He said it was “particularly scary” that cases in Puerto Rico were doubling every week, saying that there is a “limited window of opportunity” to take action.
Advertisement
Google has donated $1 million to UNICEF to help counter the Zika virus, and introduced some updates to facilitate access to information. The Zika virus is the latest global health epidemic and has spread to at least 30 countries, mainly in Latin America, since a year ago when it was first detected. Carried by mosquitoes, the virus itself is usually fairly harmless to the infected, but can spread globally.
Republican representatives continue to question the need for about $2 billion in emergency funding requested by the Obama administration to respond to the Zika virus.
Health officials said mosquitoes in Oklahoma are not now carriers of the virus, and the risk of contracting Zika is for people traveling to affected countries.
Fuller also reportedly said that the organization has volunteered a team of engineers, data scientists and designers to help UNICEF organize the data they collect on the ground to make it more digestible to the public and other organizations working to combat Zika.
In addition, its engineers are working with UNICEF to analyse data to determine how to map and anticipate the virus.
“Making sure all Floridians stay informed and remain prepared for the possible spread of the Zika virus is our number one priority”.
Yet, much about Zika remains in the dark, including whether the virus truly causes microcephaly.
Zika is hard to track and contain because people with the virus often do not show symptoms.
The tool now concentrates on Zika; however, the idea here is to establish a platform that would also be beneficial for future outbreaks of other diseases.
Google’s $1 million grant to UNICEF will help raise widespread awareness, reduce mosquito populations, and support diagnosing and vaccine development.
Advertisement
Since November, Google said, it recorded a more than 3,000 percent increase in global search interest. Health officials expect to see more cases in MI as the weather gets warmer, and more people travel to the affected regions for spring break, and the summer Olympics in Brazil.
