In this Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 photo, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes sit in a petri dish at the Fiocruz institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil.
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Barely a few months after the Ebola virus that hit mainly African countries was contained, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared on Monday the Zika virus outbreak as a global emergency. “It can cause a baby not to have a fully developed head and sometimes the brain is not fully developed so these babies can be born with birth defects”, said Price.
Monday’s emergency meeting of independent experts was called in response to the spike in babies born with microcephaly in Brazil since the virus was first found there a year ago. The virus transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, also responsible for transmitting dengue fever, was detected in Brazil last May. He said Monday that the union’s 7,000 workers will go on stage if Brazil’s health ministry doesn’t meet their demands by Thursday.
WHO, which was widely criticized for its sluggish response to the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa, has been eager to show its responsiveness this time.
Wagner made the estimate just hours after the World Health Organization declared the spread of Zika an worldwide emergency.
The experts agreed that a causal relationship between Zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly is strongly suspected, but has not yet been scientifically proven.
“At some point here… we’re going to see the temperatures rise (and) that will make for a more hospitable environment for mosquitoes”, he said.
The WHO said last week the Zika virus was “spreading explosively” and could infect as many as four million people in the Americas. “If you can delay travel and it does not affect your other family commitments, it is something to consider”.
World Health Organization has so far refrained from issuing travel warnings related to Zika, stressing that the most effective form of prevention is getting rid of stagnant water where mosquitoes easily breed, and using personal protection against mosquito bites such as using repellent and sleeping under mosquito nets.
In Brazil, authorities have said that there is no chance that the Rio Olympics will be cancelled because of Zika virus outbreak.
It is no exaggeration to state that the Zika virus presents a clear and present danger, with some health experts saying it could be a bigger threat to global health than the Ebola epidemic that killed over 11,000 people in Africa. Scientists think it could take years before a vaccine is developed. The government needs to pull out all the stops to prevent the Zika virus from spreading in the country.
“Children or adults or other people who get infected with the virus themselves do well”, said Harris.
Zika is also suspected of links to a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
California has had six Zika cases, all involving travelers, between 2013 and late 2015, said state public health department spokesman Orville Thomas, adding “patient confidentiality” concerns barred him from listing the counties. “But having these cases occurring and pinning it to Zika is tough”.
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“Everyone’s total focus is on addressing the young woman who is in exactly the situation you’ve described”, Dr. Jennifer Blake, chief executive officer of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), told the Post.
