Zika virus infection outbreak constitutes public health emergency

The U.N. health agency declared on Monday a global public health emergency over the Zika virus chiefly affecting Brazil and other countries in the region, the first such warning since the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014.

Until more was known about the virus, pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant should consider delaying travel to areas with the Zika virus, he noted.

Queensland was already researching whether any other mosquitoes other than the Aedes variety, which is also responsible for the spread of dengue fever, can spread the deadly disease.

The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with small brains.

“All travellers overseas should take extra care and keep away from mosquito-infested areas to avoid being infected with Zika virus”, Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman, the Ministry’s Assistant Undersecretary for Clinics, said in a statement.

“Of course, the world and the World Health Organization have all learned from the Ebola crisis”, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said earlier Monday before the emergency was declared.

Columbia has announced that more than 2,100 pregnant Colombian women are now infected with Zika, prompting concerns for the unborn children.

Margaret Chan, the director-general of the World Health Organization, said that one of the first priorities should be controlling mosquito populations that have spread the virus. “It’s something for all of us women who are pregnant, that they are giving us repellent to protect us from Zika”, Jessica Sandoval a Soledad resident said.

Lyskowski says the important things to remember is that it’s not a virus that spreads from person to person easily.

The Red Cross has put out an emergency appeal for funding to help with the outbreak of the Zika virus, which could infect as many as 4 million people in the Americas this year.

The WHO uses the public health emergency declaration to make recommendations to stop the spread of outbreaks and to coordinate government responses.

People fumigate a street as part of preventive measures against the Zika virus, in Cucuta, Colombia, January, 2016.

Reported cases of microcephaly are rising sharply in Brazil, ground zero for the disease, though researchers have yet to establish that Zika causes the condition.

Two cases of Zika virus infection were detected in Australia’s News South Wales state, the media reported on Tuesday.

“For situations like this, you have to essentially have a “no regrets” policy”, he said.