WHO starts special meeting on Zika virus amid rising concern

World Health Organization last declared an emergency over the 2014 Ebola outbreak. It’s too cold for Aedes aegypti to establish in the United Kingdom, although in ideal summer conditions, introduced individual mosquitoes might be able to survive for a few days; there was a small outbreak of yellow fever in Wales (Swansea) in 1861 which is believed to have been spread via mosquitoes that were inadvertently introduced on a ship returning from Cuba, ” he told the Telegraph.

Geneva specialists towards the Earth Health Business started deliberating on Friday whether to state a worldwide crisis within the Zika virus, that has been associated with a large number of birth defects in Brazil.

“Members of the committee admit that the situation meets the conditions for a public health emergency of worldwide concern”, she said. Now the Zika virus, while not as deadly as Ebola, is highlighting again the need for honesty, transparency, and a renewed commitment to research and rapid response in managing such threats.

A similar declaration was made for polio the year before.

Currently, there is no vaccine or medication to stop Zika.

World Health Organization officials say it could be six to nine months before science proves or disproves any connection.

The WHO came under intense scrutiny over the speed of its response to the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.

Health officials say an adolescent girl who traveled from Los Angeles County to El Salvador late previous year was infected with the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus. Investigations are ongoing as to whether Zika can lead to Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disorder where the body’s immune system attacks nerves, Feinstein said.

The Zika outbreak started in Brazil in spring 2015.

The Zika virus is especially worrisome for pregnant women because it is linked to serious birth defects.

Brazil has reported around 4 000 suspected cases of microcephaly, in which infants are born with smaller-than-usual brains.

Chan said that experts are anxious at the alarming rate of infection and its deadly consequences.

“The evidence is growing and it is getting strong”, Chan said.

‘But having these cases occurring and pinning it to Zika is tough’.

An estimated 1.5 million Brazilians have caught Zika, a virus first detected in Africa in the 1940s and unknown in the Americas until it appeared in May in the poverty-stricken northeastern region of Brazil.

This story is now developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.