Before spring and summer in the northern hemisphere, the World Health
\nOrganisation has cautioned European countries to brace themselves for an
\nepidemics caused by the Zika virus. Apparently benign, this type of virus is
\nsuspected to have caused severe congenital malformations in the foetuses of
\ninfected pregnant women. The virus is affecting South America, particularly
\nBrazil, being also present in Europe, in people who returned from Latin
\nAmerica. Alexandru Rafila, the president of the
\nRomanian Society of Microbiology, has given assurances that for the time being
\nthe Zika virus is not a threat to Romania: <\/p>\n
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This is not a virus that we should be afraid of now as it’s mainly
\ninfecting people in the tropical regions of the two Americas. In most of the
\ncases infections aren’t serious and don’t require any treatment. The main cause
\nfor concern for the healthcare authorities in the region is the suspected
\nassociation between the infection with the Zika virus and the appearance of
\nsome brain damage in children born of infected women. A disturbing number of
\ncases of microcephaly has been reported in those regions. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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The Zika virus was first identified in rhesus monkeys in Uganda in 1947
\nand in humans in 1952, in Uganda and Tanzania. More recently, the first cases
\nwere reported last year in Brazil and today, around 1.5 million people have
\nbeen infected. The virus is borne by a certain type of mosquito. Alexandru
\nRafila explains:<\/p>\n
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The virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. The
\nvirus displays no symptoms in most patients, but some may eperience fever,
\njoint pain and red eyes. There is no specific treatment, but the disease
\ntypically clears within a week. Only one way of transmitting this disease is
\nknown, from a pregnant women to her unborn baby.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Scientists in Brazil are also considering the human-to-human
\ntransmission of Zika, as the virus was found in the saliva and urine of those
\ninfected, which indicates that the virus could be transmitted through human
\ncontact as well, not only through mosquitoes. There is no anti-Zika vaccine at
\nthe moment, and experts in the field estimate that it could take a year to
\ndevelop one. Several pharmaceutical companies have announced they are already
\nworking on a vaccine and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has created a team
\nof experts to help pharmaceutical companies and doctors seeking to develop a
\nvaccine or treatment case of infection. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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There are similarities between Zika and dengue fever and West Nile
\nfever, for which a vaccine exists or is being developed. These similarities are
\nfuelling hopes for a future cure for Zika, but the rapid spreading of the virus
\nhas turned the search for a cure into a round-the-clock race. According to the
\nlatest World Health Organisation estimates, the number of people infected in
\nthe Americas could reach four million in 2016. The organisation’s director-general
\nMargaret Chan called Zika an extraordinary event, which requires coordinated
\nresponse:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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After a review of the evidence, the
\nCommittee advised that the recent cluster of microcephaly cases and other
\nneurological disorders reported in Brazil, following a similar cluster in
\nFrench Polynesia in 2014, constitutes an extraordinary event and a public
\nhealth threat to other parts of the world. In their view, a coordinated international response is needed to minimize the
\nthreat in affected countries and reduce the risk of further international
\nspread. Members of the Committee agreed that the situation meets the conditions
\nfor a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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Concurrently with efforts to develop a vaccine,
\nall countries in Latin America have mobilised to fight the virus. Brazil is
\nrunning a pilot project using genetically modified mosquitoes. This type of
\nmosquito, created by a British company, is spread daily into the air by means
\nof a minivan. This mosquito is mating with wild females passing a lethal gene
\nto its offspring so that an entire generation is killed before turning into
\nadults. The Dominican Republic has mobilised the army in the fight against the
\ntiger mosquito, responsible for carrying the Zika virus. Dominican troops are
\ninvolved in clean up operations and for various procedures aimed at reducing
\nair humidity levels. The French authorities have recently ruled that tourists
\nrecently returning from the affected regions can donate blood only 28 days
\nafter their return in order to diminish the risk of transmitting the disease
\nthrough blood transfusions. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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The appearance of this disease has also sparked
\nvarious speculations. Some say the Zika outbreak became possible after the 2012
\nrelease of genetically modified mosquitoes, whose main aim was to fight the
\nspreading of other diseases such as the dengue fever. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The World Health Organisation recommends European governments to begin preparations against the Zika virus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":155430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43939],"tags":[29854],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-155429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-future-starts-today","tag-zika-virus"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n