WHO Lifts Zika Emergency, Prepares for Long-Term Fight Against ‘Enduring’ Threat

Peter Salama, executive director of the organization’s emergency program, noted Zika is seasonal and expected to return.

Gostin said the worldwide response to Zika has been “lethargic” and WHO’s decision will give countries even less reason to invest in preparedness and research.

Rather than treat Zika like an emergency outbreak, the World Health Organization says it will now combat the virus through a “sustained and dedicated” anti-Zika program focused mostly on Latin America.

Hopefully none of these fears will come to pass, and Zika will remain a top priority for scientists and health officials.

But in May 2015 it was reported in Brazil and has since spread rapidly.

The WHO was careful on Friday not to dismiss the risk still posed by the virus, which has been detected in 73 countries worldwide, mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Labs are working to develop vaccines to prevent Zika, but they are years away from being affected. “WHO’s decision will give countries even less reason to invest in critically important preparedness and research”. Instead, the virus is now a chronic problem, says the WHO’s Dr. Pete Salama.

The announcement came after the fifth meeting of the Emergency Committee on Zika, microcephaly and other neurological disorders convened by World Health Organization on Friday afternoon.

“There’s a lot of work to do, and what we have to do is improve and coordinate more research”, he said. Dr. Thomas Frieden of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says pregnant women and their partners still need to pay attention to where they go. “Everyone, especially pregnant women, still needs to take Zika seriously and remain vigilant”. “Because it’s not”, he told STAT. We stand ready to use our expertise and authorities to the fullest extent to help facilitate the development and availability of products that may help mitigate emerging infectious disease threats, such as the Zika virus.

How do you treat Zika?

The agency’s designation of a public health emergency was made in February.

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In Florida, health officials have reported 1,188 Zika infections this year, with 234 locally acquired cases and 939 travel-related cases. Globally the total is about 2,300.

Fauci said that NIAID is continuing to fund research into a vaccine against Zika, which has so far been tied to thousands of cases of children being born with a birth defect known as microcephaly.