the situation in Puerto Rico?
The full official statement from the hotel can be found, click here. A summary is provided below to you for your convenience.
"El Conquistador Resort is located at the Northeastern tip of Puerto Rico and is situated on a 300 foot bluff which overlooks the converging waters of the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean and benefits from steady winds from the North East and South East. This steady wind flow allows for a comfortable environment which prevents mosquitoes from being an issue at the resort and our private Palomino Island. As a standard operating procedure throughout the year, the resort does fog for mosquitoes throughout the property and works to ensure that there is no standing water where insects can develop.
In terms of meetings and conventions, it is business as usual in Puerto Rico. For all outdoor functions related to a meeting or convention at the resort, we offer a variety of insect repellants available for attendees to use as needed. Insect repellant coils are offered as an alternative for those attendees who prefer not to use a repellent spray or lotion."
What is Zika? (Some of the information below is a compendium from articles by the New York times, and from the CDC web site)
Zika is a tropical infection new to the Western Hemisphere. The Zika virus is a mosquito-transmitted infection related to dengue, yellow fever and West Nile virus. en it was identified as the “mystery disease” sweeping across northeast Brazil. About four in five victims of the Zika Virus show no symptoms, and those who do usually recover within a week. Common symptoms include a fever rarely higher than 102 degrees, an itchy pink rash, bloodshot eyes, sensitivity to light, headaches and joint pains.
However, and most critically, the Zika Virus have been found to affect the unborn child of a pregnant women with Microcephaly? Microcephaly refers to an unusually small head in infants, and is often accompanied by brain damage.
How do I know if I’ve been infected? Is there a test?
Zika, like Lyme disease, is often a silent infection and hard to diagnose. Only one of five infected people develop symptoms. There is currently no rapid test that can be done in a doctor’s office; tests must be sent to sophisticated laboratories, which delays diagnosis.
The surest way to detect the virus itself is with a blood or urine sample gathered in the first two weeks or less after symptoms appear. Antibody tests can be done later but, because the disease is closely related to dengue and yellow fever, false positives and false negatives may occur, especially in areas where those diseases circulate. More complex “neutralization assay testing” can lower the false-positive rate, but not eliminate it.
Satetement By The Organizing Committee
The organizing committee of the 2016 Malware Conference wants to call attention to the presence of the Zika virus in Puerto Rico, and provide attendees of the conference with as much information as possible on the matter. We want all participants to make an informed decision, and to make such a decision based on the facts. As you may or may not know, the Zika virus has been found in Puerto Rico, as well as in many other countries in Latin America. Recently, several cases have been reported in Miami Florida, and the reporting has created a frenzy of Media attention with headlines such as "One Quarter of Puerto Rico Expected to Contract Zika Virus by End of 2016, and "U.S. Forced To Declare State of Emergency ..." and so forth. Hence, the Organizing Committee of the Malware Conference decided that it was very important to alert all participants of the situation. In the paragraphs, link, and resources below we attempt to provide you the potential attendee with as much information as possible so that you can make such a decision.. Please read the information carefully.
Nevertheless, and given the reported risks associated with the Zika Virus to pregnant women, and women of child-bearing age, the organizing committee felt that it was necessary to discourage such attendees from participating in the conference. All other attendees, should carefully read the information below, use the resources provided in this page, and then, make an informed decision.
Dr. Fernando C. Colon Osorio,
General Program Chair, Malware Conference 2016
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
For More Information and Resources, see below:
Short Answers to Hard Questions About Zika Virus
El Conquistador Facts & Recommendations
Center For Disease Control Latest Bulletins on Zika
Ten Zika Facts You Need To Know