World Health Organization Concerned Over Alarming Spread of Zika Virus In The United States:
The World Health Organisation under the internal health regulations summoned an exigency committee to discuss the ‘Explosive’ spread of the Zika Virus, initially linked to thousands of birth defects in Latin America. The committee will adjoin on Monday and will advise on the international responses and specific measures in affected countries and elsewhere.
Zika is related to yellow fever and dengue. While an estimate of 80% of people shows no symptoms of being infected by it, hence it makes it difficult for pregnant women to get to know whether they have been infected.
The WHO director general, Margaret Chan, at a special briefing in Geneva, said, “Last year the disease was detected in the Americas, where it is spreading explosively, It was “deeply concerning” that the virus had now been detected in 23 countries in the Americas”.
The governments are now promoting the awareness to prevent the pregnant women from going to the areas which have been detected with the spread of the virus. Linked to microcephaly- which is a lifelong developmental problem, hence, considered a serious condition.
World Health Organization Concerned Over Alarming Spread of Zika Virus In The United States:
Recently, the level of alarm is extremly high and it has been seen that the arrival of the virus has been associated with a sharp incease in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads- informed Chan. “A causal relationship between Zika virus and birth malformations and neurological syndromes has not yet been established – this is an important point – but it is strongly suspected, The possible links have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions. The increased incidence of microcephaly is particularly alarming as it places a heartbreaking burden on families and communities”.
Outlining four reasons of alarm Chan said: “First, the possible association of infection with birth malformations and neurological syndromes. Second, the potential for further international spread given the wide geographical distribution of the mosquito vector. Third, the lack of population immunity in newly affected areas. Fourth, the absence of vaccines.”
The virus has been spreading by Aedes aegypti mosquito, The Brazilian president. Dilma Rousseff has declared it a war to get rid of the insect’s breeding ground, as since, September, Brazil has registered 4,000 approx cases of babies with Microcephaly.
The Zika virus now which has circulated in two dozen countries and territories across the Americas, the mosquito-borne pathogen seems destined to reach the United States, and probably sooner rather than later.
What is far less certain, say public health and infectious disease experts, is Zika’s potential reach and impact here. The South is seen as especially vulnerable because of its warm, humid climate and pockets of poverty where more people live without air conditioning or proper window screens. Plus, the region is already home to mosquitoes that can transmit the virus.
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President Obama received the briefing about the situation, from the health and national security teams, including Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, CDC Director Thomas Frieden and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
