Zika Virus ‘Spreading Explosively’ in Americas, W.H.O. Says
By SABRINA TAVERNISEJAN. 28, 2016
The World Health Organization rang a global alarm over the Zika virus on Thursday, saying that the disease was “spreading explosively” in the Americas and that as many as four million people could be infected by the end of the year.
The global health agency will convene a special meeting on Monday to decide whether to declare a public health emergency. It is moving swiftly to combat this outbreak after widespread criticism that it had allowed the last major global health crisis, Ebola, to fester without a coordinated, effective strategy.
Since last spring, more than 20 countries have reported locally acquired cases of Zika, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and may cause birth defects. “The level of alarm is extremely high,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the W.H.O., in a speech in Geneva.
The focus of concern is the growing number of cases of microcephaly, a rare condition in which infants are born with abnormally small heads and damaged brains. Reports of babies born with microcephaly have been rising sharply in Brazil as Zika spreads.
Brazilians Face Zika's Effects
Experts say it is too early to tell whether Zika is the cause of the condition, but there are indications that the two are linked. The government of El Salvador has gone so far as to advise women to refrain from becoming pregnant until 2018.
Even as international health authorities sounded strong warnings, health officials in the United States sought to reassure Americans, saying that the vast majority of those exposed to the virus never have symptoms and that the risk of a homegrown outbreak is very low, largely because of more effective mosquito control.
“For the average American who is not traveling to this area, there is nothing they need to worry about,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/he...smtyp=cur&_r=0
WHO Chief Convenes Emergency Committee Meeting
Rogelio Estrada | 29 January, 2016, 18:12
Marcos Espinal, an infectious disease expert at the WHO's Americas regional office, said: "We can expect 3 to 4 million cases of Zika virus disease".
Venezuela authorities have broken their silence on the outbreak of Zika in the South American country, and they're pledging to mount a public health campaign to slow the virus' spread.
Anyone curious about how far Zika will spread need only look at chikungunya. Several states have confirmed the virus in individuals who traveled to areas where the virus is circulating, including IL, where health officials are monitoring two infected pregnant women. Zika doesn't do that.
"FDA will also put in place recommendations to help maintain a safe blood supply in United States territories where the virus is present", Goodin wrote.
The Asian tiger mosquitoes have an even bigger range and are found across the entire southeastern USA, into Missouri and Oklahoma and as far north as NY and into temperate areas of South America. The mild symptoms in adults, coupled with the low prominence of previous outbreaks, have contributed to the relative obscurity of the virus prior to its spread throughout the Americas. The virus can take hold if enough people become infected for it to become endemic - a word meaning it's in a region permanently.
Another prevention effort is OX513A, a genetically modified male Aedes aegypti, dubbed by critics as the "mutant mosquito" or "Robo-Frankenstein mosquito".
After Chan's announcement about next week's meeting, Gostin urged the World Health Organization leader to "mobilize global resources to curb the rapid spread of Zika worldwide, including aggressive mosquito control, active surveillance, accelerated vaccine research and travel advisories for pregnant women".
"The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions", said WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan.
Zika is commanding worldwide attention because of an alarming connection between the virus and microcephaly, a neurological disorder that results in babies being born with abnormally small heads.
"This is a very remarkable and unusual situation", agreed Fauci, "because the other flaviviruses don't do that to our knowledge". That's especially concerning for pregnant women, as this virus has now been shown to pass through amniotic fluid to the growing baby.
Health officials suspect that Zika is linked to a wave of birth defects in Brazil in which babies have small heads.
Colombia's health minister has said the nation has more than 16,400 confirmed or suspected cases of Zika. However, Zika virus has been linked to microcephaly in infants born to women infected while pregnant.
Earlier this month, the CDC said pregnant women should consider postponing trips to more than a dozen countries with Zika and advised women trying to get pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant to speak to their doctor before traveling and to take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Antibiotics can treat a range of bacterial infections but the same is not true of antiviral drugs.
The World Health Organization says China and other countries with dengue fever should be on the lookout for Zika virus infections. There's also no vaccine, for the same reason. But experts say it should be easy to make a vaccine against Zika.
http://investmentunderground.com/201...ncy-committee/
Zika Virus And Soccer: What’s The Link?
January 29, 2016
Zika Virus may have spread through major sporting events, ABC news has said. Studies have pointed to the soccer World Cup in 2014. The experts have still not been able to zero in on the person who spread the virus, but a study published in June 2015 suggests that the virus may have come to Brazil when several thousands came together.
“One plausible hypothesis is the arrival of the new emergent virus during the soccer World Cup in 2014,” the authors of the June 2015 study who closely studied the genetic sequence of the Zika virus have said. There is another study by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal that points finger at the Va’a World Sprint Championship. The championship is a canoe race where there were four participating teams from the French Polynesia, who could be the possible carriers.
The Zika virus outbreak has caused a global health concern because of the upcoming Olympics in Brazil where several people from all over the globe are likely to come together. This would facilitate the spreading of the virus. However, NPR has reported that without further adieu, a study for a virus vaccine will begin very soon. But, it has been said that it would be years before a vaccine is found. The experts have also said that it seems unlikely that the United States would be affected much.
The symptoms of the Zika virus resemble that of flu, Center for Disease Control (CDC) has said. The carrier can get joint pain, red eyes, fever and rash. Pregnant women infected with the virus can experience complications with the unborn baby. The virus has been linked to babies born with small heads because of a condition called microcephaly. The CDC has now made it compulsory for all states in the United States to report any travelers who carry the virus into the country, says Dr Anne Schuchat, the agency’s principal deputy director, reported NPR.
The CDC says that this is not the first time Zika virus outbreaks have happened. Prior to 2015, Zika virus outbreaks have occurred in Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia and Africa. In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization had issued alert about the first Zika virus infections in Brazil. The CDC says it’s still very hard to determine how the virus is going to spread overtime. But the good news for US residents is that no local Zika cases have been reported so far and it seems unlikely that it would spread far and wide. The reason being sited for this is that in cases of two similar viruses like chikungunya and dengue, the spread of the virus has been very limited. So, far 31 cases virus being brought back to the mainland have been reported. The reports have come from 11 states and the District of Columbia. However, none of the carriers have been known to spread the virus.
There have been cases that are being reported in returning travelers. There have also been cases of Zika virus reported in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The CDC has said that with the Zika outbreaks increasing, the cases of virus among those returning to the United States will be on the rise. “There’s still a lot we don’t know, so we have to be very careful about making any absolute predictions,” says Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In a briefing for reporters, he added that “we still feel it’s unlikely… we’ll see wide-scale outbreaks,” NPR reports. It has been reported that the NIH and CDC have been working together to develop better tests for Zika virus. The NIH has also issued a notice calling for researchers who can help understand the virus better.
http://www.inquisitr.com/2748827/zik...zGCD7wobKQD.99