Zika Virus' 'Explosive' Spread Prompts WHO to Organize Emergency Meeting
The Zika virus is currently spreading at an "explosive" rate across the Americas, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to conduct an emergency meeting to figure out a way to halt its spread.
On Thursday, WHO said the Zika virus could spread to as many as 3 or 4 million people in just a span of one year. Because of this, WHO announced that it will try to find a way to stop the pathogen from being transmitted, according to The Washington Post.
"The level of alarm is extremely high, as is the level of uncertainty. Questions abound," WHO Director Margaret Chan said during a briefing in Geneva for member countries. "We need to get some answers quickly."
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While most individuals who get infected with the Zika virus experience mild symptoms such as joint pain, fever, rash, or pink eye, 80 percent do not feel sick. However, the main concern lies in the danger that the pathogen poses to pregnant women and their babies, CNN reports.
The Zika virus, which reportedly originated in Brazil, is thought to have an effect on fetal brain development, possibly causing microcephaly in babies. Health officials are also investigating the link between the virus and a syndrome called Guillain-Barre, which can later on result in paralysis in adults.
There is still no treatment and vaccine for the Zika virus, the report adds.
As of now, there are 24 countries and territories affected by the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there are already 31 confirmed cases in 11 states in the United States and the District of Columbia. There are also 19 cases in Puerto Rico and one confirmed case in the U.S. Virgin Islands. CDC's vector-borne disease division director Lyle Petersen said all the cases are travel related, the report relays.
Lawrence O. Gostin, a health law professor at the Georgetown University, urged Chan to act fast to prevent a Zika epidemic. Should the link between microcephaly and Zika be confirmed, solid steps should be taken to prevent women of childbearing age from becoming infected, he added.
WHO's emergency meeting on Zika is scheduled on Monday and the participants will decide on whether the outbreak should be declared a global public health emergency or not. The last time that the organization declared this designation was in 2014 when Ebola broke out in August and when the polio virus reemerged in May.
