The Zika virus, a mosquito-transmitted virus active throughout parts of South and Central America, has been reported to cause pregnancy and birth complications, according to the World Health Organization.
The Aedes mosquitos responsible for transmitting the Zika virus are the same mosquitos that transmit diseases like dengue and chikungunya viruses, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on its website. The Zika virus has not been actively transmitted in the United States but has been found in travelers returning from Zika-infected areas, most especially Brazil, reports the BBC.
Hospitalization and death are uncommon with the Zika virus, which has symptoms similar to the flu and last up to a week, reports the CDC, and there are no vaccines or medications available to combat the Zika virus. The CDC reports women with the virus who are pregnant have a low chance of passing the virus onto their children, however other problems have been found regarding the Zika virus and pregnancy.
Microcephaly is a major birth defect scientist are seeing strong ties to the Zika virus, according to the WHO and CDC. Babies with microcephaly are born with an abnormally small head, usually due to an underdeveloped brain. Brazil, one of the places hit hardest with the Zika virus, has seen approximately 4,000 cases of microcephaly since October, according to BBC.
On Feb. 1, WHO Director General, Margaret Chan, declared the Zika virus “a public health emergency of international concern.” The WHO is putting the Zika virus in the same category as Ebola due to its rate of transmission and damages to newborn babies.
The WHO has estimated the Zika virus could infect up to 4 million people by the end of 2016. This might be an overestimate, as the link between microcephaly and the Zika virus has yet to be scientifically proven. The WHO felt the danger of waiting too long to take drastic steps regarding the Zika virus was great.
Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust, an independent, international charity that aims to improve global health, said, “There is a long road ahead. As with Ebola, Zika has once again exposed the world’s vulnerability to emerging infectious diseases and the devastation they can unleash. Alongside the emergency response that Zika necessitates, we must put in place the permanent reforms, health systems strengthening and proactive research agenda that are needed to make the global health system more resilient to the threat of future pandemics.”
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, praised The WHO’s decision to take a hard stance on the Zika virus because it’s the “official global sounding bell that governments and others need to start to really paying attention to this.”
The WHO has declared a disease a public health emergency of public concern only three times prior to the Zika virus. The first was in 2009 during the outbreak of H1N1 influenza, the second was in the late Spring of 2014 when polio was found in parts of the Middle East, and in the late Summer of 2014 when Ebola in West Africa was spreading quickly and dangerously.