WHO Issues $56 Million Plan To Combat Zika Virus

“Pregnant women should avoid travel to these countries”, said Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) State Epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Dobbs. Although the report suggests that Zika can cross the placental barrier, the finding does not prove that the virus causes microcephaly; more research is needed to understand that link, the authors say.

The state’s public health emergency spans nine counties, including Lee County, which has had three travel-related Zika cases.

If you travel to a country where Zika is active, you can prevent mosquito bites by using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, and removing standing water where mosquitoes live and breed. Only about 20% of those infected with Zika will show symptoms, which include a maculopapular rash, fever, joint pain and conjunctivitis. The women’s fetuses had also been diagnosed with microcephaly, a birth defect where babies are born with abnormally small heads and an increased likelihood of incomplete brain development.

Director-general of WHO, Margaret Chan said, “Possible links with neurological complications and birth malformations have rapidly changed the risk profile for Zika from a mild threat to one of very serious proportions”.

The World Bank said that a rapid response is necessary to minimize the impact of the Zika virus outbreak on the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The concern is for pregnant women and their unborn babies.

The World Bank offered $150 million Thursday to fight the Zika outbreak and provide medical care.

Hussain said the symptoms of Zika virus were similar to dengue virus and that it was also transmitted through mosquitoes.

Zika is spread by Aedes mosquitos (such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus). In May 2015 health authorities confirmed the first virus infections among people in Brazil. The chief will meet the health minister and other officials and discuss measures to curb the spread of the Zika virus. There have been no cases reported in Mississippi. An estimated 1.5 million people have been infected by Zika in Brazil.

More alarming, however, is the virus’ suspected role in causing microcephaly among newborns if their mother catches the virus while pregnant.

“The WHO put out financing estimates during Ebola, which were also far from adequate, and it repeatedly raised (them) as the epidemic unfolded”.